In the mid-2000s, the concept of brain training gained popularity, especially among high-achieving individuals. Brain training is often gamified, such as in Sudoku or Wordle, to encourage people to practice domain-independent cognitive skills. Advocates claimed that by practicing fundamental reasoning, memory, and problem-solving skills, a person can globally improve cognitive function.33 The scientific evidence, however, suggests that these claims are true only locally, meaning that performance improves on only the practiced tasks.28 For example, if people practice memorizing long lists of numbers, then they get better at memorizing long lists of numbers but at no other memory tasks.39

By 2004, video games were well into their adolescence. The war between Sega and Nintendo that defined the early 1990s was in the rear-view mirror – the PlayStation had knocked both of them off their perch, and Microsoft had released the Xbox. The critical and commercial hits of the day were not cartoon platformers but operatic space shooters (Halo) and anarchic crime games (Grand Theft Auto). There were lots of guns, and most games were embracing increasingly cinematic cutscenes. Nintendo, meanwhile, had fallen into third place with its Game Cube home console – but it still owned the handheld game market with the Game Boy Advance.

We understand video games might not be for everybody. You may not have time to play them, think they're too difficult, or simply don't find them interesting. But if you've ever had the urge to test your Sudoku skills, complete a word search or even play a quick card game, there are some great video games that might pique your interest. From brain training exercises to educational simulators, this selection of pick up and play games are ideal for non-gamers. Do you need more board games to keep you and your family occupied at home? If so, you might want to try your hand at 51 Worldwide Games.

Do you like to keep your mind busy with numeracy, literacy and memory games? If so, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch could be a great way to give your brain a workout, even if you don't normally play video games. Whether you played the original version on the handheld Nintendo DS console in 2006 or you're new to the series, this updated Nintendo Switch game, which was released in January 2020, offers classic and new exercises to help strengthen your mind. The £22.99 game features a series of daily exercises that challenge your information processing speed, short-term memory and self-control to calculate your brain age. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training could be a great way to give your brain a workout You can also play multiplayer and challenge friends and family by using one Joy-Con each.

People who regularly play non-digital games such as Bingo, chess, cards or crosswords in their 70s could enjoy better cognitive ability later in life, finds study. Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh found that those who routinely played the games scored better on memory and thinking tests than non-players. The team tested 1000 people aged 70 for memory, problem solving, thinking speed and general thinking ability - the same people were tested every three years until they reached 79. People who increased game playing from ages 70 to 76 were more likely to maintain certain thinking skills as they grew older. The study also found that a behaviour change in later life could still make a difference.

A sheen is starting to appear on Rocky Blumhagen's forehead, just below his gray hair. He's marching in place in a starkly lit room decked out with two large flatscreens. On both of the TVs, a volcano lets off steam through wide cracks glowing with lava, their roar muffling the Andean percussion and flutes on the soundtrack. Rocky reaches out his left hand, as if to grasp a coin from midair, and one of them disappears with a brrring. "I don't know if I can do it," he says to a guy named Josh sitting nearby in a felt-covered lounge chair. He looks up from his iPad, watching Rocky, age 66, grab, jog, kick, and reach his way through the videogame. "Keep it up," Josh says as the heart monitor in the corner of the screen reads 129.

There has been a rise in commercial brain-training programs in the last few years, with games such as the ones from Lumosity, which claim to tap cognitive functions such as attention, memory and cognitive flexibility gaining prominence. However, a new study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and published in the July 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests these training games or commercial brain-training programs do not boost people's neural activity and overall thinking abilities to make them think "smarter." Researchers analyzed brain functioning among 128 young adults between the age group of 18 to 35 years, who were given brain-training or made to play video games and Lumosity games five times a week for 10 weeks. The study found that the ones who played Lumosity games had not become better in terms of cognitive performance or standard tests of memory and attention as compared to players of computer video games. Researchers found that the individuals who played Lumosity games also did not show any differences or betterment in brain activity during decision-making tasks as compared to the ones who played video games.

Scientists have developed a mind-controlled robotic hand that allows people with certain types of spinal injuries to perform everyday tasks such as using a fork or drinking from a cup. The low-cost device was tested in Spain on six people with quadriplegia affecting their ability to grasp or manipulate objects. By wearing a cap that measures electric brain activity and eye movement the users were able to send signals to a tablet computer that controlled the glove-like device attached to their hand. Participants in the small-scale study were able to perform daily activities better with the robotic hand than without, according to results published Tuesday in the journal Science Robotics. The principle of using brain-controlled robotic aids to assist people with quadriplegia isn't new.

Trendy brain training computer games may be a waste of time and money, scientists have revealed. They said that while people may get better at the exercise they practise, there is little or no evidence this helps them in their day to day lives. Numerous companies make packages of games, puzzles and exercises that are designed to improve memory, boost attention span or simply keep the mind sharp into old age. Brain training computer games may be a waste of time and money, scientists said last night. Researchers examined more than 130 studies into brain training.

If you're intent on keeping dementia at bay, new research suggests you'll need more than crossword puzzles, aerobic exercise and an active social life. In a study released Sunday, researchers found that older adults who did exercises to shore up the speed at which they processed visual information could cut by nearly half their likelihood of cognitive decline or dementia over a 10-year period. The new clinical trial results, presented Sunday at the Alzheimer's Assn.'s International Conference in Toronto, establish specialized brain training as a potentially powerful strategy to prevent Alzheimer's Disease and other afflictions, including normal aging, that sap memory and reduce function. With 76 million baby boomers reaching the age of maximum vulnerability to Alzheimer's and with no effective treatments available to alter the disease's progression, researchers are keen to find ways to prevent or delay the onset of the memory-robbing disease. The new research suggests that even years after it is administered, an inexpensive intervention without unwanted side effects might forestall dementia symptoms.