what games help with critical thinking

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

Begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.

What Are The Best Team-Building Games For Promoting Critical Thinking?

by TeachThought Staff

One of education’s primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the ‘real world.’

Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test.

Other skills must be honed, too, not the least of which is how to get along with their peers and work well with others. This is not something that can be cultivated through rote memorization or with strategically placed posters.

Students must be engaged and cooperation must be practiced, and often. The following team-building games can promote cooperation and communication, help establish a positive classroom environment and — most importantly — provide a fun, much-needed reprieve from routine.

See also Team-Building Games For The First Day Of School

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking

You can purchase a classroom-ready version of team-building games that promote critical thinking here .

1. If You Build it…

This team-building game is flexible. First, divide students into teams and give them equal amounts of a certain material, like pipe cleaners, blocks, or even dried spaghetti and marshmallows.

Then, give them something to construct. The challenge can be variable (think: Which team can build the tallest, structurally-sound castle? Which team can build a castle the fastest?). You can recycle this activity throughout the year by adapting the challenge or materials to specific content areas.

Skills: Communication; problem-solving

2.  Save the Egg

This activity can get messy and may be suitable for older children who can follow safety guidelines when working with raw eggs. Teams must work together to find a way to ‘save’ the egg (Humpty Dumpty for elementary school students?) — in this case, an egg dropped from a specific height. That could involve finding the perfect soft landing, or creating a device that guides the egg safely to the ground.

Let their creativity work here.

Skills: Problem-solving, creative collaboration

Zoom is a classic classroom cooperative game that never seems to go out of style. Simply form students into a circle and give each a unique picture of an object, animal, or whatever else suits your fancy. You begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.

Skills: Communication; creative collaboration

4. Minefield

Another classic team-building game. Arrange some sort of obstacle course and divide students into teams. Students take turns navigating the ‘minefield’ while blindfolded, with only their teammates to guide them. You can also require students to only use certain words or clues to make it challenging or content-area specific.

Skills: Communication; trust

See also 10 Team-Building Games For A Friendlier Classroom

5. The Worst-Case Scenario

Fabricate a scenario in which students would need to work together and solve problems to succeed, like being stranded on a deserted island or getting lost at sea. Ask them to work together to concoct a solution that ensures everyone arrives safely. You might ask them to come up with a list of 10 must-have items that would help them most, or a creative passage to safety. Encourage them to vote — everyone must agree to the final solution.

Skills: Communication, problem-solving

6. A Shrinking Vessel

This game requires a good deal of strategy in addition to teamwork. Its rules are deceptively simple: The entire group must find a way to occupy a space that shrinks over time until they are packed creatively like sardines. You can form the boundary with a rope, a tarp or blanket being folded over, or small traffic cones. (Skills: Problem-solving; teamwork)

7. Go for Gold

This game is similar to the ‘If you build it’ game: Teams have a common objective but instead of each one having the same materials, they have access to a whole cache of materials. For instance, the goal might be to create a contraption with pipes, rubber tubing, and pieces of cardboard that can carry a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of steps, using only gravity.

Creative collaboration; communication; problem-solving

8. It’s a Mystery

Many children (and grown-ups) enjoy a good mystery, so why not design one that must be solved cooperatively? Give each student a numbered clue. In order to solve the mystery — say, the case of the missing mascot — children must work together to solve the clues in order. The ‘case’ might require them to move from one area of the room to the next, uncovering more clues.

Skills: Problem-solving, communication

9.  4-Way Tug-of-War 

That playground classic is still a hit — not to mention inexpensive and simple to execute. For a unique variation, set up a multi-directional game by tying ropes in such a way that three or four teams tug at once. Some teams might choose to work together to eliminate the other groups before going head-to-head.

Skills: Teamwork; sportsmanship

10. Keep it Real

This open-ended concept is simple and serves as an excellent segue into problem-based learning. Challenge students to identify and cooperatively solve a real problem in their schools or communities. You may set the parameters, including a time limit, materials, and physical boundaries.

Skills: Problem-solving; communication

While education technology is a basic and crucial component of the 21st-century classroom, educators must still ensure that students are engaging with each other in meaningful ways. Team-building exercises are a great way to do this, and because of this, they will never go out of style.

Aimee Hosler is a writer and mother of two living in Virginia. She specializes in a number of topics, but is particularly passionate about education and workplace news and trends. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is a contributor to several websites including OnlineSchools.com; 10 Team-Building Games For Kids, Teenagers, or Adults

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Games for Building Critical-Thinking Skills

Students love opportunities to sink their teeth into problems that don't have clear answers, or to tackle tough challenges that test their deduction skills and knowledge. It's often out of this challenging murkiness that new perspectives and ideas emerge. Treat your students to these terrific, fun critical thinking games and watch how they develop thinking skills and more complex understandings of the world. On this list are puzzle games that help students solve problems and think ahead, story-based games that help students understand and unpack local and global issues, and strategy games that get students to manage time and resources.

Minecraft: Education Edition

Stellar collaboration tools, controls make Minecraft classroom-ready

Bottom Line : An excellent tool to engage students in learning, collaboration, and critical thinking is now more accessible than ever to teachers.

Kahoot! DragonBox Learn Chess

Gentle chess puzzle game ideal for young newbies

Bottom Line : For kids who are new to chess but want to learn how to play, this fun intro to the game provides a well-done tutorial combined with a light overarching storyline.

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Influential physics game is still a draw

Bottom Line : Instantly engaging and super accessible to learners of many ages and abilities, Crayon Physics Deluxe fuses conceptual science learning with a brand of playful problem solving that demands creativity.

Contraption Maker

Solve problems, puzzles, brain teasers while creating wacky machines

Bottom Line : Hands-on problem-solving leads to great fun and independent learning with the right curricular wraparound to connect what kids are doing with what they need to know.

Classic logic puzzler gets a beautiful new look

Bottom Line : Promote powerful thinking skills, resilience, and decision-making through purely fun gameplay that will keep students begging for more.

Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Bottom Line : An irresistible and seemingly limitless incubator for 21st century skills that, with a little guidance, can chart new courses for learning.

WordWhile: Casual Literary Fun

Clever fill-in-the-blank game playfully promotes literature

Bottom Line : A different spin on reading the classics can engage students in the short term, but teachers should find ways to extend learning.

Little Alchemy 2

Flex alchemical muscles in amusing, discovery-based puzzler

Bottom Line : This amusing puzzle game encourages creativity, perseverance, and systems thinking, and with creative integration it can build interest in math, science, history, and literature.

Addicting gameplay jazzes up geography

Bottom Line : Game-based platform can get kids interested in world geography and expose them to different cultures on a surface level.

Slick ethics game teaches students to make tough decisions

Bottom Line : This versatile game that can teach ethics, argumentation, and civics is light on interactivity but will come alive through discussion.

Scribblenauts Remix

Vocab-building word puzzles inspire creative problem-solving

Bottom Line : Wide-open problem solving builds creativity, vocabulary, and spelling skills, but controls can be tricky.

Tyto Online

Ambitious science role-playing game has bright future

Bottom Line : Diverse characters, immersive experiences, and useful teacher tools make this life science RPG worth checking out.

Beats Empire

Music producing game balances fun with critical thinking and planning

Bottom Line : Students will have a blast with the music production and band-managing theme that carries with it some useful lessons in 21st century skills.

Refinement of strategy game formula supports historical exploration

Bottom Line : Like any consumer-oriented game, this experience will absorb and delight students far more than "educational" games, but it'll require open-minded and creative teaching.

An avant-garde journey of group dynamics sparks discussion

Bottom Line : An unusual app that will confuse and entertain classrooms, generating discussion on a number of societal and philosophical topics.

Mars Horizon

Authentic space agency sim focuses on logistics, planning

Bottom Line : This sim is backed by major space agencies, so it's a neat and trustworthy way to learn about the challenges of past and future space exploration.

NewsFeed Defenders

Social media simulation builds news literacy skills

Bottom Line : This is a great tool to kick off critical discussions about news and social media.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Brilliant, charming puzzler challenges kids' ELA and math skills

Bottom Line : It's on Nintendo DS so it's not easy to weave into a classroom, but it's worth it, bridging ELA and math in complex puzzles guaranteed to absorb students.

The Pack - NYSCI

Deceptively gentle coding game really packs a problem-solving punch

Bottom Line : This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions.

Think Like Churchill

Stunning visuals, thoughtful feedback bring critical decision points to life

Bottom Line : An excellent tool for studying the events and ethics that guide pivotal moments in history.

7 Billion Humans

Amusing puzzler challenges kids, teaches programming principles

Bottom Line : This high-quality puzzle game is a fun way for students to learn effective and efficient programming skills.

BBC iReporter

Spot real stories, dodge fake news in cheeky media literacy sim

Bottom Line : A refreshingly modern way for students to explore how to filter and interpret info and media during breaking news events.

Modern, minimalist fake news game has players be the villains

Bottom Line : Quick, fun, and to the point, this game gets at the social mechanics behind viral falsehoods.

Radio General

WWII game has layers of learning, novel voice-based controls

Bottom Line : This is a refreshingly new approach to a WWII game that offers students a more accurate simulation of battlefield chaos.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Best entry in classic strategy series might not be best for classrooms

Bottom Line : As with all games in this series, Civilization VI is a great learning experience with the right support, but older, cheaper versions may be more practical for classrooms.

Provocative, first-person look at poverty builds empathy

Bottom Line : It'll need some scaffolding, but for students ready for the subject matter it's a great -- if sobering -- way to illustrate to students the daily realities and struggles of poverty in America.

Surviving Mars

Colonizing Mars is in our future, but why wait?

Bottom Line : Lots of potential and perhaps much better in a year or so of updates; use this in a class about space exploration and the harsh realities of colonization.

Political Animals

Charming political campaign sim mixes data analysis and civics

Bottom Line : It's a highly entertaining and surprisingly deep way to help students see the strategy -- as well as ethical choices -- involved in elections.

Papers, Please

Mature immigration game forces tough ethical choices

Bottom Line : It's a provocative simulation about ethics and immigration that could spark debate but might be tough to implement.

Parable of the Polygons

Dynamic interactive helps classrooms explore topics of bias, diversity

Bottom Line : A fascinating way to address how communities become segregated due to individual bias.

The Republia Times

Unassuming editorial sim elegantly exposes the business of bias

Bottom Line : What this game lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in smarts, and it's certain to get students thinking and talking about bias and media politics.

This War of Mine

Strategy game offers superb, mature take on war and civilian survival

Bottom Line : A stark portrayal of civilian life in a war-torn city that requires strategic thinking and invites repeated plays.

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7 Games for Critical Thinking that Add Play to Your Day

Let’s talk about the importance of PLAY and games in our classrooms today. Do you agree with the following?

Learning should be fun.

Learning should be engaging.

Learning should be JOYFUL!

I thought so! For children (and adults) play is a key the way the brain learns. When our students complete puzzles, they are working on problem-solving skills. When they play a game with rules to follow, they are learning how to cooperate and interact with others. When they play against an opponent, they are learning how to develop strategies, predict outcomes, and use logical thinking skills.  What a better way to squeeze in play than with critical thinking games in the classroom? In this post, I’ll share seven of my favorite critical thinking games for primary students.

For your convenience, I’ve added links to the materials I talk about within the blog post. These are Amazon Affiliate links. This just means Amazon tosses a few cents my way if you make a purchase with the links – at absolutely, positively, no extra cost to you! These little links help me to continue sharing ideas, freebies, and giveaways with you on the site. 

Finding Time for Games in the Classroom

Time. It’s a four-letter word that teachers across the world have a love-hate relationship with. “There’s not enough time!” is a phrase one will frequently hear from a kindergarten teacher as much as a middle school teacher. We know that our students need time to play and have fun in school. We know that games promote SO MANY wonderful skills and brain-friendly challenges for our students.  In addition to Pinterest, teaching blogs, IG, and educational websites, I like to turn to the shelves of stores such as Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us for critical thinking games that my students will love to play! There are TONS of educational and high-quality games that you can find pre-assembled and ready to go- for a great price! So, when can we squeeze games into the classroom? Below are some of my favorite times to add board games and mind-challenging games into our schedule:

• Morning Work
• Small Groups
• Indoor Recess
• Friday Game Days (Use small group time or morning work time for games!)
• Math Centers
• Literacy Centers
• Word Work Centers

Teaching Students How to Play

It’s important to model how to play each game with your students. The critical thinking games I am going to share in this post take a lot of brain energy! They are designed to be fun- but challenging- for your students. As a result, don’t expect students to pick up how to play instantly and be able to independently play the games right away. I like to model and play the games with my students at the small group table. For example, every time I introduce a new Brainamin short or long vowel game as a word work center for my students, we play it at the small group table. I do this for math and literacy centers, too.  In this way, I can correctly show students the materials, the rules, and I can even play with them to model my thinking and let them hear what I am thinking as I strategize my next moves and make decisions throughout the game. When students have had ample time to play and see how the game works WITH you, they will be more confident and have more fun when they play with their friends and classmates.

