Whoever said that all video games were bad for your brain is simply unable to see the value that these games provide to us. For instance, (and I play these games myself on a regular basis), games have been said to provide us with improved problem-solving skills, memorization ability, hand-eye coordination, pattern recognition, etc.
In fact, according to kqed.org, there are actually methods of learning called “Game-based” learning, which in essence uses video games to improve a student’s ability to learn a certain topic – but this is another topic for another day. However, you don’t always have to rely on game-based learning to improve your abilities in specific topics. The games below are actually said to improve certain parts of our ability through simple gameplay.
Cognitive benefits of playing video games
There are quite a few cognitive befits of playing video games. Children who played video games showed (compared to those children who didn’t play video games) enhanced cognitive performance.
In fact, in a study done by Bader et al, it was stated that gaming has been associated with improved cognitive flexibility, by providing one with the skills necessary to perform various tasks in everyday living. Gaming has been said to share a variety of attentional and perceptual demands (peripheral vision, rapid attentional switches, multiple object tracking.) with mundane cognitive tasks while also improving problem solving, logic, reaction time, and creativity.
In recent studies gaming has also been associated with providing attentional benefits such as optimization of attentional resources, improving bottom-up and top-down attention, improvements in peripheral and selective visual attention, and integration between sensorimotor and attentional areas. According to Boot et al, gamers may also benefit from having an enhanced visuospatial working memory capacity.
Gamers have also been said to benefit from or to outperform non-gamers in tasks such as mental rotation, change detection, and multiple object tracking (visuospatial working memory tasks). Individuals who played video games even for short periods of time have been said to do well in cognitive control related functions for longer periods of time – things such as working memory and reading ability in dyslexic children were improved.
Definitions:
- Visuospatial: Relating to or denoting the visual perception of the spatial relationships of objects.
- Attentional: Affecting or involving attention as a mental faculty.
Types of video games we’ll cover
- Strategy game
- Sport games
- Action-adventure games
- Puzzle games
- Shooter games
- Simulation games
List of 28 video games that can be good for the brain
Strategy
Starcraft Franchise
Does playing Starcraft make you smarter?
In essence, Starcraft is a game that requires you to understand basic strategy so that you’re able to defeat the hordes of aliens you’ll encounter during gameplay. Because of the number of different species, tactics, and resources, you’ll have to understand and juggle during gameplay Spacecraft has been said to enhance a person’s basic brain elasticity – or the ability to perform under changing conditions.
There was even a study done that showed that real time strategy games such as Starcraft can help improve a person’s multi-tasking abilities and brain agility. Why? Because games that require you to make decisions quickly and often with limited information can help a person prioritize their focus in the most efficient way possible.
Speaking from personal experience, games that require me to constantly make decisions and allocate certain resources in a way that makes sure that I’m protected in the future has helped me develop my ability to adapt under certain changing conditions – exactly what the above description states.
Xcom Enemy Unknown
Does XCom Enemy Unknown help the brain?
XCOM Enemy Unknown is another game that focuses very heavily on planning and allocating resources in a way that will ensure the safety of your following, the human race. That’s a lot of pressure, isn’t it? In this game you’ll be managing an entire army base, doing research, and planning missions for your staff.
Civilization Franchise
Does Civilization make you smarter?
In Civilization, your primary focus is actually to rule the world and build up the foundation of the human race. Unsurprisingly Civilization is considered to be one of the best strategy games of this age mainly because of the variety of activities that you’ll be engaging in. During gameplay you’ll have to: wage wars, perform in political situations, develop your technological infrastructure, and basically do battle with the leaders of your world. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.
Shooter
Call of Duty Franchise
Is Call of Duty good for the brain?
I can’t lie to you, Call of Duty has been one of my favorite games for quite some time. Call of Duty is such a versatile game that many people simply aren’t able to fully see the benefits that it offers to its players. For instance, the ever-changing landscape of the series and the complexity of each of the levels (depending on the difficulty settings) requires players to develop an intense amount of hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, reasoning, etc. The same actually goes for most first-person shooter games. A benefit that’s a bit more specific to COD game play is that the game recently got an update that improved the dark contrast of the screen. What does this mean?
Well, now you’re able to discern between lighter dark patches on the screen and darker dark patches on the screen. How does this help? Well, speaking for myself (as well as from a number of studies) the ability to discern between light and dark patches on a screen helps us to be able to see dark and lighter objects during activities such as driving. How does that help? Well, try driving in the dark and not being able to see shades of darkness. Say hi to that deer when you hit it for me.
Titanfall
Does Titanfall make you smarter?
Titanfall is actually kind of interesting. Why? Well, you’re basically controlling a giant robot or mech called a Titan and thrown into battle all over the war-ridden space colonies. The technology you’ll find in these games is very “high tech” and allows you to do certain things such as turn invisible, gain x-ray vision, and have super speed (for a limited amount of time. Titanfall requires you to constantly engage in changing tactics that’ll help you gain the standard advantages offered by shooter games as well as improved brain elasticity.
