Brain Games for Adults

Brain games are fun to play at gatherings, meetings, kitty parties or on outings. Most of the brain games usually include trick questions and brain teasers, or some very hard riddles. The following are some brain games that you can play in both small and large groups. These games test some of the capabilities of the brain like concentration, memorization and flexibility.

The Stroop Test
The Stroop test is a brilliant way to test a person's mental flexibility and concentration. To make a stroop test, all you require is a big piece of colored chart paper and felt pens of four different colors. Now, in the first two rows of the chart paper, write down the names of the felt pen colors with the felt pens of corresponding colors. For example, write 'green' with a green colored felt pen, 'red' with a red colored felt pen and so on. In the next line, again write the names of the colors with the ink of that respective color. In the third and fourth line write the names of the colors in different inks. For example, write 'green' with a red colored felt pen. Now, all you have to do is read the words in every row without taking a pause. This might sound easy but is very difficult to play. At times, we end up saying the name of the color instead of the written word. You may also try some variations like reading the column or just saying the name of the color.

Analogy
This game is a favorite among kids, but can be played by adults too. For this game, you need to select a common topic or theme, say music. The person who starts the game will say a particular word related to music such as 'the Beetles'. The person sitting next to him/her has to say another analogical word like the 'John Lennon'. This game is very easy to play in the initial stages but it gets very difficult later. You can try out different topics such as food, or business or even history and geography.

The Face of the Penny
This is a very nice brain game for adults. How many times is a single year do we handle a penny? About a million times, I guess! In this game, all you need to do is list out all the features of a penny. Believe it or not, very few can list out the exact features. Interestingly, not many are aware of the 'face value' of a penny!

Concentrating on Numbers
Among all the brain games for adults, this one is rather popular. Write all the numbers from 1 to 100 in a reverse order (100, 99, 98... and so on), without taking a single pause. Might sound easy but it requires a terrific amount of concentration. Similarly, you can also try some other combination such as writing all the letters of the alphabet in a reverse order or writing the even and odd numbers alternately. If want to make the game even more challenging, you can try out writing only the prime numbers or something extremely complicated such as multiplying all the odd numbers with 2 and writing only the products sequentially, without pausing.

If you are in a small group then it would be appropriate to play some nice math riddles and puzzles. Riddles and tongue twisters also make some interesting brain games, so, the next time you plan a get-together, don't forget to include these challenging games that tease your brain and 'test' it.