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Top 10 Brain-Boosting Games to Increase Your IQ

It's time you levelled your mind too with these Kofuku-approved games to increase your IQ. Become a high-IQ gamer today!
Yashika Sruthi
By
Yashika Sruthi
Top 10 Brain-Boosting Games to Increase Your IQ

Introduction

Ameera has a good portion of her childhood memory filled with learning through small but fun games. Because her grandma would ask her to add up all the numbers she saw when they travelled, which at that time felt like lightning speed, on the bus. These little adventures have shaped her early and adult life because addition is almost an instinct to her now.

Similarly, playing card games with her grandpa taught her how to plan a few steps ahead and guess the outcome as well. Growing up, these little seemingly fun and innocent playtimes were, in reality, making a huge difference in how one thinks or acts. They all were the select few among the million other games to increase your IQ à la homemade version.

Play, it turns out, is more than just fun; it's a fundamental human activity that has shaped our cognitive abilities for millennia. This essentially means three things: you are a great listener (fish fear you, women love you), you've got their perceptions, and you know that the devil is in the details.

But as we've evolved, so too has our play. From adding all the license plate numbers as it zooms past you to apps and gadgets that can stimulate your brain just the right amount. And while technology has transformed the way we play, the core benefits of play remain the same: improved cognitive function, increased creativity, and crazy problem-solving skills that makeup one's IQ.

But what even is this IQ business? Does it make you a genius or something?

The IQ Fallacy

Well, no. But yes? IQ has been misrepresented to the moon and back for many, many years now. But the truth is IQ is a potential. It's like seeing a child with a natural talent or affinity for a skill and immediately going, “Wow, they're a prodigy.” That's not how it works because prodigies are made through hard work, too. Only they've skipped some step with that pesky little potential thing.

More damning of all, IQ is a test! It measures your cognitive abilities and gives you a number. Historically, IQ was derived from a ratio of mental age to chronological age, but modern tests compare an individual's score to a standardised population.

And last but not least, IQ is influenced by genetics though it's not entirely fixed. Environmental factors like education, nutrition, and particularly stimulating experiences can significantly impact cognitive development, leading to potential improvements in IQ scores.

Hence making this little potential a possibility for us common folks too. Conversely, factors like malnutrition, lack of intellectual stimulation, or certain medical conditions can negatively affect cognitive abilities, which, of course, have little to no relation to a person's intelligence. The name is a little bit misleading; we'll give them that. Maybe it's time for some rechristening?

IQ is the result of taking one layer of a person's cognitive potential at a given time and basically immortalising it in a petri dish only to be mistakenly recorded as the whole and not merely the sum. It's not a definitive measure of intelligence. But it's got the clout and is great if you're struggling to pick a personality!

The IQ Fallacy

10 Games to Increase Your IQ

Well, Kofuku, if it is sort of unimportant, why are we trying to increase it?” we hear you ask. Fret not; although its infamy is a bit of an annoyance, the content is solid. Developing your cognitive abilities, irrespective of your IQ scores, can indeed help you.

As we saw earlier, play is the most easily accessible form of developing various skills. In recent times, it has adopted technological and scientific advancements to become video games for intelligence basically. Here are the top 10 of our special picks from the heaps of post-capitalism rubbish:

1. Chess

One can never go wrong with Chess. It's got it all. Strategy, memes and even competitive tournaments. The classic strategy game that has captivated minds for centuries. It was our Coco Melon but without all the predatorily addictive elements.

Thinking ahead, planning multiple moves, and anticipating your opponent's strategies were proven to correlate more with numerical ability, especially among young players. Chess teaches you an important lesson that is probably Sun Tzu-approved: Always watch your back… and your sides, also your front. Just watch out for all the sides, really. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

2. Sudoku

Anyone confident about their numbers has to try this game at least once. This number-placement puzzle is a fantastic way to improve your logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. It's simple in its execution.