Organizing Your Games

Whenever possible, I like to get rid of the boxes the games come in and put them into plastic tubs. The boxes just seem to deteriorate over time, and the lids on the plastic bins help us keep everything tidy and organized. I use many of my critical thinking games during morning work time on Mondays and Fridays and during math and literacy centers. (On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays we use my See, Think, Wonder, Write routine for morning work .) I will be sharing more about my morning tub time (or what I like to call, Brain Bins) in future blog posts. For now, you can find the bins I use to store my critical thinking games in the links below. You’ll find two sizes of bins. For games that have a board game to them, I like to use the larger, flatter bins. For card games or other critical thinking materials such as the toys and activities I mentioned in this post , I use the medium bins because they take up less space and are really deep!

Medium Bins:

Now, let’s get started learning about seven really fun games that you can use for centers in your classroom. These games will challenge your students’ minds, while encouraging them to use problem-solving, critical thinking, logical thinking, deductive reasoning skills, and most importantly, have fun learning!

Hoot Owl Hoot

If you teach little ones, Hoot Owl Hoot is a MUST. Hoot Owl Hoot is designed by a company called Peaceable Kingdom. This is an award-winning game that focuses on cooperative play. (The game won the  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award.) The object of the game is to help the owls fly back to their nest before the sun comes up. Students use color cards to move the owls closer to the nest. If they draw a sun card, they are one step closer to daylight. The BEST part of this game? EVERYONE wins! That’s right. The students must work together to get all of the owls to their nest. Whether you have a preschooler at home or teach kindergarten or first grade, this is a great game for kids! On top of the cooperative play, students have to use problem-solving skills and shared decision-making skills to be successful. It’s truly a wonderful game that challenges little ones’ thinking skills while having fun with friends!

SEQUENCE LETTERS

Sequence Letters is a game designed for ages 4-7, making it the perfect literacy and word work center for the kindergarten and first-grade classroom. To play, students name the letter on their card, say the sound for that letter, and then match it to a picture on the board that begins with that letter sound. The object is to get five of your game tokens in a row on the board. Can we talk about how perfect this game is for an intervention group or kindergarten small reading lesson?! What I love even more is that the letter cards feature the letter in both uppercase and lowercase, so students are seeing both forms every time they play. Sequence Letters is a game that every primary teacher needs to add to their classrooms!

SEQUENCE FOR KIDS

Sequence for Kids is another version in the Sequence games line-up. This is a great critical thinking game for students who cannot yet read, and it makes the perfect indoor recess game for strategy skills! At first, the initial concept of the game seems TOO easy: Students simply place a token on the picture on the board that matches the picture on their card. When a player gets four tokens in a row, he or she wins. Don’t let this game fool you! There is a lot of thinking-rich strategy skills involved when playing this game. You see, in addition to the picture cards, there are also unicorn and dragon cards. A unicorn card allows you to place your game token anywhere on the board. A dragon card allows you to remove an opponent’s game token. Now, you’ve got a game that involves some “if this…then that” thinking! Which, my friends, are the games I love for kids! You can find Sequence for Kids below:

Brain-Freeze

If you don’t own Brain-Freeze , RUN and get it! It is not only engaging, fun, and child-friendly, but it is the perfect strategy game for young students ages 5 and up. Brain-Freeze reminds me of a cooler version of Guess Who for kids. It also builds mental skills such as memory, deductive-reasoning, and strategy skills. It received multiple awards for children and only takes about 15 minutes to play. That amount of playing time makes it an ideal game to place in a literacy center or math center for kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students. To play, one child chooses a sweet treat off of the “menu” and circles characteristics of the treat on their game board. The other child guesses and asks questions about what the sweet treat is, just like in the game, Guess Who? Using a dry-erase marker, the player who is guessing crosses out and eliminates different choices based on the clues and the answers the first player gives. The object is to correctly guess the sweet treat the first player secretly chose at the beginning of the game. This game is also wonderful for asking questions and using inference skills! Find it here:

Let’s move on to some more challenging games. These next few games are great for second-grade and up. On the Dot is a challenging puzzle game that requires focus, creative thinking, and an ability to look at things from new perspectives. It’s a true brainteaser that students will love! To play, students choose two transparent cards. The cards have colored dots on them. The student must rotate, flip, turn, or overlap the cards in order to get the dots on both cards to match up. This game is great for building and practicing logical thinking, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving. With 60 different puzzles to match up, On the Dot is a game that can stay in your bins for a long time!

Swish is a game designed for ages 8 and up. It reminds me of On the Dot with transparent cards and colored hoops, or circles. Players take turns stacking and matching up the colored cards. When a match is made, the player keeps both cards. The player with the most matches wins. After playing this game a few times, I decided the Swish Junior game would be the best version to start with in the primary classroom. The pace would go faster and kindergarten and first-grade students would feel more confident and successful. In the Junior version (ages 5+), players layer or stack two or more transparent cards to make a match. The cards have shapes on them in various colors and sizes, making it a much better game for primary students! The Junior version would be great for building spatial reasoning skills and promoting shape recognition. You can find the Swish Junior version below:

For my last critical thinking game, I can’t get enough of my Brainamin games! In this post, I’ll feature the CVC-e and long vowel edition , but I also have a Brainamin Short Vowel Bundle and a B rainamin Vowel Teams Bundle available, too. This is one of the best games to add to a morning tub or literacy center, and it’s certainly fun to use as a small group warm-up game! If you have students who are struggling with  decoding and phonics skills, these games also make a nice change of pace for an intervention group. To play, students flip over two cards: a word card, and a picture card. The students will scan the cards and find the matching word and picture, as shown below:

There is only one match, so the students must think fast and be the first person to find it. The student who finds the match first gets to keep both cards in his or her pile. The student who has the most matches in his or her pile at the end of the game wins. (You can also just play for fun and not keep “score” using the matches.) Let’s play again. Can you find the matching word and picture in the cards shown below?

SO fun, right?! What I love MOST about Brainamin is that you can play with a group of students, or with just two students. In fact, students can even play against themselves as an independent game as they race to find the matches among the deck of cards. Brainamin not only improves phonics skills but it also works on visual discrimination skills, critical thinking skills, deductive reasoning, decoding, and fluency for word recall. You can find the different Brainamin bundles and games that I have available by below:

• Brainamin Short Vowels (cvc words)
• Brainamin Long Vowels (cvc-e words)
• Brainamin Vowel Teams
• …more to come in the future!

Try Brainamin for FREE!

You can learn more about critical thinking AND get a FREE Brainamin Short A game pack in a blog post I wrote by clicking HERE or on the blog post image below:

I hope you enjoyed learning about these seven games for critical thinking in the primary classroom! I know they will add fun, play, and lots of great thinking skills into your classroom routine. In order to save this post for later or share it with a colleague, feel free to use the image below to PIN IT on Pinterest !

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One Comment

Loved all the games which you have shared with us. Perfect way to engage kids in such fun games for long hours which helps to nurture their overall growth. In this world of technology. where kids are inclined more towards playing online or video games, which affects their physical as well as mental growth. I think it the responsibility of parents to involve kids in games or activities which helps to improve their overall development. Saved your entire list of games to incorporate these in regular kids play. Thanks for sharing such an awesome list of games with us.

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7 Puzzles to Challenge Your Critical Thinking

Can you spot the connections and sort these items.

Posted March 5, 2015 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

The theme of this post is critical thinking—and the kinds of puzzles that can be constructed around it. This term is used frequently in psychology and education . There are various definitions, but the one that best suits our purpose and which is, in the end, perhaps the best, is the ability to comprehend the logical connections among ideas, words, phrases, and concepts . In the relevant scientific literature, of course, the term is used much more broadly as a framework for understanding human cognition . But in my opinion, the best way to understand things is to construct puzzles to illustrate their basic essence.

Critical thinking involves skill at recognizing a pattern in given information and especially recognizing how the information is connected to the real world. Here are a couple of very simple examples. First, consider the five words below:

• Cruise ship
• Walking on foot
• Automobile (not a race car)

Now, put them in order from the slowest to the fastest, when they are going at maximum speed. The solution, of course, is: 4-2-5-1-3.

As with all such puzzles, there might be slightly different solutions—one could claim that some automobiles go faster than cruise ships. This “indeterminacy” characterizes this kind of thinking. However, some puzzles are straightforward. For instance, what do the following five things have in common?

The answer? These are all words referring to shades of blue.

The seven puzzles below are to the ones above, though hopefully more challenging. Some involve knowledge of facts, but critical thinking is still involved in such cases because the organization of the facts according to some principle is always involved—for example, a puzzle may ask you to put five items in order of their dates of invention.

The following tongue-in-cheek definition of critical thinking by Richard W. Paul, a leading expert on critical thinking theory, says it all: “Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better.”

I. What do the following 5 things have in common?

• Orange juice

II. Put the following buildings or structures in order of height, from the shortest to the tallest.

• Typical camping tent

III. What do the following animals have in common?

IV. Put the following inventions in order from earliest to most recent.

V. What feature do the following words have in common?

• Imagination

VI. Put these bodies of water in order in terms of volume, from smallest to largest .

VII. What do the following landmasses have in common?

I. They are all drinkable liquids. II. 5-1-4-3-2 III. They all have a tail. They are also all quadrupeds. IV. To the best of my knowledge: 5-4-3-1-2 V. They start with a vowel: a, e, i, o, u VI. 4-2-1-5-3 VII. They are all peninsulas.

Marcel Danesi, Ph.D. , is a professor of semiotics and anthropology at Victoria College, University of Toronto. His books include The Puzzle Instinct and The Total Brain Workout .

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15 Fantastic Logic and Critical Thinking Games

Games are wonderful additions to any homeschool. In fact, we typically play at least one game a day – sometimes even gameschooling for an entire day!

Not only do games bring joy and lightheartedness to the school day, they can help teach new concepts and practice old ones.

One of the most important reasons I include games in our homeschool frequently is because they are amazing for building logic and critical thinking skills!

This post includes affiliate links.

If you’ve read any of my blog posts about brain training , you’ll know that I place a lot of value on building logical thinking skills in kids. Luckily, games are one of the best ways to do that – and they don’t even require much effort on our part!

While almost every game has logic and critical thinking value, some games are made specifically to give those skills a workout. I’ve included 15 of my favorites here for you!

Logic and Critical Thinking Games

Invasion of the Cow Snatchers – A creative, single player game that uses magnetic playing pieces as you maneuver a flying saucer around obstacles on a farm to beam up all the cattle.

Domino Maze – In this hands-on, single player game, you create fun domino mazes with a critical thinking twist as you set out to build based on challenge cards.

Thinking Putty Puzzle – This is another hands-on, single player game that “stretches” your thinking skills as you complete mazes with Thinking Putty.

Qwirkle – A family favorite, this game is kind of like Scrabble with shapes & colors. Your goal is to rack up as many points as possible as you work to complete symbol combinations.

Battleship – Coordinate graphing and logical thinking are required to sink all your opponent’s ships in this classic game for two players.

Mastermind – Another classic game for two players, Mastermind is truly a top pick for practicing logical thinking skills as you deduce a hidden code.

ZooLogic – This is such a cute single player game. You must figure out how to organize dogs, cats, and mice on puzzle cards so that no fights ensue between the animals.

Guess Who? – This is the perfect game to teach beginning critical thinking skills as you ask pertinent questions to figure out your opponent’s mystery character.

SET – Get ready to work logic skills faster than your opponents as everyone races to put together the next combination of cards based on shape, color, shading, and number.

Clue – A good, old-fashioned game of Clue is perfect for sharpening logic and critical thinking skills since the goal is to use deductive reasoning to solve the mystery before anyone else.

Cat Crimes – In this hands-on, single player logic puzzle, you place cat characters on the board based on clues you are given in order to determine which one is to blame for an oopsie that has occurred.

Codenames – While this game can be played with as few as four people, it’s great for a crowd, too. Spymasters use word clues to help their teams logically consider which cards on the table will locate friendly spy agents instead of foes.

Rover Control – This creative, single player coding game teaches basic programming skills through critical thinking puzzles in which a rover must go through various start to finish challenges.

Rush Hour – A classic, single player game, Rush Hour utilizes logical thinking as you work to get an ice cream truck out of a rush hour traffic jam.

Rook – This four player card game is another family favorite that is won by logic and critical thinking between teammates (as well as a little luck.)

Gameschooling

There are so many wonderful games available these days! I’ve written about favorites for other subjects plenty of times. Feel free to click on any of the images below to see a different list of games.

P.S. Games make great gifts for any holiday or birthday. They also make great family gifts or for people who are hospital or homebound. Games are one the most frequent things we give when a gift is in order!

