Games Will Improve Your Intelligence and Make You a Better Person
During the 19th century, phrenology was a popular scientific idea that was based on the idea that the brain – and therefore the mind – had certain areas for specific functions. For example, that specific areas of the brain accounted for “love”, while others took control over “poetic talent” and “the memory of words”. With this in mind (excuse the bad joke), here is a list that compiles some of the more famous computer and video game series/genres that will give the various phrenological parts of the brain a serious workout through puzzles, tests and interaction, as well as some of the games hopefully providing a fond sense of nostalgia for some of us! Puzzles. The Dr. Brain series of games started out in the early 90s, with the most recent addition being in 1996, after which, production was taken over by a different company, and the theme of the games moved slightly towards more action. Avid gamers or even those with a penchant for the occasional puzzle/adventure game may remember at least one from this series, which focuses mainly on puzzle solving skills which test various aspects of intelligence.
- Castle of Dr. Brain: The first game in the series, the focus of the puzzles in this one are mostly math and logic-related. The story places you as a character responding to a job advertisement for Dr. Brain’s assistant.
- The Island of Dr. Brain: As the plans for his latest project have been stolen, Dr. Brain asks if you can help him out and he sends you to an island filled with various puzzles to get the plans back. This game in the series had a wider range of puzzles, including math, language, art and memory.
- The Lost Mind of Dr. Brain: The third in the series sees the Dr’s mind swapped with that of his pet lab rat, Rathbone. This was a solid puzzle game, whereas in the other two you had some freedom of movement, much like an adventure game. You’ll find the puzzles here will test you a little bit more, focusing on memory, math, logic, science and even some puzzles requiring skill and dexterity.
- The Time Warp of Dr. Brain: Accidentally, the doctor has travelled into an alternate puzzle dimension, and the only way to escape is to solve the puzzles that get in your way! Due to the fact that time travelplays an important part in this game, the user will find that most of the puzzles will be based on space and time.
Adventure
At some point in everyone’s gaming career, they will come across one from this series: The famous Monkey Island series of games! A series of point and click adventure games were a tour de force of humor, challenge and excitement. Made by George Lucas’ Lucasarts wing of his Lucas franchise (with the other being Lucasfilm, that gave us Star Wars, amongst other things), the games gave us over 10 years of monkey-related fun, with the debut game hitting shelves in 1990 and the latest (but hopefully not last) in the series being released in 2000. With these games, you can expect to learn more about problem solving through item-based puzzles, as well as problems revolving around language skills and choosing the right way to do a particular task. This series will broaden the mind as well as introduce the player to some basic fundamentals of comedy!
- The Secret of Monkey Island: The beginning of an epic saga involving mainly pirates and monkeys. Wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood has to prove to his fellow pirates that he’s got what it takes, but the evil ghost pirate LeChuck is out to thwart him and steal away the love of his life.
- Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge: Having unwittingly revived a previously defeated LeChuck whilst on the hunt for legendary treasure Big Whoop, Guybrush now has to puzzle-solve his way to victory and rectify this mistake!
- The Curse of Monkey Island: Guybrush stupidly turns Elaine – his love – into a golden statue by giving her a cursed ring as an engagement gift. She is quickly stolen by pirates and has the task of tracking her down and somehow removing the curse. An even angrier LeChuck is hot on his heels and determined to beat Guybrush this time around!
- Escape From Monkey Island: The fourth and – so far – final part of the series. Making the move to fully 3D, rather than its previous 2D incarnations, this episode sees Guybrush return home with Elaine – who is now his wife – to find that she’s now been declared dead and that her former post as governor is open for election. Simultaneously puzzling and battling old foes, Guybrush must outwit his dastardly opponents and once again come out on top!
Strategy and Planning
Planning various strategies in our heads can be a great way to improve the way in which with think and how we rationally come up solutions to the various problems we might face in life. What better way to practice this valuable life-skill than by playing strategy games? The Age of Empires series of games has been going strong for many years now (starting in 1997 and still be released to this day) and selling over 15 million copies! Developed by Ensemble Studios but published by Microsoft, this series has kept the fans coming back for more each time a new release is brought out. The style is that of real-time strategy coupled with the series’ setting of being a historical one. The idea is to start off as a small civilization with very low-tech items and structures to choose from, as you advance through skill, cunning and effective resource management, you’ll advance through the various Ages of Man in order to achieve victory, usually through total strategic control of various key points, or the completion of mission objectives that follow an historical storyline or campaign, which will no doubt also educate a user on many of the historical aspects contained within the game!
