Looking for the best board games for brain training? You are not the first person to do so! Board games aren’t an invention of the 21st century. Archaeologists have found evidence of children playing board games dating back to medieval times.
There was a common misconception regarding board games. Everyone thought that they were just supposed to keep people occupied or were supposed to act as an alternative for fun group exercise. However, recently, it has been made clear that mental exertion during specific board games can be vital for the brain training of toddlers and adults alike.
Let’s see which are the best board games for brain training in the market!
Our Overall #1 Rated Pick
Solar Quest
- Easy to play
- Enhances motor skills
- Improves strategic thinking
- Increases mental clarity
The board games can be fun and learning at the same time. It is a fact that board games are good for brain training. These games improve motor skills and mental clarity. It also helps to increase cognition.
Solar Quest is a very simple yet unique game. The games come with a board, cards, and other accessories. It is very easy to play. The game has small fuel tank stations. It sticks to the board with magnets on the bottom.
The 10 Best Board Games for Brain Training – Comparison Table
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The 10 Best Board Games for Brain Training – Product Reviews
Best Board Games for Brain Training out there
Solar Quest
The board games can be fun and learning at the same time. It is a fact that board games are good for brain training. These games improve motor skills and mental clarity. It also helps to increase cognition.
Solar Quest is a very simple yet unique game. The games come with a board, cards, and other accessories. It is very easy to play. The game has small fuel tank stations. It sticks to the board with magnets on the bottom.
The shipping of the game is good. It comes with an original cellophane seal from the factory. You will get all of the accessories and a playing guide. It is a group-oriented game. You can play with friends or family. The game enhances your critical thinking and strategic planning.
It is similar to monopoly but more fun to play. Solar Quest is a new edition of the space-age real estate. You can buy fuel stations and visit other places. The player with the most money wins at the end.
Pros
- Easy to play
- Enhances motor skills
- Improves strategic thinking
- Increases mental clarity
- It is a family-oriented game
- The game is the latest edition
- Good game for space lovers
Cons
- The game has a lot of small pieces which can be dangerous for kids
Battleship
The board games are entertaining and fact-based. You can learn a lot of new playing strategies through a board game. Battleship is a new game introduced in the market. It is based on a movie. If you are someone interested in naval combat. This is the perfect game for you.
The battleship classic game is group-oriented. You can play it with family or a group of friends. The game helps to enhance motor skills, strategic planning, and critical thinking. The game is compact and easy to store.
It comes with a board, combat ships, and a rule book. The game will make you think of different strategies to kill the opposite ship. It makes your brain work fast. That is why it is a good pick for brain training. The packaging of the product is fine.
The game contains two plastic cases, one for each player. It has small target tools to destroy the opponent’s ship. The player with more safe ships at the end wins. The battleship classic board game comes with salvo features. It helps you to advance multiple attacks.
Pros
- The game is easy to play
- It enhances the mental clarity
- It improves critical thinking
- The game is made of solid material
- It is played between two players
- The game is compact and easy to store
- It enhances the motor skills
Cons
- Contains a lot of small pieces
- It is expensive
Mastermind
The board games help to enhance critical thinking. It will make you think fast and plan strategies. Mastermind is a classic board game. It improves motor skills, mental clarity, and planning capacity. The game is simple and fast to play.
It is played between two players. If you are someone interested in coding, then it is the perfect game for you. The game has 2000+ combinations. It is a STEM-based game. The game is full of science, innovative technology, improved engineering, and mathematics.
It is good for brain training. The game improves motor skills and critical thinking. It is a fun and entertaining game. The color-coding makes you play it more often. It is a game full of logic and reasoning.
Create a code and test it. The power of your mind will make you strong in the game. It will challenge you on different levels. The game has a secret code and you have to break it. Overall, it is a fast, simple, and fun board game.
You need good luck. The game gets tough after each code. The code maker provides hints that will help you break the code. The game also allows you to make a code with as many possible combinations. It is guaranteed that every code is a brain teaser.
Pros
- The game is STEM-based
- It improves critical thinking
- The game enhances your motor skills
- It helps with strategic planning
- The game includes art element
Cons
- It is expensive
Scrabble
Scrabble is one of the classic board games. The game is fun and learning. It comes with alphabet tiles, aboard, and a scoreboard. You have to make words and game scores. The games improve critical thinking and strategic planning.
The game board is compact and easy to store. It enhances motor skills. The game is overall good for brain training. It is played between 2 or 4. The 100 wooden tiles are enough to make words of your choice.
The game comes with a rule book and an English dictionary to consult. You can store the tile in the drawstring bag easily. The score of each word is counted by the numbers inscribed on tiles. The player with more scores wins at the end.
Scrabble is a fun game. It is the perfect way to spend quality time with friends or family. The competitive game makes your brain work fast and quickly.
Pros
- It enhances motor skills
- It improves critical thinking
- The game helps with strategic planning
- It makes you think fast
- The game is easy to store
- It has multiple ways to play
Cons
- None to be mentioned
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is a fun board game. The payers ride the trains cross-country and collect different cards. It improves motor skills, critical thinking, and strategic planning. The game is a good opportunity to spend quality family time.