One Comment

I loved this list! It’s great to see so many fun options for encouraging logical thinking in kids. I can’t wait to try out a few of these games with my family!

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Group games are ideal for developing critical-thinking skills.

The link between critical thinking and one’s education is obvious – you can’t learn well unless you think well.

Critical thinking is the ability to look at problems in new ways, to analyse how parts of a whole interact with one another and to interpret information and draw conclusions.

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills were once thought to be the domain of gifted people. Today, they are necessary for every individual and group who seeks to make sensible decisions about financial, health, civic, workplace and leisure activities.

The solutions to international concerns such as climate change and global warming require highly developed critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. These skills include the ability to effectively analyse and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs.

Benefits of Developing Critical-Thinking Abilities

The ability to solve interesting and unfamiliar problems often leads to the development of other skills such as increased engagement, higher concentration levels and improved thought processing.

Here are a few examples of experiences that occur in many programs which may provide you with an opportunity to focus on problem-solving skills:

• Forming a project team to solve an existing, yet complex problem.
• Thinking of a new campaign slogan to broadcast a difficult, yet important message.
• Adopting a rational, analytical and evidence-based approach to investigate a conflict.
• Challenging one of your group’s long-held beliefs or practices.

Naturally, one of the most powerful (not to mention, enjoyable) ways to develop and strengthen your group’s problem-solving skills is to employ the use of fun group games.

Group Activities Which Develop Critical-Thinking Skills

The images below provide links to a sample of simple group activities which may help you develop the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities of your group, drawn from playmeo’s ever-expanding activity database .

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7 Fun Critical Thinking Activities to Train Your Brain to Think More Clearly

• Post author: Sherrie Hurd, A.A.
• Post published: August 9, 2018
• Reading time: 8 mins read
• Post category: Brain Power / Personal Development / Self-Improvement

Critical thinking activities not only help us develop a sharper mind, but they also help us develop a consistent mindset and way of thinking.

While thinking is easy, critical thinking, on a consistent basis, takes some skill . Improving it helps us develop a healthy way of reasoning, analyzing and empathizing that helps us take the right actions and perform the right deeds.

Yes, we can think about helping someone make a decision, but can we truly help them make the best one for their given situation ?

How to Improve Your Critical Thinking with These Activities

And what about our own issues? Can we clearly and concisely make the best possible decision each and every day according to the experience we have? This is where critical thinking comes in.

There are actually ideas which can vastly improve our critical thinking skills and help us create a better long-term outcome .

Maybe we can try these fun critical thinking activities to train our brain to be the best it can be.

1. stay on topic.

How easy is it for you to lose your concentration during a discussion? For me, it seems pretty easy, but the truth is, sometimes when you communicate, it’s easy to take, what I call, “tangents”.

For example, if I’m planning a way to complete a task, but yet I start talking about something else that needs to get done, I am going off topic . Every time I go off topic, I take the focus off the present issue.

One of the best activities to improve your critical thinking is practicing the incredibly hard objective of staying on task . Try it and see just how difficult it can sometimes be. It will be challenging to stay focused , but it will also be fun learning how to train your brain on a thinking “tightrope”.

The good news is, it does help improve the quality of your thought patterns.

2. Understand true motives

This is just smart thinking if you ask me. There are times when, during a conversation, someone will present an idea that supports their cognitive bias . It’s not easy to catch sometimes, but if you are good at critical thinking, you will notice the indicators. Pay attention to the details of the argument and understand how these details apply to the ones who are talking.

Unfortunately, some people have selfish motives and you will want to become familiar with the telltale signs. As you practice filtering out the true motives, it will become easier overtime to do so. Here’s the interesting part: you will also notice biases in yourself as well. Practice seeing things from a neutral position instead.

3. Character improvements

Now, take a look at your good and bad traits. When arguments arise, how often do you admit you’re wrong? How often do you turn to introspection? It’s important to regularly do an inventory of your own character . It’s also important to gauge just how much you are willing to learn from others .

Maybe you are truly right most of the time, but is it wise to remain steadfast in your beliefs ? Could it be more important to bend toward someone else’s opinion of the situation at hand? These are good questions to ask yourself as you examine who you really are.

After a rather heated argument , rehash the debate and come from your partner’s standpoint instead. Try to understand things from their point of view and decide to agree the next time to see what transpires. Maybe change is good for you.

4. One thing at a time

It also benefits you to take one problem at a time when working through various life circumstances. A good way to do this is by taking steps. First, identify the problem. Then decide whether you have a solution or not. I found out long ago that some problems require a number of steps instead of one big solution.

Sometimes these steps turn into smaller problems which must be solved before tackling the larger problem. This has to be discovered by careful analyzation of each step.

Practicing this technique of solving problems will help you stay patient in the future instead of getting irritable and overwhelmed when things take a turn for the worst.

Here’s a fun twist. Take a simple problem, for practice, and break it down into increments. Make different decisions on smaller portions of the problem to see where those decisions lead you.

5. Review your day

Wasted time is one of the biggest obstacles to productive thinking, and another culprit is procrastination, as you already know. So, first off, you must try to perform better during the day. Then, you need to practice doing a recap of what you’ve accomplished.

At the end of your workday, instead of watching television, try going back over all the things you got done. Think of your conversations , your errands, and even your thinking. Was it time well spent, or did you procrastinate and worry most of the day? Maybe you thought too long on the past.

Each evening, take time to recap your day and take note of any wasted time. This will help you improve in that area .

6. Journal your actions and reactions

At the end of each day or week, write down certain notable happenings in your day to day life. Write about the event and how it made you feel. Talk honestly about how you reacted to the situation. Do you feel good about what you said or did?

Now, analyze your response in this way. If you feel as though you could have reacted differently, then how do you plan to do that? Keep these journal entries so you can learn how to better respond to situations and eliminate instances of making rash decisions.

7. Illustrations

When debating something, it can get hard to convey a moral or standard that’s important to you. Illustrations can provide a story that helps the other person see how your argument works.

For instance, if you’re trying to help someone and they refuse to accept or understand your gesture, then talk to them about how your offer is similar to saving someone from having a physical accident (like an illustration of you pulling them out of the way or a speeding automobile.)

Maybe your gesture of help will eliminate a bad consequence by sharing an unrelated illustration or story. So, in your mind, practice placing ideas in story form for better understanding. When real problems come, you will have easy to understand illustrations in case you’re struggling with a solution.

Final words

The reason why improving critical thinking is so important is that activities like the above ones help us train our brain to stretch to new limits. Our simple thinking can be transformed into a well-informed intellect, paired with the ability to feel and reason productively. Critical thinking can actually improve our quality of life and the life of the ones we love.

To take advantage of the best the world has to offer, you must activate your brain’s powers. Once you start to practice the above activities, you will be surprised by your own critical thinking skills. Let’s do this together and enjoy the process of learning.

References :

• https://www.lifehack.org
• https://www.thebalancecareers.com

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The 12 best brain games for adults to train memory and focus

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What’s brain training?

4 benefits of brain training games.

The limitations of brain training games

12 best brain games for adults

Use your time wisely.

Your body and mind work together to help you function. Why exercise one and not the other?

Brain games are workouts for your mind that stretch your soft skills, improve cognitive function, and boost mental fitness . You might already play some without realizing it, like completing a crossword on the way to work or spending a Sunday morning relaxing with a newspaper.

With so many puzzles and brain games for adults out there, it can be hard to tell which will work for you. Here are 12 favorites to sharpen your mind, build new skills, and strengthen others.

Brain training uses mental fitness activities to help your mind function better. These exercises include number games like Sudoku, word games like crosswords or Scrabble, and even full training programs like Lumosity. They stretch your individual soft skills like critical thinking and logic. Similar to how muscles become stronger with regular physical exercise, strengthening your cognitive skills takes consistent practice, and brain games are just one way to do so. 

Training your brain creates more connections between neurons , contributing to neuroplasticity. This helps your brain learn and adapt, improving cognition and even easing pain. Continuous learning, like picking up a new language, practicing a professional skill , or expanding your social network through mentorship , are just a few ways to boost neuroplasticity. 

Fun brain games do the same thing, just on a smaller scale. They give you the chance to stretch your cognitive function without the commitment or effort of in-depth learning, which makes them perfect for busy people. You can practice on your commute, lunch break , or weekend off to keep your mind active. 

Playing brain games isn’t just entertaining. It can strengthen your cognitive agility and help you control your mind . Here are four benefits of practicing brain games and concentration exercises in your free time : 

1. Improve brain function

A study of the cognitive training game Lumosity found that after three weeks of daily 15-minute play, test subjects saw improvements in attention, processing speed, visual memory, and executive functions . These results mean that you need less than two hours per week of practice to assist brain functions like memory and focus.

2. Strengthen memory

According to a 2022 study published in NEJM Evidence, people experiencing mild memory problems saw improved cognition and less brain shrinkage after eight weeks of completing crosswords. The results suggest that crosswords could even become a treatment option for people with memory problems after more research occurs, and that similar games requiring recall from clues could offer the same benefits.

3. Reduce dementia risk

A study from Cambridge University found that reading, playing checkers, and doing jigsaw puzzles throughout life are associated with a significant reduction in dementia . That’s because those activities promote complex patterns of mental activity, preventing potential decline later in life.

4. Increase attention levels and logic skills

Studies of university mathematics students found that play was more effective than traditional teaching approaches in learning and decision-making . The study showed that games help people learn critical thinking processes . Rather than simply looking for answers, students could think ahead and evaluate possible outcomes to make better decisions .

The limitations of brain training games 

Although brain puzzles and mind games encourage your brain to adapt and thrive, they aren’t a magic fix to make your brain work at 100% . A review from Scientific American says that research about brain games is overall inconsistent , though the general impacts of training your brain are promising. Doing a crossword once in a while won’t improve your mental fitness . But, like physical exercise, consistency and long-term practice of brain exercises are key to a long-lasting positive impact on brain fitness, according to a review from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. T he review found that potential improvements you find from games will be skill-specific. 

As you get better at a logic game, you may see improvements in your problem-solving skills . But that doesn’t mean you get better at thinking in general. You’ll need to practice a game that targets other areas to improve them. It’s best to think of playing brain games as just one tool to become smarter . 

Don’t forget to pair brain training with attention to the rest of your health. Without nutrition and exercise, your brain can’t perform its best. Complement your training with physical exercise, a balanced diet, and healthy social connections to feel the full impact of your cognitive growth. 

With so many brain teasers, puzzles, and word games, the right games for you can be hard to narrow down. Here are 12 great options to try, including plenty of free brain games for adults:

Sudoku is a popular logic-based number puzzle that originated in Japan. The goal is to fill a 9x9 grid with numbers so that each row, column, and 3x3 square contains the numbers 1–9. To complete the puzzle, you have to flex your working memory and critical thinking skills to think ahead of the consequences of each number. 

Playing Sudoku often, even for a short time, could pay off later on. Studies of older adults have found links between higher cognitive function and playing number games daily . 

Sudoku is a great free brain game for adults that you can play online or on an app. You can also buy a paper booklet or look for the puzzle in your newspaper. Just be sure to play with a pencil, should you need to move some numbers around. 

2. Lumosity

Lumosity is a platform with a wide collection of games that test your cognitive function. Scientists built the games to focus on brain training and mental fitness, with specific options for individual skills like attention , flexibility , and problem-solving. 

You can play up to three games per day for free or choose a paid subscription service — $11.99 per month — for more gameplay from the app or web. Whichever plan you opt for, Lumosity tracks your progress and adjusts to your difficulty level to encourage skill growth. 

3. Peak 

Like circuit training for your mind, Peak challenges you with short, intense mental workouts that test memory, mental agility, and focus . If you have a competitive spirit, you can measure yourself up against other players and boost your motivation . 

Peak is app-only, available on iOS and Android. It’s free to use, although the subscription service provides more tailored workouts and performance insights to help you reach your goals. It’s one of the best brain games online if you’re ready to commit to learning on a regular basis.

4. Crosswords

Diving into a crossword puzzle invites you to tap into your long-term memory for vocabulary and general knowledge. But beyond a workout for your memory, crossword puzzles stimulate your logical reasoning, asking you to consider word count, available letters, and clues to find the right answer. 

You can find daily crosswords in most newspapers, like The New York Times , or use a dedicated app to practice on your phone. 

5. Brainwell

Brainwell is another brain trainer with an algorithm that builds you a personal workout plan, targeting everything from memory to language with games from neuroscientists. Beyond gameplay, Brainwell provides feedback on your performance, letting you pinpoint new areas for improvement. 

Another app-only service, you can begin with a free trial and level up to a subscription starting at $1.99. Then you gain access to more features, like challenging friends and family to compete. 

This two-player tactical game has been the subject of books, movies, and television series, so it needs little introduction. Chess requires you to predict and assess risks, potentially activating your flow state . It encourages divergent and creative thinking and can improve your memory skills , giving you the chance to build relationships with opponents along the way.

