We all know the benefits of making sure kids stay active for healthy bodies, but what about healthy brains too? Kids love to play games, but often they’re just for fun. What if you’d prefer them to play entertaining and engaging games that also help to stimulate their minds? That’s when you need IQ games!
IQ games are brain games that require players to use logic in order to solve various challenges or puzzles. These games can help to develop mental skills and boost IQ in kids and adults alike.
Benefits of IQ Games
Playing IQ games is not only a fun way to pass the time, but can also be extremely constructive. These games can help to improve the following skills:
- logical thinking
- analytical thinking
- spatial awareness
- critical thinking
- STEM skills
- problem solving
- creativity and imagination
and many, many more!
Games to Try
Here are our favourite games to enhance your cognitive prowess!
IQ Stars
We love this IQ Stars puzzle game that requires concentration, problem solving and logic to fit these colourful constellations into the tray. Its compact size makes it great for travelling or in the car, and with levels from starter to wizard it can continually challenge players of any age. Other variations include IQ Link, IQ Puzzler Pro, IQ Fit, IQ XOXO and more.
Rush Hour Shift
This two-player game is a battle of logic and strategy in which you try to manoeuvre your mini vehicle out of gridlock and block your opponent in. It’s great for kids as young as 6, and fun for families to play together. There are also lots of other fun games to challenge your mind at thinkfun.com.
Jumpin’
Enjoying a round of bunny hop with these cute little figures looks like child’s play, but with 60 challenges at escalating levels of difficulty, it will even challenge adults’ logic, planning and spatial skills.
Ozobot
Ozobot is a programmable robot that kids can code to improve their technology, coding and creative skills. It can be used either at home or in the classroom. You can find out more at ozobot.com.
MentalUP
This app helps children develop their mental skills, including attention, memory and visual intelligence, and makes screen time valuable cognitive development time. You can try out a wide variety of their games for free at mentalup.co.
Rubik’s Cube
This ’70s classic is a 3D puzzle that has kept kids and adults alike guessing for decades. Some will give up after a few twists and turns, but those that hang around long enough can begin to unlock the secrets to solving this perplexing polyhedron.
Mastermind
This classic game involves logic and deduction to crack a code made by coloured pins. It is available online and from most major toy stores.
Temple Trap
This Indiana-Jones-style game is a modern twist on the classic sliding puzzle where you had slide tiles around a board in order to get them into the right order or reveal a picture. In this version, you slide 3D temple pieces into place so your playing pin can escape the Temple Trap maze.
RiddleCube the Game
This is great as a family game as it can have up to four players. Each has a shape-shifter RiddleCube that they have to fold, twist and stretch to match the shape of any of 200 challenge pictures. RiddleCube improves problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills.
Chess
The ultimate game of strategy, problem solving and concentration, chess is the perfect way to stretch those brain muscles! It takes a little while to learn the different moves of each of the pieces, but once you do, you can keep playing forever, with the challenge only as difficult as the level of your opponent.
We hope you find these mental fitness challenges fun and stimulating! For other great game ideas, check out 6 Easy Card Games for Kids and these Board Game Ideas for Toddlers and Pre-schoolers.
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