Battlefield 4
Is Battlefield good for your brain?
In Battlefield 4 you’ll play a person who goes by the name of Sergeant Recker, a commander over a squadron of soldiers. The cool thing about this game is that you’ll be able to do things such as compete on a multi-terrain format (water, air, land). In game, you’re allowed to use a variety of different weapons formats as well as hone your survival skills to make sure that you’re able to actually make it through to the end of the game. In this game, you’ll come across a wide variety of different pieces of information, all of which may not be completely necessary for you to hold on to. For this reason, it’s said to be beneficial for you to judge which piece of information you to hold on to (reason and decision making abilities).
Destiny Franchise
Is Destiny good for your brain?
Destiny is probably one of the other cooler games on this list. Why? Well, as with other games on this list you’re protecting something but, unlike with those games you’ll be forced to become the guardian of the entire planet. You’ll travel through space exploring the entire solar system as well as work on destroying/battling all of our enemies. You’ll have the option of choosing between a nearly unlimited number of suits of armor, weapon, and visual aspect combos which helps the game remain exciting to play as well. Although Destiny is considered to be a part of the FPS genre it also combines MMO and RPG aspects, which is interesting.
Overwatch
Will Overwatch make you smarter?
If you’re looking for an online, multiplayer FPS then Overwatch is probably another safe bet for you to take. Not only because of the MMO design of it all but because of the fact that the game is such an “intense” one. During gameplay, you’ll have to do things such as constantly making judgement calls (which can be tiring in and of itself if you’re not used to it), figure out where your enemies are, choose characters etc. You have the option to choose between a variety of realistic and futuristic weapons to improve gameplay.
Because of all of the coordinative abilities that you’ll need to complete the game, you’ll be forced to improve yourself in the following areas: thinking strategically, hand-eye coordination, and decision making.
Action Role Playing
Diablo Franchise
Is Diablo good for your brain?
Diablo is very much like Fate or some other game that requires you to basically make decisions with an understanding of how those very decisions will affect your future decisions. There are a number of different classes you can choose from such as Wizard, Crusader, Barbarian, and Witch Doctor – each of which has a different skill set and specialty. Your goal in the game is to (yes, you guessed it) to defeat the all-powerful Diablo, Lord of Terror. In this game you’ll have to perform real-world analysis, battling, and trading of items each of which has a very obvious turnover to everyday life. The results of playing this game are improved spatial awareness, decision-making skills, etc.
Witcher 3 Franchise
Is Witcher good for your brain?
In this game, you’ll be playing as the world-famous Geralt of Riva a person known throughout this fictional world for his ability to hunt and destroy monsters (in other words, a witcher) and who has the sole purpose of finding his young, adopted daughter. Witcher will take you all over the fictional world in this hunt to find your daughter – gaining experience, finishing quests, and repairing objects you need to complete the game are all things that you’ll be asked to do during gameplay by its creators. Due to the fact that you’ll basically have to live a life of your own in the game, you’ll be asked to do a lot of decision-making, improve your hand-eye coordination, flexibility, as well as learn to manage your own resources.
The Elder Scrolls Franchise
Is Skyrim good for your brain?
In the world of Skyrim (the newest Elder Scrolls game) you’ll basically have free reign over the land. You’ll have to explore the land (dungeons, cities, wilderness, etc.) and figure out how to navigate them safely. During gameplay, you have to develop your character so that it has the ability to continually navigate through each of the areas that it’s moving through with little to no difficulty.
Mass Effect Franchise
Is Mass Effect good for your brain?
Have you yet played a live action game that also doubles as a 3rd person shooter? If not then the wildly popular Mass Effect Franchise will fix that for you. During game play, you’ll have to perform quite a bit of customization on your player so that you’re able to react to your surroundings. Not to mention that this game has a sort of domino effect when it comes to decision-making which is a real bonus for those of us who’d like to think about things in terms of chess.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Does Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor make you smarter?
In this game you’ll have the ability to basically control your own Player who goes by the name of Talion. The great thing about the set up of this game is that, while there is a basic mission that each player is asked to complete you also have the option of venturing off and doing your own thing so to speak. Talion, being both a Ranger and a Wraith is able to be leveled up doubly so. This is a great game if your goal is to improve your strategic decision-making abilities.
Simulation
Microsoft Flight Simulator X
Does Microsoft Flight Simulator X make you smarter?
Hey, if you want the experience of flying an airplane without actually flying one all you have to do is play the Microsoft Flight Simulator. Now, this is actually a game that’s meant to be somewhat educational as it focuses on providing a somewhat realistic flight experience to players.
Farming Simulator
Does Farming Simulator make you smarter?