You can invest in a physical board to play with a partner or find chess online or in your app store. There are even online courses to help you improve your chess skills.

7. Cognifit 

CogniFit is a digital healthcare company that provides comprehensive cognitive measurement and enhancement tools. The experience begins with a brain test to assess your cognitive well-being and identify strengths and weaknesses , including concentration, hand-eye coordination, and memorization. Based on the results, the program gives you a personalized brain training regimen. 

Although the platform has a basic free version, diving deeper requires a monthly premium subscription that begins at $19.99. More specific cognitive tests cost $49.99 each. It’s available on iOS and Android. 

8. SET 

SET is a fast-paced card game where players identify patterns among cards from the deck. Each one displays symbols that vary by number, color, shading, and shape. The goal is to find sets of three identical or different cards. The card game is a fun way to practice pattern recognition, quick decision-making, and short-term memory. Set isn't exactly a memorization technique but it is a great way to keep your mind sharp.

There is a digital app available on iOS and Android, but you can buy a physical card set to play live with friends or loved ones from major toy retailers. 

9. Scrabble

This classic word game is more than a test of your vocabulary. By placing words on the board strategically, you challenge your critical thinking, recall, and spatial reasoning. Whether you practice with friends on a traditional board or compete online with a digital version, Scrabble is a great way to boost both your linguistics and strategic thinking. 

Any kind of trivia is an excellent memory game for adults, requiring you to stretch your long-term recall and look for connections between seemingly unrelated facts. Platforms and games like Trivia Crack , Jeopardy , and Sporcle are great ways to play independently from your phone or desktop. 

An after-office trivia night or icebreaker is a great way to encourage fun learning with coworkers while bonding as a team . And if you live in a city, you can likely find a local cafe or bar near you that hosts trivia nights.

For old-school video game fans, Portal is a single-player narrative game that involves puzzles and physics. To get through the game, you must use spatial awareness, logic, and creative problem-solving to portal through one environment to the next. The game is available on the Steam network and compatible with Mac and Windows. 

12. Elevate

Elevate is a brain training app that began as an SAT and language learning service, which explains its focus on developing practical soft and hard skills . In addition to cognitive function, you can improve written communication, speaking, and math. 

Elevate is a great resource for professionals who want to fine-tune their granular skills. Games are very specific, letting you target everything from proper comma use to learning to calculate percentages. You can try it out for free on iOS and Android, with extra features available with in-app purchases.

Brain games for adults are a fun way to pass the time and keep your mind sharp. Explore these 12 options, download your favorite to your phone, or carry a booklet wherever you go. 

To sustain your goals, coaching is another enriching, hands-on way to improve your personal and professional development. You can further identify and work on your strengths and weaknesses while setting tangible goals to help you grow.

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

Big Five personality traits: what they are and how to use them

Feeling foggy let us help you strengthen your mental clarity, 21 ways to boost energy and motivation (and maybe change your life), 17 self-awareness activities for exploring yourself, talking your way up to emotional well-being: 7 tips to express your feelings, how biofeedback for stress can improve your health, how to get out of a rut: 8 tips for finding purpose, how to find happiness throughout your life: 6 tips, main character syndrome explained: is it good or bad, eidetic memory: can you train your brain to remember better, give your brain a workout: 10 concentration exercises to up your focus, can’t concentrate 12 things that may be making it hard for you to focus, how to use 100% of your brain: is it possible, how to become smarter: the best 10 tips to boost your brain, 17 memorization techniques to sharpen your memory & recall, 11 things to do with your free time to feel happier and healthier, the 20 best hobbies to do after work to unwind and relax, 17 top apps to help you focus in the digital age, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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10 Engaging Online Games To Test Your Critical Thinking Skills

Last Updated on October 4, 2023 by Editorial Team

To define it in very simple terms, critical thinking refers to the overall analysis of all the facts and figures you have at your disposal and using them in an organized way to make a judgment or a decision.  There are a lot of interactive ways that can help develop your critical thinking abilities. However, what better way to do it than playing games and having fun? 

Conventional learning methods mainly demand a longer attention span which is at times difficult for young individuals. In such cases, using online games to ace the skill can be a wise choice. This post includes a list of ten online critical thinking games to develop critical thinking skills while keeping you focused and occupied in learning new things.  

Online games to improve your critical thinking ability

Various game developers have launched games that require the player to use their deep critical thinking skills in order to play and win. From matching numbers to presenting the player with real-life situations, these online critical thinking games come in myriad forms. 

1. Spent 

The first game on the list is Spent, based on the concept of budgeting and the various challenges one has to face in day-to-day life. While playing the game, the player will face multiple difficult scenarios and has to make crucial decisions that will directly impact their income (in the game). The kind of problems and challenges that you will face while playing the game include:

• Issues related to your health concern
• Getting correctly educated
• Trying your best to provide the basic amenities for the members of your family

This game will get one’s mind racing as it requires making quick and critical decisions that will have an impact on the growth of the decision-making process. This game plays with planning, summarizing, decision-making, and information-synthesizing skills. In addition, they get to learn about poverty, unemployment, the Affordable Care Act, etc.  

2. Air Traffic Controller Game 

As the name might suggest, the air traffic controller is an online simulation game that lets a player direct and guide various aircraft on the ground, on runways, and via the medium of controlled airspace. The main purposes of the game are to manage a popular airport, ensure there are no delays in the landing or the take-off process, and see to it that there are no collisions. 

In short, the player is responsible for maintaining the air traffic of that particular airport. In addition, the game also offers three levels of difficulty. At level one or Gate 1, the player needs to manage one airstrip where the difficulty level is very low. Once they are comfortable with the first one, they can move on to the second and third levels to stimulate their critical thinking skills. 

3. Sudoku 

Sudoku is a familiar and common game. The game is based on the concepts of basic logical thinking and a combinational number placement puzzle where a player needs to fill a 9×9 grid with digits ranging from 1 to 9. But the catch is that they need to fill in the blanks so that all of the columns, rows, and nine 3×3 subblocks present within the 9×9 grid contain all the digits, as mentioned earlier. 

For example, if a player places ‘1’ in the first block of the first row, they cannot put it anywhere in that row and column again. They must use numbers 2-9 to complete that specific row and column. The game (or puzzle) requires one to stimulate their brain in a manner that involves their critical thinking skills and enables them to think logically while taking aid from numerical skills. 

4. Good Game Empire

Similar to various other RPG and strategy games you will find online, Good Game Empire is based on an MMO strategy style, and the setting of the game is in Medieval times. The central theme of this game is that you need to build a thriving empire worldwide.

But, you will start the game with only a castle to your name, and you have to develop and make your empire strategically and fight opposing nations. This game pushes you to think critically and expand your strategic ideals to the best extent to make your empire spread throughout the world. The game will also offer you various choices from which you would need to select the option that works the best for you. 

5. Chess 

Chess is one of the board games played across the globe that requires analytical skills . There are always two players in this game, and the primary objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. White and black checkered board (64 squares) with different pieces (each piece symbolizes different positions like King, Rook, Bishop, Queen, Pawn, and Knight) arranged on it in specific positions- this is what a player gets on the screen while they choose to play chess. They can move one piece at a time, and each piece has a set pattern of movements that they must follow. 

The same applies to the opponent too. Using specially designed and designated moves, the players are supposed to check their opponents (also known as Checkmate) and capture their king to win the game. It needs the players to practice critical thinking, for one cannot randomly move pieces and win the game. Well-calculated moves and timely yet quick decisions are what they need. Thus, chess highly stimulates the players’ brains, allowing them to think critically.  

6. Minecraft 

The objective of the game is to freely explore the Minecraft world, explore infinite possibilities, and create new setups. Starting from building a block to making an entire city as they see fit, one can do it all in this game. This game allows you to freely exercise your imaginative and creative side of the brain. 

The game is an ideal option for students to practice math concepts and give them the experience of how those concepts are used in our day-to-day lives. Players critically analyze situations and draw conclusions all the while building and planning the entire city. The game not only offers the experience of endless fun but also helps individuals to use and practice their critical thinking abilities.

7. Brainstorm 

Critical thinking is all about making decisions based on analytical observation and this game allows individuals to brainstorm and find answers to challenging questions. In this game, the players need to answer questions that come on the screen by choosing the correct answer from the given options. The game starts from a basic level named “Newborn.” Answering all questions enables the player to move to the next level. For example, this Newborn level has 18 questions. 

A maximum of four players can join and compete with each other to complete small tasks and objectives ahead of every other player. The players would need to push their brains to their limits which means that this game will stimulate their brains and let them exercise critical thinking skills. In addition, this will allow them to improve their decision-making process. 

8. 2048 game

2048 is a sliding puzzle video game where the primary objective is to slide the numbered tiles within the puzzle setting until the players have combined them to form a tile with the number 2048.  Even though it sounds easy, the game requires one to think before moving a single tile as it could determine the outcome. One needs to actively think of the moves ahead of making to ensure a proper flow of movements. This game is ideal for stimulating one’s brain and keeping it on its toes. 

9. Unolingo 

Unolingo is an online crossword puzzle game where you need to fill in a 10×10 puzzle box. The player needs to fill the boxes by placing the words and letters precisely and completing the puzzle. Unlike a regular crossword puzzle, there are no clues as to which letter the player should put in to make a complete word. 

They can ask for a hint but that will add 30 seconds to the elapsed time. Clicking on the “Solve” tab will show the solved puzzle. This game requires the players to think more critically and stimulate their brains further. It is a fun alternative to regular crossword puzzles and will keep a player occupied for longer as they have to think more critically as to what letter to put and what word to make. 

10. Tangram puzzle 

The Tangram puzzle is a fun game that helps one to exercise their brain. There are seven geometrical shapes in the game. Each level comes with a diagram where the players need to position the shapes such that it matches the diagram. There is a provision to rotate the shapes and place them wherever the player sees fit. 

There will be 25 puzzles to solve with these seven shapes.  The faster the player solves the puzzle, the faster they get access to the next puzzle. It requires creative and critical thinking for they have to recognize which shape will fit which part of the puzzle. Also, how to rotate it to match the puzzle needs deep thinking. It pushes the player to think creatively and use their critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking refers to understanding a piece of information, analyzing it, applying it to practical application, combining the information with other prior knowledge to draw conclusions, etc. Critical thinking is essential in all aspects of life, personal or professional.

These online games can help an individual use them in practical scenarios and draw effective conclusions. The games mentioned above help one to think critically and also to keep their brain active by stimulating it to its limit. These enjoyable games will keep a player occupied for longer, allowing them to explore and learn new things freely.

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of  Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

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6 great board games to boost critical thinking in teens and tweens

By Amanda Morin

Expert reviewed by Jenn Osen-Foss, MAT

Some tweens and teens may choose boredom over board games. But encourage them to keep an open mind. These games will capture your child’s attention, sense of humor, and imagination while boosting critical-thinking skills.

Apples to Apples

This card game helps kids predict their friends’ preferences and build social skills and vocabularies. Each round, one person plays the judge. The other players each get seven cards. Each card has a red apple with a noun written on it.

The judge plays a green apple card with an adjective written on it. The other players choose one of their nouns to go with the adjective. The result can be serious or funny, but the goal is for players to guess which noun card the judge will like best with that adjective card. Players aren’t allowed to tell which card belongs to whom. There’s also a junior version of this game, which allows younger kids or teens with limited vocabulary to play.

This game is played in teams of two and is similar to charades. Each team has a deck of 40 cards that name famous people. One player gives clues to get his teammate to guess the person on the card.

Here’s where critical thinking comes in: In each round of play, there are increasingly tougher restrictions on the clues players can give. In Round 1, players can say anything. In Round 2, players are allowed to use only one word to describe each person. In Round 3, players can only act out clues.

The Settlers of Catan

This award-winning game teaches your child to plan and strategize . Players are settlers in a new land and need to build the most successful society. Each player begins with two roads and two settlements.

They roll dice to gain resources — including lumber, stone, wool, and brick — that can be used to build roads and homes and other things needed for the settlement. Those resources can also be traded with other players. Kids have to keep track of their resources, settlements, and what other players are doing.

Fact or Crap

You may not like the name, but this game is a great way for your child to learn how to figure out what’s true and what’s not. (If you want, you can always call it “Fact or Fiction.”) Once the reader picks a card and reads the statement, each player has to decide as quickly as possible whether the answer is real or not. The questions open up discussion and provide ways to research new topics.

Scattergories

In this game, your child’s team must come up with as many appropriate words as they can for a certain category. The catch is that the words have to start with the letter rolled on the die. There’s also a time limit.

For example, your child picks the category “vegetables” and rolls the letter “S.” Your child’s team now has to come up with as many appropriate words as possible before the timer runs out. Multi-word answers get more points. So “summer squash” is worth more than “spinach.”