The rules of the game are easy and the design is simple. Players have to connect the railway track across the country. The routes appeared in different colors on the map. The player with the highest score wins at the end. The game has a board, ticket cards, and train blocks.
The players will claim their route between cities by playing an equal number of matching cards. In the game, the player can use the powerful locomotive card in replacement of a missing card. The game is good for brain training.
It encourages the players to build routes and think about different strategies. The game is compact and easy to store. The game is played between 2 to 5 players and lasts for 60 minutes.
Pros
- Easy to play
- The game improves critical thinking
- It is good for brain training
- The game is group-oriented
- It enhances your motor skills
Cons
- None
Confident
Board games are supposed to be fun and learning. Confidence is a very simple and strategic game. The game makes you guess about the answers. The game comes with a bunch of fun questions to ask. Each player has to guess.
The player with the closest answer gets more points. It helps to improve the mental clarity, thinking capacity, and guessing power of a player. The game is not about the right answer. However, it is about the closest guess.
The game comes with small boards to write the answers. Confidence is a game that includes risk and fun. You will enjoy quality time with friends and family. The game is easy to play and the rules are very simple. Once you start playing, you will get addicted.
The game is group-oriented and can be played between 2 to 30 players. It is a brilliant concept of guessing and winning. You can always spice up the game as you want. The game will make you think fast and quick. It is a great brain exercise.
Pros
- The game is easy to play
- It improves thinking capacity
- The game is fun
- It is based on guessing
- The game is worth the money
Cons
- It is expensive
Sequence
The sequence is a fun, exciting, and challenging game. The game includes playing cards, chips, and aboard. The game is played between 2 to 12 players. The game is full of strategies and critical thinking. If you placed five ships in a row, it’s a sequence.
The game is quite challenging for kids and adults. It is a group-oriented game. The game is good to spend quality time with your friends and family. You can make a team of two. Each player has to score more than the opponent.
The game is based on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It challenges your brain and enhances mental clarity. The game has an exciting touch. It includes a jack with two eyes. It can be placed in any chip on the board.
It is important to keep in mind that you cannot place the card in a complete sequence. The player that completes the five-card sequence first wins.
Pros
- The game is easy to play
- It is challenging
- The game is fast and fun
- It is a group-oriented game
- The game enhances motor skills
- The game is good for brain training
Cons
- None
Checkers
Checker is a game played between two players. It is an interesting game and includes different strategies. The board game involves different diagonal moves of one color. It is mandatory to jump over the opponent’s checker in the game.
The name of the game is similar to the moves in the game. It comes with a board and chips of two colors. The quality of the game is worth buying. It is a challenging game for playing between friends. The checkerboard has 64 squares arranged on an 8×8 grid.
The game is easy to play and the rules are also very simple. It enhances the motor skills, critical thinking, mental clarity, and strategic planning of an individual. The game board has folding features. That makes it easy to store.
Pros
- The game is challenging
- It is a fun game
- The game enhances motor skills
- It improves mental clarity
- It enhances strategic planning
- The game is worth buying
Cons
- None
Monopoly
Monopoly is a real-estate based board game. The game is played among two to eight players. It is a fun and exciting game to play. The goal of the player in the game is to stay financially strong. The player with more finance wins the game.
The players can get bankrupt and lose. Overall, it is a fun game to play. The game is full of challenges and levels. You sell, buy, and trade to survive through the game. The game improves your strategic thinking and mental clarity.
The players buy properties from each other and make their way to the riches. Monopoly board games come with hotels and houses. You can buy them and place them on the property. It has lucky cards and chest cards.
The game includes a board, 8 tokens, 16 lucky cards, 16 chest cards, 12 hotels, and 32 houses.
Pros
- The game is fun
- It improves strategy building
- The game enhances critical thinking
- It is worth buying
- The game challenges the players
Cons
- None
Sorry
The game is full of challenges and strategies. It is a delightful game introduced around the 1930s. The game is fun and exciting. It is a group-oriented game. The game includes an object. The Player has to move the 4 pawns from the start to the home.
It improves your critical thinking and strategic planning. The sorry card has an advantage. You can move anyone pawn from the start and move it to the opponent’s side. That will send their pawn back to the start.
The game has a board full of artistic work from history. It is an interesting game that includes a lot of skills. The game has 16 sorry pawns and a deck of cards. It has an intermediate level of playing. The instructions are easy to follow.
Pros
- The game is easy to play
- It has easy rules
- The game improves strategic planning
- It enhances your critical thinking
Cons
- None
Best Board Games for Brain Training – Buying Guide
Purchasing a memory board game might seem like a fairly simple task to accomplish. However, in reality, it is not simple at all. There are so many variable aspects that need to be evaluated before you invest your child’s interest in a particular game.
This is because once your child is invested in a game, there is no way of going about it if the game doesn’t serve the purpose of brain training. So, a lot more is at stake if you want to sharpen your child’s cognitive game or even you want to boost your memory retaining skills.
After much deliberation and research, we have found the following features to be a must in a memory board game.
