Video games have long been perceived to be harmful to kids. However, this notion is changing rapidly. Various researches have proved that playing video games has a positive effect on the human mind, and these benefits can transform a young mind.
Kids are always looking for activities, and video games can help them have fun and also hone their cognitive skills. This blog features some of the most popular online games that can help boost brain power and improve the skills of kids:
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a famed action game that enables players to exercise their brain muscles every second. Those who play action games like COD are more decisive and quick thinkers than those who are not. You also tend to react faster when you play a game like Call of Duty.
The skills learned in this game can prove to be useful at any point in your life. Moreover, playing action games is one of the best things you can do to strengthen your cognitive skills.
Water Jars
Water Jars by Unlimited Gamez Mo is another game that can boost the mental and cognitive skills of kids. Like most other strategy games, Water Jars also pushes the mental capabilities of the young mind to the max.
Kids can learn the basics of measurement and quantities because this game asks the player to sort water in jars. In this game, the player has to take water jars to a stream and fill exactly six liters of water in them.
To fill every jar with the same amount of water, one has to think and analyze the quantity of water available in each jar and how much more water it can hold. The game is also available in 10 different languages.
Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox game, but it is much more than the basic version that we used to play as kids. It is an open-world game where you have to build new structures using blocks. Blocks represent trees, sand, water, bricks, etc.
Players explore the vast terrain of the game and have to build, stroll, and fight on it. It enhances your ability to strategize for a longer duration and be creative. Kids with a creative flair will have fun playing Minecraft because the blocks can be used to build anything they like.
Civilization
Civilization is a series of strategy games that allow the player to lead an entire civilization. The developers have employed the best thinkers and creators to design this game. As a player, you have to come up with a strategy that will make you a ruler of the world.
Players advance into the game from the beginning of humankind until the space age. They have to devise a plan to rule over kingdoms, adopt new technologies, act diplomatically, and fight off the enemies.
Civilization will shape kids’ minds in various ways and hone their problem-solving skills. So make sure you introduce them to this cool strategy game.
NBA
NBA fans can have a larger than life experience while playing the NBA’s official video game. The latest entrant in this franchise is the NBA 2K18, which is a thrilling, adrenaline-packed game. The interface of the game brings you as close to the court as you could ever imagine, and it looks almost real.
As a player, you have the control of moves like rebounding, blocking, and stealing, so you stay engaged at every step of the game. The quick runs and strategy part of this game is a mood lifter for kids, as well as an excellent way to teach them about professional sports early on.
Destiny
Coronavirus has taught us all one thing for sure: you need to take care of yourself to survive a global pandemic. If we do not take care, we will lose at the game called life.
Destiny is a game that will sharpen and polish your survival skills. As the guardian of the last human settlement on earth, you are responsible for taking care of the world. It is a role-playing, multiplayer game that will surely teach kids more about the survival mindset.
Witcher
Fancy trying what a monster hunter does in a day? The Witcher is a good game to learn about that. As a role-playing game, it teaches you how to fight, hunt, and plan to retrieve your missing daughter.
You will go on a real-world adventure where you encounter several hurdles on the way. This game will teach kids about punishment and rewards mechanism as well because it rewards the player with gold coins after every successful mission.
You can use the coins to protect yourself as you go further into hunting mode. Witcher requires a lot of quick decision making from the player combined with hand-eye coordination and swift reaction. It also teaches you how to plan to achieve a goal and manage resources at hand to survive.
Tetris
Puzzle games can boost your brainpower and improve cognitive skills, as studied by Mind Researcher Network. There are countless online applications and websites which give you access to online Tetris, which are just as effective as the real game.
This puzzle game is one of the classics, and technology has now brought it online. Kids learning Tetris online can report greater brain efficiency and critical thinking skills.
Brain Age 2
As the name suggests, Brain Age 2 is a highly efficient brain training game developed by Dr. Kawashima. Numerous researches have found that when playing brain-training games at school, kids perform better as compared to their previous accomplishments.
The players have to determine their brain age before starting the game. The age ranges from 20 to 80, with 20 being the lowest. It is done to identify puzzles that are most suited to the players according to their mental age.
There are also mini puzzles in the game to help you improve your brain age. The efficacy of this game is backed by science, and it is just as fun as an action game.
Final word
These are some of the games that can prove to be a productive activity to improve your kids’ mental and cognitive skills. The trend of game-based learning is gaining traction among parents and teachers alike as it makes learning more fun and engaging for kids.
Thus, as a parent, you shouldn’t be worried if your child is playing games because these games are quite effective in teaching new academic concepts to kids.