This is a great game for tweens and teens who aren’t always confident in their ability to figure out tone of voice and emotions. On the surface, it’s simple. Each player chooses a card with a phrase and then rolls a die to get a “mood.”

Then the player has to say the phrase in that mood. (For example, “I love chips” in a bossy way.) Other players have to guess the mood. They aren’t all easy to show and guess. The dice includes tough emotions, such as “sneaky” and “dazed.”

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

Students may improve their capabilities in critical thinking and other skills that will help them be successful in the contemporary job by participating in Team-building games for critical thinking. Students who value collaboration (and who will go on to become employers!) have higher levels of motivation and creativity.

It is common knowledge that kids like collaborating in groups very lot. Why don’t we make it into a game instead? Games are often a better option than brain training activities for helping children develop lateral thinking. However, brain training activities may be employed. Implementing these strategies in your classes can help students become more critical thinkers and more successful collaborators.

Here are 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking;

1. minefield.

Minefield Team-building games for critical thinking is a time-honored exercise that has been shown to foster better communication and a sense of trust among participants of all ages. It requires the construction of an obstacle course as well as the grouping of the students into different teams. Students take turns navigating the “minefield” while wearing blindfolds and relying only on the support of their classmates to find their way. You might also encourage kids to use certain terms or hints in order to make it more challenging for them or to utilize information that is related to the topic in order to make it more interesting to them.

2. If You Build it

This exercise in establishing teams may easily be adapted to fit your needs. To get started, separate the children into teams and give each group an equal quantity of a certain substance. Some examples of this material are pipe cleaners, bricks, dried spaghetti, and marshmallows.

After that, you should assign them a project to work on. The challenge may take on a variety of forms, such as “which team can build the biggest castle that is also structurally sound?” Which side has the capacity to build the greatest number of castles in the least period of time? You may recycle this exercise throughout the year by modifying the challenge or the resources to correspond to other subject areas in the curriculum.

3. It’s a Mystery

Since many children, especially younger ones, like a good mystery, why not challenge them to solve it in a way that encourages them to collaborate with one another? It would be helpful to offer each child a numbered clue. The youngsters need to cooperate in order to find the answers to the clues in order to allow themselves enough time to solve the mystery, such as the case of the missing mascot. It’s possible that in order to solve the “case,” they’ll need to go about the room and look in other areas for additional clues.

Zoom team-building games for critical thinking is an old standby when it comes to games for constructing teams, and the many advantages that come with playing the game make it even more interesting. The children are seated in a circle, and one child gives each child an image of an item from Zoom.

The game begins with one child relating a story based on the image that they are holding, and the next student continues the story from where the previous student left off. The game helps youngsters improve their creativity, critical thinking, and communication abilities by compelling them to create the tales on the spot and challenging them to think critically about what they’ve written.

5. Save the Egg

During this team-building games for critical thinking, each team of three or four persons will have the opportunity to drop their egg from a certain height. They need to devise strategies that will prevent the egg from cracking while it is in the air. They are free to use whatever items or apparatus of their choosing to effect a soft landing for the egg or to guarantee that it settles in an unharmed state.

Because this one has the potential to get ugly, it is essential to choose a site that is risk-free and where no one will be worried about hurting valuable school property.

6. marshmallows-game

7. Go for Gold

The teams compete to achieve the same objective in this Team-building games for critical thinking, which is similar to the game “If you create it,” but rather than having the same resources, the teams have access to a huge quantity. For instance, the objective may be to construct, consisting of pipes, rubber tubing, and cardboard, a machine that, with the only assistance of gravity, can move a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of stages.

Although learning through textbooks is essential, teachers also have a responsibility to ensure that pupils can interact effectively with one another. Exercises that focus on fostering a sense of teamwork are an effective way to do this, and there is no sign that this fad will ever die out.

8. Keep it Real

Because it is founded on a straightforward concept that encourages conversation and problem-solving, this open-ended model functions as an efficient examination tool for students. Give the students the mission to identify and address a genuine issue that exists in their own schools or communities. For the purpose of assisting youngsters in defining their own boundaries, some restrictions, such as time limits, material limits, and physical limitations, might be put on them.

9. Shrinking Vessel

Critical thinking may be tough to understand after undergoing brain training, but after participating in exciting Team-building games for critical thinking like the shrinking vessel, it quickly becomes second nature. The participants will first be split up into smaller groups to begin the exercise. Every group is going to have to coordinate their efforts so that they can fit into a smaller and smaller area until there is no more room. Cones or a rope might be used to define the perimeter of the area. Playing this game will teach you how to collaborate with others to find solutions to challenges.

10. The Worst-Case Scenario

Students are split up into two or more groups, and each of those groups is given a tough scenario to solve. Some examples of these scenarios include being abandoned on a barren island or becoming lost at sea. They are then given the instruction to collaborate with one another within their teams in order to find a solution to the challenge and ultimately emerge triumphant. The children have to come up with a strategy in order to guarantee that everyone will live through the worst-case scenario.

In this particular situation, the students may be quizzed about the things that they will need in order to do the task, in addition to any other passages that they may come across. The fact that youngsters are required to cooperate with one another helps in the development of their ability to solve problems and teaches them the importance of working together as a team through Team-building games for critical thinking.

Bottom line

To achieve the highest productivity at work, Team-building games for critical thinking are conducted in distinct corporate games. However, these games can boost efficiency in the study if undertaken in a classroom atmosphere. They help students to break the monotony in the learning environment. We hope our blog helped you to get new ideas regarding Team-building games for critical thinking. You can implement them in your next session within the classroom.

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Brain training, is the usage of digital exercises, also called brain games. Those exercises are used to stimulate mental activities with the purpose of improving your cognitive abilities.

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5 Games for Building Critical Thinking Skills

• alfordabby's Blog

Games can be more than just a fun way to pass time; they can stimulate your brain and help you develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is the ability to examine information rationally and make a logical judgment based on your analysis. Critical thinking skills help us solve problems, make good decisions, and understand the consequences of our actions.

In this blog, we discuss five of our favorite games to improve critical thinking skills and sharpen the mind.

Chess is the most widely played board game of all time. Your goal in chess is to get a checkmate by getting your opponent’s king into a position where it can be captured and cannot be freed by your opponent’s next move. To win, you must use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to decide which pieces to move to yield the best results on the board.

Chess is all about thinking strategically, anticipating consequences, weighing options, and making strategic decisions. If you want to beat your opponent, you’ve got to get your mental muscles moving!

2. 4 in a Row

4 in a Row is a classic strategy game that encourages players to think strategically with every move to trick and beat their opponent. The objective of the game is to connect four pieces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Like Chess, you’ll have to plan your moves in advance to stump your opponent.

Identifying patterns and thinking ahead are both key critical thinking skills and 4 in a Row teaches both.

3. Backgammon

Despite being one of the oldest known board games, Backgammon is still one of the most popular critical thinking games. The objective of the game is to move all your checker pieces off the board and into one of the boxes on the right side.

Playing Backgammon can help teach basic arithmetic as well as more complicated themes like probability and luck. The game teaches players to not rely on pure luck by using strategies and tactics to overcome a bad roll. Players must use critical thinking skills to think ahead and identify patterns to determine the least damaging move and what move will give them an advantage if their opponent has a good roll.

2048 is a single-player puzzle game that encourages players to plan ahead and think strategically. The objective of the game is to join the numbers to get a single tile to be 2048.

2048 requires you to use critical thinking skills to identify the best way to move a tile to generate the number 2048. The game also promotes strategic planning to maximize your time before you run out of moves.

To further improve your critical thinking skills and make the game more challenging, consider setting a time limit.

5. Minesweeper

This single-player puzzle game teaches pattern recognition and deductive reasoning. Minesweeper is a game rooted in logic, problem solving, and deduction. The objective of the game is to clear all the squares on the board that don’t have mines and flag all the mines in the shortest time possible.

Minesweeper teaches pattern recognition as you’ll learn how to look at a series of numbers and figure out what the numbers mean when they’re in a specific order. The more you play the more you’ll pick up on different patterns and the quicker you’ll be able to solve deduction-based problems.

This goes to show that games are not just a form of entertainment. The right games can also be intellectually stimulating and improve critical thinking skills. To further improve your critical thinking skills while having fun at the same time, check out our favorite thinking games to put your critical thinking skills to the test and train your brain.

5 Board Games to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

Do you know why board games are called that way? It’s because you only play them when you’re bored .

Brief Evolution of Board Games

Board games or tabletop games have been around since 3500 BC, and are as many as there are cultures in the world. Board games have been found buried with the ancient pharaohs of Egypt. There are ancient books in Iran and China that talk about in-depth rules and descriptions of board games. Chess, a game enjoyed by many all over the world, originally came from India. Backgammon, a game still enjoyed today, has been played since 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.

Not Just for the Bored

Tabletop games continue to be popular because of a number of reasons. For one thing, they’re mostly meant to be played with others on a face-to-face setting. This means board games naturally build camaraderie and friendly competition. In fact, chess is one of Armenia’s national sports , and Scrabble is a huge deal in Nigeria .

This is where the “brain training” can actually happen. As you play the games over and over, your mind must learn the skills needed to win the game. Chess and Clue, for example, are great games for training logic and problem-solving. Boggle and Scrabble on the other hand can improve language and memory. And then, some board games improve critical thinking skills.

These six cores often work with each other in quick succession to display critical thinking as a whole.

Brain Games

Mancala has been around for thousands of years. There are several variations of Mancala found in Africa and Middle East and Southeast Asia. Players select a hole or pit, and then place a counter (known as “seed” but commonly uses beads) taken from the selected pit in to each of the pits they will pass as they make their move around the board. Players often attempt to capture the other’s seeds. The one with the most seeds in their storage at the end of the game wins.

Players begin with two settlements and two roads. The goal is to build the most successful and effective civilization of all. Players will roll dice to get the resources they need to build their empire—stone, brick, lumber, and the like.

Quoridor is an abstract strategy game that can be played by 2-4 people. Mirko Marchesi designed the game and Gigamic Games published it.

Pandemic is a bit different from other board games. While most of tabletop games will have players compete against each other, Pandemic will have players cooperate with each other to achieve a common goal.

Pandemic has several expansions and editions, including On the Brink , which includes a fifth player.

Chess develops focus, concentration, logic, inference, and evaluation. In competitions, moves are marked for time, so players will be trained to think fast. Chess has thousands of combinations of moves and playthroughs, which will also enhance players’ creativity and adaptability.

Today’s modern technology has paved the way for solo games and casual time-wasters. Much of the beauty of playing with a real person has been lost. It’s nice to try playing board games every once in a while to bring back the dying skill of interpersonal communication and socialization. Why not give these a try?

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Critical thinking in leadership, jobs that require critical thinking skills, enhancing critical listening skills: techniques for effective comprehension, 11 effective and fun exercises to learn critical thinking, download this free ebook.

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Critical Thinking Games & Activities for Kids

Critical thinking skills are essential to succeed in everyday life, and there are ways to enhance these abilities for children of all ages.

But what is critical thinking for kids? It means being open to new ideas, arguments, and information. Children with strong critical thinking skills are rational and look for alternative ways to solve problems.

We've collected together the best critical thinking games and critical thinking exercises for kids to make them become critical thinkers!

Online Critical Thinking Games

The most effective way to improve your children’s thinking skills is to engage them with educational games. Here are critical thinking games for kids to support their school success

Critical Thinking Game

This fun critical thinking game for kids is all about reasoning as fast and accurately as you can. Let’s try!

Puzzle Critical Thinking Game

It’s important to use your critical thinking skills even when you play with puzzles! Discover Tangram to develop it.

Math Critical Thinking Game

Critical thinking exercises and math can be the best friends! Here is a great critical thinking game with them.

Collaboration Game

Collaboration games are the best, and now it’s time to collaborate these numbers to find 10! Hurry, time is ticking!

Online Critical Thinking Game

Here is a fun critical thinking activity with candies! Attention and critical thinking skills make you eagle-eyed.

Basic Critical Thinking Game

In this critical thinking activity for kids, they need to select the image that is appropriate for the given condition.

Easy Critical Thinking Game

These fun critical thinking questions for kids are perfect for students in the early grades of school to sharpening their counting and math skills.

Cool Critical Thinking Game

It’s a critical thinking test for kids! Use your thinking skills to find out the correct answer!

MentalUP offers 150+ critical thinking games besides attention, concentration, logic, language, visual intelligence, and memory games ! 🚀✨

The best part of the multi-awarded app is all these gamified exercises are developed by pedagogues , academicians , and game designers . 🎓🙌

That’s why kids enjoy playing these games a lot; meanwhile, they boost their cognitive skills. 🤩

As parents, you can track your kids’ development with different report tools . These analyses are helpful to you in determining your kids’ strengths and the skills that need to be improved according to their peers ! 📊🎯

PLAY MENTALUP

Critical Thinking Activities for Kids

Now, let’s take a look at some fun activities that can help you encourage younger children to improve their critical skills! These exercises can help them to think critically whether they are at home, at school, or in online classes. Critical thinking in classroom can make them more successful even in their exams, such as the Kangaroo Math Competition .

