Most parents think that games have a bad influence on their children, and they’re probably right if they don’t moderate the amount of time their kids spend playing these games. When children are developing they should play outside as much as possible.

However, playing PC games isn’t all that bad. When you think about the pre-computer era, we had sudoku, chess, casino games like Casino Just and other brain challenges that helped us think clearer, and more logically, and improve our intelligence overall.

1. Minecraft

Minecraft was developed in 2009. It’s available across almost all platforms, and it’s a very famous game. You’ve probably heard about what it is, but let’s have a quick recap, it’s about creating things with blocks and much more.

So, how is this a game that improves intelligence? It’s a creative game, and you learn best by doing and creating something. It’s also a game that has a learning edition called Minecraft: Education Edition. The game promotes a lot of learning outcomes:

  • Creativity: This is a rare game where you can build anything you imagine, so creativity is highly encouraged, and you develop problem-solving skills because you try to build the things you imagine.
  • Collaboration: There is a multiplayer option in Minecraft, and you need to work together and collaborate with other players to assign tasks appropriately and achieve a common goal.
  • Ecology: Creating sustainable environments while managing resources helps children learn these concepts.
  • Computational thinking: You can code up some automation, mods, or even mini-games in Minecraft: Education Edition, a fun activity, but also an educational one as you learn computational thinking bit by bit.

2. Destiny 2

Although it’s an FPS (First Person Shooter), there are certain cognitive benefits you can get from this game. With Destiny 2, it’s even better when you have someone boosting you because you learn more quickly. Of course, play in moderation, and you’ll notice these benefits:

  • Problem-solving: Some challenges require you to think and solve them. These challenges develop problem-solving skills, which are important because they increase your power level.
  • Reflexes: Sometimes, you get into situations where you need good reflexes and shoot the opponents in the game.
  • Resource management: As in most games, you need to know when to use ammo, and how to manage your money.
  • Hand-eye coordination: You need to aim well to win this game, so you need to develop good hand-eye coordination.
  • Decision-making: When you have a timed mission you need to make decisions quickly, and it’s the same when you have a combat encounter.

3. Civilization

Civilization is a very complicated game because you’re trying to run a civilization. It’s extremely interesting, as the entire series is built on historical events. Here are a few benefits you can experience from Civilization:

  • Critical thinking: We’re talking diplomacy, economy, technology, and so many more things a player needs to take into account to get ahead. That’s where critical thinking development comes in.
  • Problem-solving: As a player, you manage resources, you face your rivals, and there’s a plethora of unexpected events that can occur.
  • Planning: Because the game is based on taking turns, you need to think ahead and plan your next move before your opponent’s move is finished.
  • History: The inspiration for making a game like Civilization came from the real world, so there’s a chance that you’ll improve on your history knowledge.
  • Strategy: Anything you choose to pursue in the game, war, economy, diplomacy, etc. you’ll need to think strategically and develop it.

4. Valorant

With Valorant the benefits are more like the ones you get from Destiny 2. You need to have good reflexes and you need to have good hand-eye coordination. So, by playing it, you’ll practice hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, decision-making, collaboration, and strategy.

5. Portal

Portal is an entirely new dimension of gameplay and learning combined. There are several cognitive benefits Portal game players can reap:

  • Problem-solving: Everything you do from the start of the game becomes more and more difficult, i.e. the challenges become more challenging. So, you need to think clearly and experiment to solve these challenges.
  • Logic: This is where cause-effect comes in. To play the game you must be able to understand these relationships see patterns occur, and think logically to progress.
  • Spatial awareness: Using teleportation, players need to navigate and manipulate objects by visualizing three-dimensional spaces and understanding how an object can move through them. 
  • Learning by mistakes: You need to play until you get it right because the first approach you take to solving the issue is most likely not going to be the correct one.

Conclusion

There are actually many more games that improve your cognitive skills, but it’s very important to play them moderately, especially during the developmental stages of life. Screen time can be good if you know how to use it well. Try some of these games and see the results.