Much like with the above game, the Farming Simulator requires players to take the role of an actual farmer who actually runs a farm (as in raising livestock, crops, etc.)
Puzzle
2048
Does 2048 help your brain?
Now, this is probably my favorite gaming genre of all time but, in this game, particular everything tends is focused more so on logic and mathematical ability. The focus of this game is to swipe tiles around on the screen and to get certain numbers to touch so they can merge into one piece. The sole purpose of this game is to move tiles around until you form a tile with the number 2048, which is cool.
Cut the Rope series
Does Cut the Rope make you smarter?
If you’ve never played this game you’re missing out. This is probably one of the most challenging games I’ve ever played, probably because of the fact that it operates by manipulating the laws of physics – which is awesome. The game is constantly changing and requires that your brain (or level of thinking) changes with it.
Little Big Planet Franchise
Does Little Big Planet make you smarter?
This is another game that made me love puzzle games. This is a platform that requires players to control Sackboy and constantly move around a number of levels, gathering different items, and fighting Negavitron (funny name but it’s something that takes the life away from the surrounding areas of the game) when it spreads. This game requires you to use your mind to create and design places for you and others to enjoy. You are the entire creator of the game, which is completely awesome.
Sports
NBA Franchise
Does NBA 2K make you smarter?
This is kind of like another simulation game but, NBA 2k19 (or whatever number it’s on when you look at this) allows you to live the life of an actual basketball player both business and socially. In the game, you have the ability to make marketing decisions, deal with an agent, and actually play in a basketball game.
FIFA Franchise
Does FIFA make you smarter?
Who doesn’t like a game of FIFA or, should I say, soccer. In this gaming franchise(especially in more recent periods) you’re able to actually get into the heads of your players and understand what’s happening with them as the game goes on.
Madden NFL Franchise
Does Madden NFL make you smarter?
You literally have the ability to understand the gameplay of an NFL game. You also have a trainer who teaches certain cues, and strategies for playing the game.
Action-Adventure
Minecraft
Does Minecraft make you smarter?
Have you ever used or built anything with Legos? If so, then you’ve likely experienced what it’s like to play the awesomely designed game of Minecraft. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to sell this game to you. I’m not. Minecraft literally is an amazing game that allows you to perform almost any activity that you can think of. While you are building things in the game you’re also able to do things like exploring and fighting – the world is literally your oyster. Minecraft helps children understand how to use their imagination, spatial reasoning abilities, etc.
Super Mario 64 Franchise
Does Super Mario 64 help the brain?
Who doesn’t love Super Mario, seriously? This was probably one of the first games I ever had on my DS and I have to say I took to it like a fish to water. In Mario you act as Mario, the legendary plumber who has a thing for Princess Peach (the person who you usually find yourself saving). The gameplay in Super Mario is literally out of this world. There are tons of activities and missions that simply defy human logic and thus require a ton of reasoning ability to safely navigate. Scientific studies suggest that Mario also improves a player’s memory formation, strategic capabilities, and spatial orientation.
Portal Franchise
Is Portal good for your brain?
Basically a study was done comparing the results from playing this game with the results of playing another and, the results of that showed that the game actually does improve a lifters ability to form new pathways in the brain (at least, it’s better at it relative to games like Lumosity).
Tetris
Does Tetris make you smarter?
Basically, Tetris has been said to repair bad eyesight – or rather, the inability for the eyes to work together (amblyopia). There was an experiment done where researchers got together a pair of “magic” goggles that helped players with a “lazy eye” see things in a way that made it easier to use both of their eyes to achieve better gameplay. This is very vague but, research is still being done on the topic that will give more definite reasoning as to the benefits of Tetris to eyesight.
Medal of Honor
Does Medal of Honor make you smarter?
The game Medal of Honor has been said to actually improve a player’s “Visual Prowess” so to speak. Basically, there was a study done that tested non-gamers and partakers in the Medal of Honor franchise and it showed that non-gamers had a much harder time reacting to quick movements by small items than the actual gamers did.
Wii Sports
Does Wii Sports make you smarter?
Funny tidbit of information here, Wii sports has been said to actually improve a person’s capabilities as a surgeon. Why? Well, it’s like this – the design of the remote on the Wii actually helps the players improve their ability to have reduced chances of getting things such as carpal tunnel syndrome. There have actually been studies done on this topic (with control groups and everything) that showed that Wii users are less likely to damage themselves.
Conclusion
Here are a few games that have been shown (or in the process of being shown) to improve brain functioning. Hope this shows that not all video games are bad for you and that you don’t necessarily have to avoid them. However, do play them in moderation – too much of anything can be a bad thing. For more, check out the below resources.
Resources:
https://www.gamedesigning.org/why-video-games-are-good/
http://www.dorkly.com/post/76940/video-games-that-are-good-for-you/page:2
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-22245620
http://www.kurzweilai.net/video-game-playing-found-beneficial-for-the-brain
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