1. Encourage Thinking

Children are full of questions, aren't they? So, to encourage their thinking process, you can ask them to try answering their questions or want them to answer would you rather questions for kids . And in the process, you can help them arrive at the answer using logical thinking instead of providing them with a direct answer.

It is possible to improve critical thinking skills even for preschoolers; one of the key elements of high-order thinking is making rational choices and justifying kids' own decisions.

Let's help your preschooler analyse the objects to make a logical decision themselves using critical thinking worksheets for preschoolers.

2. Play Sorting Games

Critical skills include the reasoning ability to solve real-life problems. And, of course, one of the great ways to support children’s reasoning and classification skills is sorting games that also function as strategy games for kids .

This activity will help children see the differences among various groups and enhance their understanding of the objects.

To play, you can simply ask your children to sort the same kind of objects using different features like colors, shapes, or sizes. Or if you would like to have an online solution here it is: Educational Games for 4 Year Olds

3. Solve Brain Teasers Together

To trigger brain activity, you can always benefit from brain teasers. Solving any kind of brain teasers together will allow your children to learn from you and challenge their problem-solving skills at the same time.

Also, brain teasers are one of the greatest and fun critical thinking games for adults!

4. Ask Them Riddles

Riddles are also an excellent way to help your children become critical thinkers, not to mention how fun they actually are. Asking riddles as team building activities high school are great examples of critical thinking in the classroom!

So, let your children promote their reasoning, problem-solving, and many other skills with a critical thinking activity as simple as riddles!

5. Create Games from Real-life Problems

Since critical skills are absolutely necessary for our daily lives, then why not apply them to some educational activities ?

You can take real-world problems like recycling or water scarcity as an open ended questions game and ask your children to think of solutions.

These kinds of pretend competition games for kids will not only boost their problem-solving skills as they focus on creative problems but also help them learn about their environment and develop their good sense.

Critical Thinking Questions and Answers for Kids

These fun critical thinking questions and answers are perfect for students in the early grades of school to sharpen their critical thinking, counting and math skills. It is also a very good alternative for kindergarten math games .

Critical Thinking Test for Kids

Bip bip! Can you tell which scooter will reach the gas station? 🛵

The answer is B!

If you follow the road path, you will see that only B can reach the gas station.

Want to solve more puzzles? Let’s try MentalUP Brain Teaser for Kids

Click to Try

Critical Thinking Example for Kids

Can you guess who is left-handed and why? 🧐

It’s irregular to serve drinks with left hand for a right-handed person. So, the answer is 5.

You’re good at hard riddles! Let’s continue with MentalUP to see your detailed performance reports.

Critical Thinking Activity for Kids

What am I? 😋

Tip: You’re using this magic word every day!

The answer is easy. It’s a plate!

Use the app for more questions and exercises.

Play for free

Critical Thinking for Kids

Which way is the bus going? 🚌

Here is a tip for you: This is a bus in the U.K

The bus is moving left.

Because we cannot see the door of the bus in this picture!

Couldn’t find the answer? You can always do brain exercises and improve your visual attention easily with MentalUP!

get Brain Teasers App!

Critical Thinking Question for Kids

What colour was the bear?

The bear was white!

The only place you can hike 3 miles south, then east for 3 miles, then north for 3 miles and end up back at your starting point is the North Pole.

There are only polar bears in the North Pole, which are white.

Can’t find the answers? Do brain exercises and improve your problem-solving skill with MentalUP Brain Teasers App!

Get the app

Critical Thinking Game for Kids

Which shadow corresponds to the image on the left? 🐓

The correct answer is D.

For more visual brain teasers for kids, download MentalUP and test your visual intelligence skills. You can see your detailed working reports and even compare your results with your peers!

Download MentalUP

FAQ About Critical Thinking For Kids

How to improve a child’s thinking skills.

The most effective way of improving a child’s thinking skills is to support them with educational games. If you are looking for the right games to develop critical skills, you can jump right into MentalUP games specifically designed for your children. Also, don’t forget that MentalUP provides kids with lots of different options such as Math Kangaroo problems , math riddles , and puzzles to empower their critical thinking abilities.

How to raise critical thinkers?

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, you can do activities with your children to help them become critical thinkers. Some of these activities include encouraging their thinking process, playing sorting games, solving brain teasers and riddles, and creating pretend games from real-world problems.

What are the 5 critical thinking skills?

Critical thinking skills are a combination of various abilities, including analysis, evaluation, explanation, problem-solving, and decision-making. There are more elements to be included, but most people accept that these are the 5 most important critical thinking skills.

At what age does critical thinking develop?

They start developing around the age of 2 since a two-year-old can communicate, recognize objects around them, and comprehend the differences between them.

Does critical thinking increase with age?

Critical abilities are related to one’s age and education. But it can be improved with practice at all ages. For example, the list we’ve created “ Best Apps for 11 Year Olds ” offers a huge help for that.

Is critical thinking taught in schools?

It is a part of most educational programs, such as solving math word problems requires critical thinking skills. However, critical thinking in school must be especially encouraged by teachers to help children develop and upgrade these skills. It is possible to improve it by using suitable back to school activities .

What activities improve critical thinking?

Playing critical thinking games for kids like MentalUP, doing puzzles, and solving riddles are the most important thinking activities.

Which game is the best for thinking?

It would be wrong to choose only one game to develop any skills. Instead of looking for the best game, playing beneficial critical thinking games for kids and adults would be more helpful. MentalUP offers 150+ critical thinking games, so the brain keeps being active with different kinds of games all the time.

Is Sudoku good for critical thinking?

Sudoku is suitable as a critical thinking game that both kids and adults enjoy to play. It stimulates other types of cognitive skills like attention and concentration too, so playing Sudoku is always a good choice.

MentalUP Educational Games are designed by academicians, game designers, and scientists to support the mental development process of your children. Because they are in the category of best safe kids games , you can be at ease! 🌈 You can benefit from MentalUP, which is among the best funny apps for kids to boost their skills. 💪

Try MentalUP

Problem Solving Techniques – Best Methods with Examples

How To Succeed in School

What Is Logical Thinking? 8 Tips to Improve Logic

Left Brain and Right Brain Development: Activities & Exercises

Best STEM Games for Kids to Help Improve Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Skills

Written by Victoria Hegwood

• Teacher Resources

• 1. Prodigy Math Game
• 2. Marble Run
• 3. Thames & Kosmos Water Power STEM Science Experiment Kit
• 4. The Toddler’s Science Activity Book
• 5. ClicBot Coding Robot Standard Kit
• 6. LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox Building Set
• 7. Valtech Magna-Tiles
• 8. Snap Circuits Electronics Exploration Kit
• Benefits of teaching with STEM activities
• When can students start using STEM activities for learning?
• Spark a passion for STEM

Are you ready to improve your child’s critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills? 

STEM activities and games can be a great option for growing these skills in and outside of the classroom.

You might already know that your child or students need to be working on their STEM skills, but there are so many programs, games, and educational toys to choose from. Where do you start?

There are tons of fun options that both teachers and parents can use, no matter what age, grade level, or skills your child has. And there are even options that are specific to whatever interests your child has. 

Both older kids and younger kids alike will absolutely love STEM learning with these activities and games.

This article will outline our favorite picks for hands-on STEM activities and games . And we’ve even got some awesome screen-free options if that’s what you’re looking for. Let’s get started!

What is STEM?

STEM is an acronym you’ve likely heard often lately. 

Standing for S cience, T echnology, E ngineering, and M athematics, many say that STEM fields are the way the world is moving. They are the drivers of tomorrow. 

Most parents and teachers today recognize that knowledge of STEM topics is critical for children’s success. But how exactly do you encourage these skills if you aren’t proficient in them yourself?

There are many STEM toys and games that can be a great place to start! 

8 STEM Games to use as learning resources and build STEM skills

STEM games are a fantastic learning resource for children of all ages because they can take really challenging topics and make them fun.

And building STEM skills, in turn, fosters problem-solving and fine motor skills that children will use in the real world. While the concepts seem abstract at first, there is a lot of real-world application. 

Whether you’re looking for online games, iPad games, DIY activities, and screen-free board games, we’ve got a recommendation for you! There are various options based on your student’s learning style and interests.

Prodigy Math is an online game that allows students to learn STEM skills in a fun and interactive way. This game primarily focuses on math skills for early grade levels - from first grade all the way up to 8th grade. 

The interactive format allows students to engage with STEM problems on par with their grade level. And the game is always analyzing their progress and shifting to help them grow. So, if they’re flying through the problems with the right answers, the challenges will get harder. But if they don’t seem to quite be understanding a concept, it will give them extra practice. 

And all this data is being collected for parents and teachers to view in the dashboard. You can know exactly where your learner is at and what they’ve learned in the game. 

Prodigy Math is a great way to develop lots of different math skills since it covers a variety of developmentally appropriate topics based on a student’s grade level.

Teachers can easily incorporate Prodigy Math into their lesson plans . From the teacher dashboard, they can set engaging STEM assignments that require no grading and instantly get reports on each student’s progress. Easy-peasy!

Parents can also join in by following their child’s progress, giving them in-game rewards and getting access to extra learning materials like math videos for practice.

Prodigy Math can really be an all-in-one solution for those early years of math learning. 

See how it works below!

Marble Run is a collaborative game where the goal is to create the longest marble run possible. There are online versions of the game available, or you can purchase 150 piece sets to play the game in person. 

This game requires creative thinking skills as students need to balance, engineer, and design their way to the longest run. The possibilities for play are endless as students come up with unique solutions to the same problem.

There are a variety of different versions of this game available, some of which work better for various age ranges and grade levels. You may find that some sets, with small, intricate pieces, are better suited for older learners. And simpler sets, with chunky pieces and clearer ways to construct the marble run, are better suited for younger learners.

Thames & Kosmos Water Power STEM Science Experiment Kit is a great STEM activity for children between the ages of 8-14 years.

With this set, students can create water-rocket cars, jet-propelled boats, a water gun, or even a lawn sprinkler. It comes with 6 different kits, a detailed instruction guide and a variety of experiments for your students to try out.

These activities provides an early introduction to concepts like the physics of air & water as well as pneumatics.

Looking for something for your child that is younger?

The Toddler’s Science Activity Book is the perfect learning resource for children ages two to six. Preschool and kindergarten teachers can get started early on teaching STEM concepts with a variety of lessons. 

Each lesson is packed with learning but presents it in a fun and engaging way.

This book is a best seller for a reason. It will help children develop their science skills with simple activities, which is the way they learn best.

Best of all, this book is fairly inexpensive, so it’s an easy, low-risk way to start engaging young children with STEM concepts. 

It can start to lay the foundation and establish building blocks for concepts that they can use throughout their education.

The ClicBot Coding Robot Standard Kit is a great option for children age 8 and up. These bots integrate coding, learning and fun into one lesson.

ClicBot makes it easy and accessible for young children to learn coding - which is the first step for those interested in computer science. 

While this is a niche topic, computers are becoming more and more a part of our everyday lives. So the possibilities for where this field could go in the future are endless. And that means lots of opportunities for your child who loves computer science. 

It can also be helpful for students to test out and learn about a variety of subjects in the STEM field to find what interests them the most. You never know…they may just find their future career through a toy like ClicBot!

Looking to build STEM skills at home? Try a STEM program!

Check out this list of STEM programs parents (and educators) can try with kids at home, including:

• Coding and programming games
• Engineering/building activities
• Homeschool STEM programs
• STEM summer camp ideas

The LEGO Boost Creative ToolBox Building Set is a fun way to engage learners with a variety of STEM skills. This 800+ piece set is great for students ages 7-12.

It pairs with the LEGO BOOST app on Apple and Android iOS systems to create an interactive learning experience once the structures are built. While this step isn’t necessary if you’re trying to limit screens or don’t have the resources in your classroom, it does add a whole new layer of learning. 

And this isn’t a set they will build just one time. There are instructions included for five different  configurations for hours of learning time. 

Students can build things like two different robots, a cat, a guitar, and even a factory. All of these toys are interactive once built. 

The process of building can be a great way to support collaboration between your students. Small groups can work together to build a particular toy or interact with the creation as a group after it’s built. 

Valtech Magna-Tiles are a wonderful option for younger students, starting at the age of 3. But these aren’t your average toddler toy. There are so many ways to play with them that even older students enjoy activities with them. 

These magnetic tiles can be configured to build a variety of things - like buildings, cars, or even dinosaurs. The only limit is based on the student’s creativity!

There are multiple sets available that include special tiles, but even a basic set provides so many opportunities to be creative. 