As you fill in the grid, you'll be forced to consider the implications of each move and eliminate possibilities. A great laidback evening awaits you if laid back to you are meticulously arranging numbers to make it all make sense.

3. Crossword Puzzles

Another classic, especially popular among wordsmiths. We're talking about people who use “discombobulated” because it's both funny to say and it appropriately expresses their feelings. A timeless pastime that can increase your vocabulary, improve your memory, and boost your cognitive flexibility.

Considering how sometimes the hints include general knowledge or current news, it’s like the troll under the bridge if the troll was a paperboy cursed to speak only in riddles.

4. Lumosity

This brain-training app has around 50+ games designed to improve cognitive functions like memory, attention, and problem-solving. They've got a team of researchers who break down complex scientific tests into brain teasers that are both challenging and palatable to the general public.

5. Minecraft

Being a simple sandbox game has never made Minecraft any less cool or stimulating. In fact, that is part of why it's so adaptable and fosters creativity. Going beyond the pretty builds, there is some heavy maths to determine anything from the probability of item drops to the exact coordinates of certain biomes.

Since the community is so big, there's always a new thing to learn about the game. Heck, people have put their interactable 3D images onto the game through the magic of technology. With the addition of many competitive PvP matches, spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills are also covered.

6. Portal 2

You haven't seen a first-class puzzle game for mental sharpness until you've seen Portal. It truly gives you the space to think outside the box and use unconventional solutions to solve puzzles. It's one of the best ways to improve your logical thinking and brush up on your problem-solving abilities.

7. Stardew Valley

If you ever had to ask yourself “What if I was living alone and was paying all my bills and managing the house and being an adult?” then this game is definitely for you. In Stardew Valley, you're a humble farmer who is self-sufficient.

To sustain your farm and your home, you require careful planning, meticulous resource management, and making those hard-hitting decisions, all of which can, incidentally, help improve your cognitive skills. It's a subtle educational game for adults who happen to love farming and fishing but are atrocious with their finances.

8. Getting Over It

Certainly a unique one on the list as it puts even more focus on hand-eye coordination than Minecraft or Portal 2. It's a mind-training game that is deceptively simple yet brutally challenging. The name says it all. You have to get over it. The question is: Does “It” refer to just the mountain or yourself?

As you climb this seemingly endless mountain, you'll encounter a series of frustrating obstacles that require careful timing and precise movements. The game cultivates or rather forces you to acknowledge the importance of emotional regulation. The narrator could help by shutting up from time to time, but alas.

9. Escape Simulator

Popularised by YouTubers who are known for their strategies and detections, this is an immersive puzzle game for mental sharpness inspired by real-life escape rooms. As you go through intricate virtual environments, you're forced to think critically, analyse clues, and make strategic decisions under time pressure.

This game not only increases your problem-solving skills but stresses the importance of working with a diverse group. By immersing yourself in these challenging scenarios, you're effectively training your brain to think creatively and efficiently.

10. 2048

Another number puzzle that stimulates your inherent pattern recognition skills. As you slide tiles, merging numbers to reach the ultimate goal of 2048, you're actively engaging in strategic thinking because having no number to add is game over.

The game's increasing difficulty level forces you to adapt and find newer approaches, stimulating your mind and improving your cognitive flexibility. It's a certified IQ-boosting game.

 10 Games to Increase Your IQ

Conclusion

Ameera might have been a genius with a high IQ. But whether it was because she still adds all the numbers she sees because she routinely sits down with her father for a blitz Chess game or because her grandmother also had an insanely high IQ, It wouldn't matter why. But it does matter what she does with it. Her habits, thankfully, have been helping in developing her cognitive skills. If you, too, are like Ameera, then it's time you take an active role in self-improvement.

The games that increase your IQ can be incorporated into your daily routine to improve your memory, attention, problem-solving skills, and creativity. The point of all this is to make you want to feed your brain in a good way, make it fun and therefore naturally desirable, rather than the usual doom scrolling or other unproductive activities. After all, you are what you eat!

Conclusion