STEM
STEM is a teaching methodology that focuses on four fields including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Parents and teachers who use this approach to teach the children under their wing swear that using this methodology increases a child’s interest in scientific fields by 10 fold. STEM is not just focused on reading but also can be incorporated into a child’s extracurricular activities such as board games.
Board games are not just supposed to be items for time passing. They should also incorporate STEM technology. There are many ways that STEM methodology can be incorporated such as the creation of situations where children have to build colonies or learn a trade.
It is always better to choose the games for children where your child can indulge most of the parts of their brain and that is only possible when the board game uses STEM incorporated technology. If a STEM-based board game becomes a consistent part of your child’s extracurricular activities, it will produce very beneficial effects on their brain development.
Moreover, STEM is not just applicable to adolescents. Even adults and teenagers can benefit from it and sharpen their memory by making STEM approved board games a consistent part of their life.
Fun
Whether it is a child in question or an adult, everyone needs a bit of fun in their lives. Especially in recent times, as the pandemic has hit the world rather hard. As everyone is forced to be cooped up in their homes, a stimulating yet fun board game can be beneficial in relieving the stress and sharpening the mind.
You can make a specific board game as technical as you can but unless you succeed in making it fun, you or your child will not be drawn to it. For a board game to be successful in brain training, one needs to play it often and deduce different scenarios from it.
Unless the overall game has some fun aspects to it, the chances of anyone indulging in the game go from 100 to zero. So make sure that the memory board game you are about to purchase for yourself and your family is fun to play in addition to its memory enhancing benefits.
Mind-Stimulating
An indulging board game is the one that hooks you to itself. The first principle of creating a good board game is that it should be super indulgent for all ages. An indulging board game is the one that can tether your mind to it.
By this, we mean that the board game must be able to stimulate all of the functional centers of your brain. A board is indulgent only if it can paint them a picture of the pseudo realities going on in your brain.
When a board game is indulging enough to create a visual of possible outcomes in your brain, it activates all the centers of the brain. This includes the one that is responsible for resolving complex scenarios as well as the goofy side of your brain. Thus, it sharpens all of the skills one needs to live a normal life.
Children and adolescents love an indulgent game as their sensory perceptions are far greater than those with developed minds. If you want to train your child creatively, then an indulgent game is the way to go.
Story-Based
There are many types of board games available in the market which are fairly superficial. Their makers haven’t spent a second of thought on the back story of the game. We know that children are naturally inquisitive.
Most of the time, they even render adults speechless with their highly creative inquisitions. When a board game is story-based, it increases the chance of your child’s ability to pick that game for their playtime.
A story-based game is even indulging for adults so they can feel better connected with their child without having to bore themselves.
Multi-Task Oriented
Another aspect that makes memory board games best for brain training is having multiple components. The reason we have mentioned this feature in the buying guide is its close association with success in brain training.
The human brain has multiple zones and areas that perform different functions. A complex game that has multiple components makes us use one part of the game for multiple arenas that creates the ability to multitask.
Being able to focus on multiple things at the same time, and ace every one of them is an important life skill that can be learned through a game that has multiple components. A board game that forces children to multitask at a smaller scale prepares their brain to make this ability an inherent part of their personalities.
In today’s world, amidst fierce competition, only the best of the best rise up. Having the ability to multitask is a skill that creates successful individuals.
Cognitive Development
Since the emergence of the pandemic, children are forced to live indoors. Outdoor exercises have been reduced so much so that it has affected normal growth and development of the brain. We all know physical exercises are important for the cognitive development of the brain.
Logic, strategy, memory, and quick wit are all responses that are a part of our cognition. Sometimes children are left behind in one or two aspects of cognition because their early development did not include activities that were vital for cognitive development.
Our brain works at a specific speed and our ability to form judgments is dependent on that speed of our brain. When we play board games, we force our brain to act faster and faster each time we play. Once our brain gets used to start producing a strategic response quickly, our cognitive thinking becomes as advanced as it can.
Relaxing
Playtime is not just supposed to be stimulating it is also supposed to be relaxing for you and your children. It is the only time when even adults can also exhibit childlike behavior and let their worldly worries fade away.
Being able to relax is one of the important aspects of a board game. Although you may feel like the relaxing and cognitively stimulating aspects don’t match but in a board game, these two features can go hand in hand.
A board that brings the family together for a relaxing and fun time while it trains your little one’s brain to perform faster is ideal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How to build my child’s interest in board games?
A. Try purchasing the board games with animations or start by purchasing board games based on your child’s favorite cartoon or comic character. And slowly move from animatronic to memory board games for brain training.
Q. What kind of board games are the best for brain training?
A. Memory board games are best for brain training but they range in complexity so you need to choose the one that can be solved by the person who will be subjected to the board game. Make sure the board game is suited for age in complexity.
Final Word
There are many types of board games available in the market that range in complexity but most of the memory board games have been super useful in enhancing your overall cognitive skills. Especially in recent times, when everyone is confined to their homes, board games can be the right thing that can be used to have fun as well as for some mental exercise.
Choose the best board games for brain training that are fun to play, don’t cause havoc, and stimulate the mind and you will be good to go.
Here’s to keeping our brains active!