How to Play Brain Training Games
Download word game apps., Do crosswords., Try word-finder games., Learn a new language.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Download word game apps.
If you spend a lot of time on your phone or just want to keep busy while killing time, there are tons of great word game apps.
Most are extremely fun, addictive, and single- or multi-player.
Even better, many of them are available for free.Try “Words with Friends.” This is a multiplayer game modeled on Scrabble: you’re assigned random letters and have to try to form words.
Using rarer letters like “Z” or “Q” earns you more points. “Words with Friends” works on Android, Windows Phone, and iOS.
Find it for free on Google Play or the iTunes store.
Another popular app is the game “Hanging with Friends.” This multiplayer is modeled on the classic “Hangman,” so your aim is create secret words to stump your friends.
Like acrostics? You’ll love Crostix! Here you’ll need to give answers to verbal clues, as in a crossword.
However, you’ll then have to rearrange letters from your answers to form a famous quote.
Of course, you can also play the “analogue” versions of these games, too.
You can get Scrabble at any board game store and find acrostics in many newspapers or in acrostic puzzle books.
Hangman is a game you can play anywhere.
All you need is a sheet of paper and a pen. -
Step 2: Do crosswords.
What’s a 10-letter word for great mental exercise? C-R-O-S-S-W-O-R-D-S.
For a challenge, pick up your local newspaper and find the crossword page.
This game gives verbal clues and asks you to find words of a certain length to fit into an interlocking network.
The right answers will give you hints to later words, as well.One tip is to work through the crossword and answer all the questions you know first.
Then, start again and try to tackle the harder ones.
They’ll be easier once you’ve got some letters to work with.
Try working in pencil.
That way, you can more easily guess or change your answers at a later point.
Pick a difficulty that works for you.
Crosswords come in a range of levels, from the fairly simple to the notoriously hard Saturday New York Times crossword.
If it’s too challenging on your own, find a partner to help! Again, there are also crossword apps available.
Some are free, while others like the NY Times Crossword app are by subscription. , There are plenty more word games beside crosswords.
Another popular genre is various “word-finder” puzzles that ask you to find, match, construct, or memorize words in your own or another language.
These games can be quite a challenge and will give you a satisfying mental workout.
Classic word searches are great, for example, which you can find in word game books or online, like the website WordGames.com.You’ll see a square filled with letters and with words “hidden” inside.
Try to find the words! Try a game like “Split Words,” too.
Here you’ll have to match fragments of different words together under a theme.
Say the theme is “Religion.” You might put together words like “prophet,” “temple,” and “belief.” This game is available at AARP’s free brain games site.“Tower of Babel” is another fun AARP brain game.
In this one, you have to memorize and match foreign language words with pictures. , One of the most rewarding things you can do to keep your brain active and well-tuned is to learn a new language.
The mental benefits of language study are clear – more so than other brain games.
Whether it’s French, Spanish, Chinese, or Swahili, studies show that learning a second or third tongue correlates with better memory, problem solving, verbal and spatial reasoning, and may offset age-related cognitive losses.Sign up for a language course.
Look to see what your community college offers or whether you can take a course at a local cultural center.
If you’d rather do it yourself, buy an introductory book and work your way through the lessons.
Or, start on online study program.
Duolingo is a popular site that uses drills for reading, writing, and speaking and offers study incentives with a “points program.” They also send reminders to study if you download their app. -
Step 3: Try word-finder games.
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Step 4: Learn a new language.
Detailed Guide
If you spend a lot of time on your phone or just want to keep busy while killing time, there are tons of great word game apps.
Most are extremely fun, addictive, and single- or multi-player.
Even better, many of them are available for free.Try “Words with Friends.” This is a multiplayer game modeled on Scrabble: you’re assigned random letters and have to try to form words.
Using rarer letters like “Z” or “Q” earns you more points. “Words with Friends” works on Android, Windows Phone, and iOS.
Find it for free on Google Play or the iTunes store.
Another popular app is the game “Hanging with Friends.” This multiplayer is modeled on the classic “Hangman,” so your aim is create secret words to stump your friends.
Like acrostics? You’ll love Crostix! Here you’ll need to give answers to verbal clues, as in a crossword.
However, you’ll then have to rearrange letters from your answers to form a famous quote.
Of course, you can also play the “analogue” versions of these games, too.
You can get Scrabble at any board game store and find acrostics in many newspapers or in acrostic puzzle books.
Hangman is a game you can play anywhere.
All you need is a sheet of paper and a pen.
What’s a 10-letter word for great mental exercise? C-R-O-S-S-W-O-R-D-S.
For a challenge, pick up your local newspaper and find the crossword page.
This game gives verbal clues and asks you to find words of a certain length to fit into an interlocking network.
The right answers will give you hints to later words, as well.One tip is to work through the crossword and answer all the questions you know first.
Then, start again and try to tackle the harder ones.
They’ll be easier once you’ve got some letters to work with.
Try working in pencil.
That way, you can more easily guess or change your answers at a later point.
Pick a difficulty that works for you.
Crosswords come in a range of levels, from the fairly simple to the notoriously hard Saturday New York Times crossword.
If it’s too challenging on your own, find a partner to help! Again, there are also crossword apps available.
Some are free, while others like the NY Times Crossword app are by subscription. , There are plenty more word games beside crosswords.
Another popular genre is various “word-finder” puzzles that ask you to find, match, construct, or memorize words in your own or another language.
These games can be quite a challenge and will give you a satisfying mental workout.
Classic word searches are great, for example, which you can find in word game books or online, like the website WordGames.com.You’ll see a square filled with letters and with words “hidden” inside.
Try to find the words! Try a game like “Split Words,” too.
Here you’ll have to match fragments of different words together under a theme.
Say the theme is “Religion.” You might put together words like “prophet,” “temple,” and “belief.” This game is available at AARP’s free brain games site.“Tower of Babel” is another fun AARP brain game.
In this one, you have to memorize and match foreign language words with pictures. , One of the most rewarding things you can do to keep your brain active and well-tuned is to learn a new language.
The mental benefits of language study are clear – more so than other brain games.
Whether it’s French, Spanish, Chinese, or Swahili, studies show that learning a second or third tongue correlates with better memory, problem solving, verbal and spatial reasoning, and may offset age-related cognitive losses.Sign up for a language course.
Look to see what your community college offers or whether you can take a course at a local cultural center.
If you’d rather do it yourself, buy an introductory book and work your way through the lessons.
Or, start on online study program.
Duolingo is a popular site that uses drills for reading, writing, and speaking and offers study incentives with a “points program.” They also send reminders to study if you download their app.
About the Author
Amy Hughes
Experienced content creator specializing in practical skills guides and tutorials.
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