What games do you play to keep your brain healthy?

[AARPTeri]

Playing brain games may lower dementia, do you play a game daily?  Here is a great article on this:  https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2017/brain-games-lower-dementia-fd.html

Share here what games do you play.

[j551112f]

I always loved Scrabble but when you play Scrabble online, it's been my experience that the rules are very lax, people can use words that really aren't words, they are spelled incorrectly but they get away with it.   Chess seems to be complicated to me. But, never knew anyone who had real experience with the game and my attention span can be very short at times.  I get bored with Solitaire because it's a "solitary" game and I like to play online games with other people.  I can play online Checkers with other players for a few hours without losing interest. I was surprised at how good some people are at that game.  I used to think it was a game for little kids but no.

[h83891f]

I'm surprised that I haven't read chess in any of these replies.  Other than Go, there isn't any game more stimulating than chess.  I've been playing off and on since I was 15. I commute to NYC daily and it provides me with a way to pass the time on the train as I play against the app on my phone.

Harry

[j551112f]

I get bored easily, never played games as a kid and discovered online Checkers. I play against other people and I think it's kind of fun.

[JudethK840640]

I do a lot of crossord puzzles and play Free Cell and Spider Solitaire.

[JamesD287410]

In order, the Jumble, Sudoku, and crossword puzzle found in the Philadelphia Inquirer get my neurons moving just after breakfast. And like Rainman, I have to watch Jeopardy every weekday evening.

[tm88274850]

I play Mensa Kakuro. It's Sudoku on steroids.

[ll16112582]

I play sudoku, solitair and Lumosity

[Deboo]

I don't get the newspaper every day, but I enjoy doing the Jumble when I do.  Every night before going to bed I play games on my tablet until I'm sleepy.  I play Spades, Hearts, Solitaire, 7 Words and Scrabble against the computer.  I occasionally play Backgammon and Word Search on it, too.  I also bring my tablet to the doctor's office and other appointments to entertain myself while waiting.  I have these games on my smart phone, too, and I play them in restaurants and such while waiting for my friends to join me.  I'm heavily into genealogy research, too.  I research almost daily, and it keeps my mind ticking while searching for those elusive new clues!  : )

[golfbowl]

I enjoy crossword puzzles as well as online solitaire. I too watch and play along with Jeopardy. Locally in the Washington DC TV viewing area, we have a high school quiz show, "It's Academic" on Saturday mornings which covers literature, history, art, mathematics and sciences. 

[Lorddavud]

I solve the Jumble and Cryptoquote daily.  Occasionally, I do the crossword puzzle.  And, I play both Solitaire and Mahjong online.  I play Trivia Crack on my phone.  Occasionally, I play HQ Trivia, but there's too much hipster clowning around, and they're not truthful about the questions being "progressively" harder.  There's three simple questions, then one bizzare question that about half the players get wrong . . . and get eliminated, then there are eight questions of varying difficulty, but by then you're just a spectator.  I also play along while watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune!

[robertothon]

- Suduku - keeps me going .

[2Papa]

I do Sudoku puzzles daily.  After all, it is the puzzle sensation that's sweeping the nation!

[s166280s]

I do online games.  I also love word search, Finding words on my game site.  They give you clues and you put the letters where they belong.  I play Bingo also.  I read magazines and lots of emails.  I do feel like the email keeps my mind going

[sd4745]

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@s166280s wrote:

I do online games.  I also love word search, Finding words on my game site.  They give you clues and you put the letters where they belong.    I read magazines and lots of emails.  I do feel like the email keeps my mind going

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My favorite games all Mahjong games Solitiare

[bc2055]

RUMMIKUB.... online and With Friends and I prefer to read lots

[bc2055]

My favorite is Rummikub both with my husband and online and I also play solitaire. Plus I love to read all the time.

[sd4745]

My favorite games all Mahjong games Solitiare

[m342424j]

To AARP Teri -

Can you please either add a version of the UFOV games you mention to your website,

with a link to adding more for payment since there don't seem to be any free ones?

Or, can you help AARP members get Double Decision from Posit Science at a reduced Senior Rate...?

If any AARP members also have this year's JacquieLawson.com ALPINE Advent Calendar,

the Bear Run works effectively as a UFOV!

[rockaria]

I like crossword puzzles & other word puzzles.  Sometimes I do Sudoku, but I'm more into words than numbers.  And I read a lot.  Books, magazines, whatever, to keep the mind engaged.

[DavidC118800]

I actually love word games like Scrabble.

[pb2548]

I also do crosswords.  The harder they are, the better I like them!  I also am a voracious reader.

I also like Bejeweled Butterflies and Mine.  I play Free Cell too.

[JanC7]

I do like games, but I'm a big believer in sports - not only for your brain, but for providing other benefits as well.

I took up tennis in my late 40s, and it does a number of wonderful things: it's very social (have met a number of good friends through organized tennis); it keeps you moving; every point is a little different so you have to strategize the entire time you're playing (the brain part); it keeps you committed (you can't let down your partner by deciding it's "too cold" or you're "too tired"). 

One other thought is to try an Escape Room - that really gets the brain humming.  Here's an article I wrote about this:  http://www.ideal-living-digital.com/idealliving/fall_2017/?pg=50&pm=1&u1=friend 

Jan Cullinane, author, The Single Woman's Guide to Retirement (AARP/Wiley)

[MSAv8tor]

I've always enjoyed playing Poker. After I retired I found a free online Poker site and have been playing now for 2 years. I've learned a variety of Poker games that I never knew existed.

PCH also has a number of games that I play occasionally.

But most of all, my lifetime philosophy of "Learning something new each day" probably serves me the best in the brain health area!

[lindad162485]

Can you share the website for the site for free games and learning new poker games?

[ReTiReD51]

.

I’ve played all the games on this website. Mah Jongg and Sudoku probably are the most mentally stimulating to me. Although I like Monkey Gems and helping BenBen the monkey fend off snakes, him and me make a pretty good team.

[k380494p]

My favorite game is Sudoku.  When I complete a couple 'hard' or 'evil' level ones in the morning, I seem to be more alert/keen the rest of the day.

[Epster]

I play matching games, basically derivatives of Majhong. Almost every day. I probably have 15 different Majhong games on my computer.

That and carefully navigating interpersonal communication keeps me sharp as a rock. Er, tack. Tack. Yeah, sharp as a tack. 🙂

[paulinef375175]

I do crossword puzzles and word search .Online I play  Just Words, Letter Garden, Just Words, Majong and slots.  I play one game of something at least 2 times a day.