- Age of Empires: The original in the series, and – arguably – the most fondly remembered. The aim of the game is to take your handful of hunter-gatherers from the Stone Age, and build your civilization up by advancing through the Ages, and into a magnificent empire in the Iron Age.
- Age of Empires 2: Subtitled “The Age of Kings”, this installment was set in the Middle Ages, and places you as a king (or equivalent, depending on the nation you’re in control of) of a specific nation. The Ages have been changed for this version, and they now include: the Dark Ages, followed by the Feudal Age, which moves on to the Castle Age, with the last Age being the Imperial Age, which has been likened to the early years of the Renaissance.
- Age of Empires on the Nintendo DS: For those of us that like our games to be a little more accessible or simply just prefer gaming on-the-go, The Age of Kings has also been released on the portable console, the Nintendo DS. Similar to the 2nd game in the series, it has one major difference, instead of the usual real-time manner in which the game’s events unfold, this has been changed to a turn-based format, allowing for a different style of play and for more synapses to be tuned up to increase the rate at which you can rationalize.
Interpersonal and Social Skills
So far, mainly the mathematic/problem-solving parts of the brain have been addressed and there’s another side to using your mind that will help you out greatly if regularly exercised and frequently used; that’s the social side of things! Every single day of our life we will use some aspect of our social psyche, be it in our daily interactions with people, or in our writing, or even at just cursing the alarm clock when it wakes us up in the morning. Social skills are an important part of our lives and the following games are the dominant mode in which to play in a social environment: with many other gamers, each with their own skills, beliefs and social aptitude. So buckle in and don’t be afraid to talk to strangers!
- World of Warcraft: This is the first in the list of MMO games, Massively Multiplayer Online games. These are basically games played over the internet in which many other people will be – and usually are – playing at the same time. This particular game is what’s referred to as a MMORPG, or a MMO Role-Playing Game. This game is set in the fantasy world of Azeroth, where a war is being waged between the two sides of the Alliance and Horde. With over 2 million users in the US (and another 8 million all over the world), there’s no shortage of people to talk to as you’ll be talking strategy together and organizing how to go about specific tasks, as well as general chat about everyday things, it’ll be a great help to your own personal skills, as it’s been said that people naturally quiet in real life can really come out of their shell online!
- EverQuest: This is perhaps one of the forefathers of most MMORPGS today, as it was started right back in 1999 when MMORPGS weren’t particularly in the limelight as much as they are today. Jokingly referred to as EverCrack (in a reference to the drug) or NeverRest, in reference to the game’s incredibly addictive nature, and often by the very people that play it! This is a game with a very dedicated fan base, so no matter how old/young or new/experienced you might be, someone will always be willing to interact with you in some way, which is always a good thing to know, especially if the “world” is new to you.
- Ultima Online: The longest running MMORPG in history, according to the Guinness Book of Records, as it first started in 1997. Thankfully it’s since received a few graphical updates to replace the ageing looks that it used to have, bringing it into the modern age with style. With hundreds of thousands of subscribers, you’ll be joining a community that’s brimming with experience and knowledge just waiting to be shared, so dive right in and get socializing!
- Neocron: Arguably the first cyberpunk MMO when first released in 2002. This is for those that may want a little grit in preference to the stereotypical fantasy approach, allowing for a slightly difference route to social and personal improvement.
- Second Life: For an entirely different approach to the online social gaming scene, this might be your best bet! This “game” isn’t even really a game at all, but an entire virtual world that exists on the internet! Here the emphasis is on creation, construction, design, social and (inter)personal skills rather than the prevalent combat found in other MMOs. The aim here is to just “exist” as you would in the real world, you go about your daily life, building, talking, eating and sleeping…The usual. Maybe even organize a class group outing into Second Life for added experience benefits!
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