It is without a doubt that playing board games offers a plethora of benefits. Doing so can help reduce stress, enable you to strengthen connections with friends and family, and allow you to express your competitive side. Though, besides the fun, games can also aid to improve cognitive skills, such as one’s memory. If you’re particularly after a game to serve this purpose, look no further, because we’ve collated a list of the top five games to help improve your memory.
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1. Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is at the top of the list for those on the hunt for the ultimate memory game. Amongst all age groups, Trivial Pursuit is a huge fan favorite and is all about knowledge. This game is not only fun, and exciting, but also works to stimulate the brain and can contribute to greater cognitive function. In our day to day lives, we absorb an immense amount of information that often gets stored within our memory banks.
Trivial pursuit offers players the opportunity to unlock this information and share their knowledge on six topic categories with 2,400 questions. As a result, participants are able to learn from each other and recollect obscure facts and niche topical information to win the game.
2. Clue
Clue (or Cluedo) is a fantastic board game to help improve memory by enhancing one’s ability to retain short-term information. This mystery game allows players to demonstrate their detective skills by gathering evidence and investigating a murder. The overall objective of Clue is to solve a murder by discovering who the culprit is, what weapon was used to commit the crime, and where the crime was committed.
As such, and in order to win the game, participants must remember every detail as the game ensues (i.e., which cards have been revealed, and who owns those cards) and use a process of elimination to reveal the murderer. Due to the strategic and investigative nature of the game, players are thus, able to harness their deductive reasoning, critical thinking, and memory retention skills in a fun and creative manner.
3. Chess
Chess is often perceived as a strategic game for players to exercise their brains. The classic game is designed to be mentally intensive and challenges opponents’ intellect. As a result, chess offers a plethora of cognitive benefits, including memory training and enhancement. To play, each opponent must rely on their short-term memory to understand the rules, analyze the board, and strategize each move. In order to win the game, players must also anticipate their opponent’s move and focus on the end goal, thereby, also working to exercise their long-term memory function.
4. Scrabble
Suitable for all ages, Scrabble is a household board game that is known to improve vocabulary. In addition to vocabulary improvement, this classic serves to enhance cognitive abilities, including critical thinking, and memory retention. In the competition for the highest score, this fun-filled game challenges participants to form words with a limited selection of letters and spaces on the board. The mechanics of the game works to trigger players’ memory and enhance their lexicon by recollecting words and expanding their vocabulary.
5. Monopoly
This timeless board game is fun, family-friendly, and also works to exercise the cerebral cortex – the part of the brain responsible for perception, thought processes, and memory. Monopoly entices all audiences and allows players to put their math, investing, and finance skills. This game also aids in developing and boosting memory skills due to the many rules and instructions that must be understood to play the game.
In acquiring properties, players need to make strategic decisions about their spending and investments. With the ultimate goal of the game to build a property empire and avoid bankruptcy, players will need to think critically and logically, thereby increasing brain function.
Based on our board game reviews, this list of classics is sure to fulfill a two-fold purpose – to satisfy game enthusiasts and enhance mental abilities. Working to improve memory does not always need to be a tedious task. Instead, take a hint from us and play a board game to unwind, have fun, and soak up the cognitive benefits that these games have to offer.
If you are interested in even more entertainment-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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