Not only do magna-tiles support creative thinking skills, but they allow students to independently work to build something unique. So if you’re needing to add another independent center rotation to your line up, this is a great STEM option!

The Snap Circuits Electronics Exploration Kit is perfect for students aged 8 and older. In this kit, you’ll find over 300 different projects with all the pieces that you might need. It includes circuits for doorbells, radios, alarms, flashlights, laser lights, street lamps, a lie detector and a fan modulator.

If your child can dream it, this kit can help them make it! 

This kit provides a safe, fun way for students to get hands-on experience with an educational activity that will inspire their problem-solving and creative thinking skills. And they’ll be practicing early engineering skills without even realizing it.

Introducing STEM activities like math and science games into the classroom or at home can shake up your child’s learning habits and get them excited about new things. 

It’s easy to incorporate just one STEM activity a day with toys, DIY activities, card games, board games, or online games. Whatever you can do is the perfect place to start! 

STEM education often shows real-world applications to help students understand the importance of the subject matter. This can help them become more interested in their education and develop skills that will continue to serve them throughout their entire life .

STEM activities also tend to involve hands-on learning and allow students to work more collaboratively with one another. Collaboration is a social-emotional skill that will be used throughout their education, in their personal lives, and in the workforce. 

STEM activities can be started with students as young as 4-year-olds and 5-year-olds. 

However, it is important to keep in mind that younger students may have a harder time grasping more difficult activities. And remember that each learner is unique. So some students may be ready as early as 3-years-old while others aren’t ready until they turn six. 

For younger students, it will be best to focus on simple STEM-themed activities like beginner-level brain teasers, building blocks, or beginner-level challenge cards. 

For older students, you can rely on more interactive and advanced activities, like science kits, online games and more advanced brain teasers.

Spark a passion for STEM with fun activities and games

STEM subjects can seem challenging at first glance, both to teach and to understand. But there are so many games, activities and programs that can make them easy to tackle! No matter your student’s grade level or your budget, there are options available for everyone.

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Mind by Design

21 Amazing thinking games for adults | Classic brain games

Thinking games for adults is the best way to train your brain. It not only improves your intellectual capacity but also sharpens up your skills and makes you more productive.

Thinking games for adults will help you to:

• It helps you in increasing your creativity and imagination.
• It increases your concentration skills.
• It improves your memory and information retention ability.
• It builds and repairs brain cells.

It helps you in making a decision quickly. It also sharpens up your thinking process by playing with logic and challenging yourself with puzzles, games, riddles, knowledge-based games etc.

In this post we will present 21 of the best thinking games for adults , so you can see and choose which one is best for you!

1. Mind Benders

Mind Benders by Martin Gardner is a game of logic and puzzles. This game is a collection of puzzle problems that include Zen koan questions, puzzles in geometry, and magic squares.

To play this game you need to solve the problems in order starting from easy to hard. Once you are done with answering the easy ones, you can move on to the next harder ones until you have finished all of them.

Sudoku, which means “single number”, is a popular logic game. It is a Japanese puzzle of numbers in which players must fill in the blanks so that each row, column, and region contain the digits 1 to 9 and no more than four of them are used together in each row, column, or region.

3. Flip Question

This game requires you to answer the questions in a logical way, without relying on any wrong information. It is kind of a simple puzzle involving finding the right order for the numbers that are shown from 1 to 80.

4. Logic Trails

Logic Trails is a game that requires you to follow a trail of logical deductions. The basic rules are:

• Be sure to not make any assumptions.
• Always start with an assumption.
• Weave logic from the given premises to the conclusion. What do you need more than anything else is to be sure that your answer is correct and values your ideas?

5. Hinge Puzzle

Hinge Puzzle is a classic game with a lot of challenging questions. It requires you to find the ways by which the three given figures can be connected into one figure, without lifting the puzzle apart and possibly disabling it from being completed.

6. Tower of Hanoi

Tower of Hanoi is a strategy game for 2 players who are trying to get their wooden disks on top of the tower filled with discs. One person moves the disks at a time, while the other player is trying to stop them.

7. 20 November 2012 Brain Teaser

From 20 November 2012, this puzzle will keep your brain working as it asks you to solve a riddle every time you look at it. Your mission is to find out what happened on this day by solving all kinds of riddles and puzzles.

Bamboo is a classic board game that requires you to move the tokens from start to finish in order. There will be various obstacles in the way that you must avoid in order to get your token moved. You can also use logic and help other players by giving them boosts on their way.

9. Labyrinth

This is a great strategy game that requires you to move your token by using the correct path among the colored labyrinths. You will have to start from easy ones and then move your way towards harder ones.

10. Monopoly Empire

Monopoly Empire is a fun logical game that requires you to build your empire in a realistic manner just as the original game does. The only thing is that this version requires you to build your empire from scratch.

11. Moondial

Moondial is a classic logic game that requires you to follow the instructions given to get the token through a maze of obstacles. You would have to start at easy ones and then move on to harder ones until you have completed all of them.

12. Transport

Transport is a logic game that allows you to race a vehicle in a puzzle-like scenario just like the original board game. The only difference between this version and the original one is that the puzzle will be solved with a vehicle rather than with trains.

13. Hangman’s Puzzle

This is an easy puzzle game that requires you to find out the letter that can form words from the given stack of letters, without using any letters twice in the same word. It is also great for improving your memory and attention skills.

14. The Alphabet Game

The Alphabet Game is a fun game that requires you to guess the letters by making use of your logic and knowledge. This game starts from the alphabet A and it will keep on going until you cannot guess it in any other way from any other letter. The aim is to try to guess them all!

15. Sudoku meets Asteroid

Excluding the differences in the rules, it is still a Sudoku game, you must fill up all the cells on a grid so that each row, column and region has only 1 to 9 numbers. The only difference here is that instead of using numbers 1 to 9, you will be using letters of the alphabet.

16. Letter Sequence

Letter Sequence is a fun puzzle game that requires you to identify the sequence in which the letters are given. The only difference is that they are not numbers but letters of the alphabet. This game will test your memory and attention skills as it requires you to remember them all.

17. Magic Square Puzzle

The magic square puzzle is a great thinking game that consists of square blocks filled with various letters. It will test your logical thinking skills as you have to find the square blocks that consist of some letters and use a combination of them to form a whole number.

18. Jigsaw Puzzle Fun

Like the original jigsaw puzzles, this version features over 15 different puzzles that feature animals like lions, kangaroos, sharks, dolphins, elephants and more. It requires you to put the puzzle pieces together in order so that there are no overlapping or missing pieces.

19. Alignment Game

Alignment Game is a great puzzle game that requires you to connect the dots on a grid to form various patterns. This game will test your memory and attention skills by asking you to solve the pattern without looking at the given grid.

20. Rubik’s Snake

Rubik’s Snake is another great logic game that will require you to find out a snake by rotating the blocks around it until it has become a snake again. The only thing is that this version is played with a snake instead of blocks and will test your logical thinking skills instead.

21. Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is a logic game that requires you to match the letters on the wheel so that each letter on the wheel lands on an appropriate letter in the grid. It will test your memory and attention skills as it requires you to remember them all!

Conclusion – thinking games for adults

Playing thinking and puzzle games is not just a fun activity that the kids do. It is also a great way for adults to improve their memory, brainpower and logic skills . The best thing about these games is that they are fun to play and they require a lot of thinking as well.

These games will help you increase your IQ level by giving you the ability to make logical decisions in various situations without having to worry about the outcome. They also improve your problem-solving skills by testing and training them every time you play one of these games.

Playing these games can also help you to develop your logical reasoning and become better at making decisions in a more efficient manner. The best part about playing these games is that they are very fun!

Now that you have found out the best thinking and puzzle games for adults, it is time to try one of them and see for yourself how much your IQ has improved or how much better you have become at playing them.

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Critical Thinking Games

Prosocial video games supporting critical thinking . Presented by the Gaming Against Violence program from Jennifer Ann's Group ®, a nonprofit charity.

★ Congratulations to MushWhom? and Figure It Sprout for winning 2023 Silv-E Awards! Corporation, Inc. (KSU Narrative Game Lab) Figure It Sprout (David Li, Quang Nguyen, Gaby Sanchez, Kitty Huang, Isaac Orozco) Mushwhom? (Collin Lang, Knitwit Studios) Critical Thinking Games Press Release for more details. -->

• About Critical Thinking
• Critical Thinking Game Design Contest

What is critical thinking?

Here are some definitions about critical thinking to give you an idea of what is meant by "critical thinking." Although there is a general consensus regarding its meaning, these definitions offer a variety of perspectives to better understand critical thinking.

"Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. It involves the evaluation of sources, such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings."

~ ThoughtCo

"Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question, analyse, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, say, or write."

~ Monash University

"[...] careful thinking directed to a goal."

~ The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"The process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you."

~ Cambridge Dictionary

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."

~ University of Louisville

"Thinking critically is a skill that is taught at school and university BUT its main purpose is to better equip you to understand the world, to make more sense of the vast amount of information that is available to us and to avoid, being manipulated. It is a life skill."

~ University of Greenwich

• Critical Thinking Resources

Critical Thinking Articles & Resources

These resources and articles about critical thinking are helpful in designing critical thinking games .

• ► A Guide to Costa's Levels of Questioning [The Edvocate] "Like Bloom’s taxonomy, the questions in Costa’s lower levels encourage students to use their more fundamental cognitive processes. [...] A sizable body of research backs up Dr. Costa’s schema. Following a constructivist theory of education, Newmann (1993) discovered that higher-order thinking forces students to 'manipulate information and ideas in ways that modify their meaning' and 'expects students to solve issues and build meaning for themselves.'"
• ► 5 Tips for Critical Thinking [Psychology Today] "[Critical Thinking] is necessary when you care about your decisions or when the consequence of a decision is impactful. According to Jean Paul Sartre, every time an individual acts, they are making a choice to commit that act as opposed to not acting, or acting in an alternative manner. With that in mind, if we were to think critically about every single decision we make, we would be mentally exhausted before we even got to work."
• ► 60 Critical Thinking Strategies for Learning [teach thought] "A critical thinking strategy is simply a ‘way’ to encourage or facilitate the cognitive act of thinking critically. "Critical thinking is the ongoing application of unbiased, accurate, and ‘good-faith’ analysis, interpretation, contextualizing, and synthesizing multiple data sources and cognitive perspectives in pursuit of understanding. "What are the 7 critical thinking strategies? Someone emailed me recently asking that question and I immediately wondered how many more than seven there were. 27? 77?"
• ► Critical Thinking [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy] "Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal."
• ► Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving [The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga] "In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess the validity of something (statements, news stories, arguments, research, etc.)."
• ► Critical Thinking Definition, Skills, and Examples [ThoughtCo.] "Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information, and discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve problems or make decisions."
• ► Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? [AdLit: All About Adolescent Literacy] "Learning critical thinking skills can only take a student so far. Critical thinking depends on knowing relevant content very well and thinking about it, repeatedly. Here are five strategies, consistent with the research, to help bring critical thinking into the everyday classroom."
• ► CRITHINKEDU Impact Report - A journey on critical thinking in European higher education [CRITHINKEDU] "Funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme, the ‘Critical Thinking Across the European Higher Education Curricula – CRITHINKEDU’ project arises from the background and experience of European Higher Education Institutions, business corporations and Non-Governmental Organisations, and their ongoing concern to improve the quality of learning in universities and across different sectors, which converge in a common need on how to better support the development of Critical Thinking (CT) according to labour market needs and social challenges."
• ► Defining Critical Thinking [The Foundation for Critical Thinking] "Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2,500 years. The term 'critical thinking' has its roots in the mid-late 20th century. [In this article, we] offer overlapping definitions which together form a substantive and trans-disciplinary conception of critical thinking."
• ► How To Teach Critical Thinking in K-12 [Forbes] "What’s needed is not necessarily new courses, but a critical thinking focus throughout the curriculum. Some of these changes can happen quickly with tweaks to existing curricula and the incorporation of deeper and more creative thinking exercises."
• ► Logical Fallacies: Examples and Pitfalls in Research and Media [Research.com] "In public discourse, research and academic writing, logical fallacies should always be avoided because they invalidate conclusions and arguments. Unfortunately, it is easy to commit such logical fallacies ourselves. "A recent analysis of medical fallacies can be found in a paper titled, 'Fallacies in medical practice: Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibition and COVID-19 as a Paradigm' in the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology. "It states that 'In emergency situations, such as during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical community looks for quick answers and guidance. Under these circumstances, experts instead of admitting ignorance, feel obliged to give an answer, often pressurized by political or other authorities, even when such an answer is unavailable. Under these circumstances, publications based on fallacious reasoning are virtually unavoidable. (Triposkiadi, Dean Boudoulas, Xanthopoulos, and Harisios, 2020).'”
• ► The Critical Thinking Consortium [TC2] A collection of resources for educators and parents supporting "critical, creative, and collaborative thinking as an educational goal and as a method of teaching and learning." Many of these resources require payment but the website also includes several excellent free online collections and published lessons.
• ► What is critical thinking? [Monash University] "People who apply critical thinking consistently are said to have a critical thinking mindset, but no one is born this way. These are attributes which are learnt and improved through practice and application. "In the academic context, critical thinking is most commonly associated with arguments. You might be asked to think critically about other people's arguments or create your own. To become a better critical thinker, you therefore need to learn how to: clarify your thinking purpose and context; question your sources of information; identify arguments; analyse sources and arguments; evaluate the arguments of others; and create or synthesise your own arguments."

Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge

Note: the critical thinking game design challenge has ended. Here is the press release announcing the award-winning critical thinking games . The following information is for reference and will be archived soon.

Background: About the Critical Thinking Games Contest

Since 2008, Gaming Against Violence , an award-winning program from the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann's Group , has produced prosocial games in an effort to improve the lives of young people around the world. Every year a new game design challenge is issued for game designers and developers to create compelling games about that year's topic. Previous game challenges have focused on a variety of topics and themes including consent , culture , gaslighting , healthy relationships , and resilience . This year the game design challenge theme is critical thinking .

Critical Thinking Game Overview

The Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge consisted of two rounds. For Round One , contestants submitted a game pitch using the theme of critical thinking. For Round Two , Finalists were selected based on their submitted game pitch. These Finalists will then design and develop their critical thinking video games based on their game pitches. They will have three months to develop their games.

Each Finalist who submitted an eligible game was guaranteed a prize of at least $100 (USD). The Winning Game was guaranteed a prize of at least $3,000 (USD). The total prize pool awarded to the group of Finalists was $10,000 (USD). All Finalists also receive critiques of their submitted games from experts in game design and/or critical thinking.

The critical thinking game design contest was open to everybody age 13 and older (minors will need a parent or guardian to sign the prize acceptance agreement in the event they are selected as a Finalist). The critical thinking games should be designed to be generally appropriate for ages 11 and up. Your entry should be a video game that has never been published before. And, as has been the case since 2008: the games cannot contain any depictions of violence .

Critical Thinking Game Timeline

Round One consisted of submitting a proposed game pitch. This entails answering six questions and providing other registration data.

Round Two was limited to Finalists who will be selected from the Round One proposed game pitch submissions. You do not need to be a game developer or game designer in order to become a Finalist - you just need to have a clever idea that you believe would translate well into a compelling video game that supports critical thinking!

• Round One: Game pitches were submitted by March 19, 2023.
• Finalists were selected and notified by March 30, 2023.
• Round Two: Finalists had until June 30, 2023 to submit their completed critical thinking game.
• Judging and critiquing of the critical thinking games during July 2023.
• The winning critical thinking games will be announced after Labor Day Weekend 2023.

Critical Thinking Game Prizes

A total of $10,000 (USD) awarded in prize money to the Finalists. Distribution of prize money will be announced when the Winning games are announced. At least one Winning game will receive at least $3,000 (USD). Each Finalist will receive at least $100 (USD). Additional Winning Games might be selected from among the Finalists.

In addition to the prize money:

• All qualifying Finalists will have their games judged and critiqued by industry and subject matter experts.
• All qualifying Finalists will be granted a license to use the FINALIST graphic.
• The Winning game(s) will be granted a license to use the WINNER graphic.
• The Finalist and Winning game(s) will be promoted on Jennifer Ann's Group websites and on their profile pages at game marketplaces.
• The Winning game(s) will be published by Life Love Publishing once they are ready to be published.
• All Finalists will receive critiques about their game entry from the critical thinking game contest judges.
• More details available in the Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge Rules below.

► Jennifer Ann's Group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and relies on donations, sponsorships, and grants to fund our violence prevention work. Like what we're doing? Donate online to support our innovative violence prevention work .

Judges: critical thinking games design challenge, susan bonner.

Susan Bonner (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University teaching in the Serious Games Certificate and the Games and Interactive Media program. Educational games she produced through The EPIC Project have won Serious Play and Meaningful Play Awards. She is the creator of The Road Crew Social Emotional Health Game , which aims to teach young children coping skills for anger, loneliness, and anxiety through an AR experience. Accessible, universal, and inclusive design is at the heart of her teaching, art, design, and the work she produces. Susan actively participates on panels for the National Science Foundation, specifically focusing on Small Business Innovative Research in VR, AR, AI, and Learning Cognition. Susan holds an MFA from the University of Cincinnati and a BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design. Find out more at SusanBonner.com

Dr. Nick Bowman

Nick Bowman is an Associate Professor of Emerging Media in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is a media and communication scholar with an extensive research career focused on the uses and effects of video games. He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed academic manuscripts , with recent studies focused on the functional role of video games in daily life, from video game nostalgia to use of gaming for mood management. He works with other scholars and game developers to advance the study and design of video games for prosocial purposes, including violence reduction and perspective-taking. He is the editor of the Journal of Media Psychology , and was recently the Fulbright Taiwan Wu Jing-Jyi Arts & Culture Fellow at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. He has taught courses on video games and media psychology in Belgium, Germany, Mexico, and Taiwan.

Dr. Mark Danger Chen

Mark Danger Chen is an independent games scholar and part-time professor of interaction design, qualitative research, and games studies at the University of Washington Bothell. They oversee Esoteric Gaming , an alternative publication outlet that celebrates gaming diversity through detailed accounts of arcane and marginal gaming practices. Mark also wrote Leet Noobs: The Life and Death of an Expert Player Group in World of Warcraft , an ethnographic account of how a new team learned to excel through the use of game mods and then died in a fiery meltdown catalyzed by the same mods. In a previous life, Mark was a webmaster and game designer for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Mark wants a die-cast 1st generation Soundwave for Christmas. You can reach Mark at @mcdanger .

Drew Crecente, JD

Drew Crecente (he/him) is founder and executive director of Jennifer Ann's Group , a nonprofit charity preventing teen dating violence. He also runs the Gaming Against Violence program for Jennifer Ann's Group. Drew is a teen dating violence lead at Emory's Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRCE) and a published researcher on violence prevention through video games . Drew speaks at conferences about the use of video games as a solution for violence prevention. His speaking engagements include GDC, Games for Change, Games for Health, Meaningful Play, PAX Unplugged, and Youth at Risk conferences. Drew's game production credits include ADRIFT , a consent game featured at the future-focused museum MOD in Australia; Rispek Danis , a game about healthy dating relationships designed for ni-Vanuatu youth and 2019 Games for Change Awards Finalist in the category of Most Significant Impact ; and the media literacy game Culture Overlord , a 2021 Finalist for the GEE! Learning Games Award and 2022 Games for Change Awards Finalist in the category of Best Learning Game .

Sabrina Culyba

Sabrina Culyba (she/her) is a Pittsburgh-based game designer and founder of Ludoliminal . Her professional work has spanned online games, VR, mobile apps, location-based entertainment, and board games across a variety of industries from healthcare to education. She is the author of The Transformational Framework (ETC Press, 2018) and has spoken on game design and the transformational power of games at a number of conferences including the Games for Change festival, Serious Play, Meaningful Play, and Dataviz+Cancer. Sabrina serves on the Board for Global Game Jam and Broke the Game . She also co-hosts the yearly XR Brain Jam at the Games for Change Festival.

Dr. Ruud Jacobs

Ruud Jacobs is an assistant professor at the Department of Communication Science of the University of Twente . His research is mediapsychological, mostly focusing on the impacts of persuasive games and the ways in which they work to change attitudes. In 2017 he defended his dissertation, titled Playing to Win Over , as part of the Persuasive Gaming in Context joint research effort. Ruud lectures in technological aspects of communication science, and talks about games whenever he can.

Dr. Krista-Lee Meghan Malone

Dr. Krista-Lee M. Malone is a faculty associate with the Department of Curriculum & Instruction’s Game Design Certificate at UW-Madison and Director of the UW Game Lab. Her past research includes studies on raiding guilds in World of Warcraft, the making of educational games in Taiwan (where she concurrently worked as a designer and consultant) and using game design to teach in the social sciences. Dr. Malone is currently working on designing engaging educational games as well as examining gender issues and educational uses of Twitch.tv and Discord. She is also a board member of MKEsports , an alliance aimed at positively growing the culture and connectivity of regional esports groups, gamers, businesses, and community partners. If you want to geek out with her, she can can be found experimenting with teaching at twitch.tv/profgameranthro and experimenting with everything else at twitch.tv/gameranthro .

Dr. Amy Mueller

Amy Mueller is an assistant professor of learning technologies at the University of Oklahoma in the Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum program . She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on educational and instructional technologies to pre-service and practicing educators. Prior to her arrival at the University of Oklahoma she taught 4K for Head Start and worked as a K-5 Technology Teacher at a dual language immersion program in a diverse, public, urban title-1 school. Her research interests include: culturally and linguistic responsive and sustaining education, Indigenous education, liberatory education, elementary education, games-based learning, maker education, STEM education, digital literacy, multiliteracies, design based research, and codesign & community action research. In her limited free time, she likes to play video games with her kids.

Dr. Brooke Morrill

Dr. Brooke Morrill serves as the Senior Director of Education at Schell Games . Morrill uses her expertise in behavioral science, psychology, and research to increase the impact of and engagement in the company’s educational and transformational games. She identifies and secures extramural project funding in both the federal and private sectors in order to create and iteratively develop innovative, interactive experiences. In addition, she collaborates with universities and research institutions for product development and evaluation. She also maintains an active Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral credential from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Morrill serves on the XR Education and Training Advisory Group for the Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR), a membership network of industry leaders that helps to enable growth, nurture talent, and develop standards while working to bring wider public awareness and understanding to virtual and augmented reality. She is also a Principal Member of grant review panels for the Institute of Education Sciences at the US Department of Education.

Dr. Andy Phelps

Bio coming soon.

Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson

Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson is a Psychologist in El Paso, Texas , the head of the Advisory Board for Jennifer Ann's Group , and former president of the Texas Psychological Foundation. She was recognized as the 2018 Psychologist of the Year by the Texas Psychological Association; is an expert on teen dating violence; appears regularly on news and talk shows; and lectures nationwide on a variety of issues related to teenagers, young adults, and healthy relationships. She lived and worked in a variety of settings in Japan, Micronesia, South Korea, and Thailand and wrote her doctoral dissertation on Adaptation to Geographic Relocation at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her clinical and administrative positions have included Program Director of Adult Psychiatric Units, Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and University of Maryland International, and maintaining a full-time clinical practice for more than 30 years. She is considered the area authority on eating disorders for the Air Force and Army for outpatient and inpatient treatment.

Jo Sharpen is a specialist in violence against women and girls, child development and the impacts of trauma. She has a special interest in how the online space can be used to support and empower survivors of abuse. Jo is now a freelance consultant after previously being the director of policy at AVA, a national UK charity.

Dr. Sarah Stang

Dr. Sarah Stang (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Game Studies in Brock University’s Centre for Digital Humanities . She is also the Secretary for the International Communication Association’s Game Studies Division and an At-Large Representative for the Canadian Game Studies Association . She received her PhD from the Communication & Culture program at York University and her research primarily focuses on gender representation in both digital and analog games. Her published work has analysed topics such as female monstrosity, androgyny, parenthood, interactivity, and feminist media studies, and can be found in journals such as Games and Culture , Game Studies , Critical Studies in Media Communication , Human Technology , and Loading , as well as several edited collections.

Dr. Moses Wolfenstein

Moses Wolfenstein is a professor at El Camino College in Torrance, CA where he serves as Distance Education Faculty Coordinator and is leading the development of the new Games and Playable Media Department. Moses has been working in and around game design since 2006 as a designer, research, and teacher. His doctoral research with the Games+Learning+Society research group at UW–Madison focused on the intersection of games, learning, and leadership in MMO's.

Critical Thinking Game Pitch Submission

( Note: game pitches were due by March 19, 2023 )

You are pitching an idea for a non-violent prosocial video game intended to encourage and support critical thinking and the use of critical thinking tools and strategies by the players of your game.

If you can envision a video game that will help the player use and apply critical thinking then we want to learn about your game idea. We hope you will submit your idea to the critical thinking game challenge.

An important note about the critical thinking game design challenge:

Although our organization's primary focus is on the prevention of teen dating violence, your game does not have to be about dating relationships. There are several reasons for this, but the most important reason is that we want to help all young people (ages 11-22) learn this important information in order that they are more likely to understand the value of critical thinking and are better equipped to apply critical thinking skills. The past few years have been especially challenging. This is true for nearly everybody and in many aspects. We believe some, if not all, of those challenges would have been easier to navigate were we all better equipped to use and apply critical thinking. We believe that intentionally designed video games are an ideal approach to helping young people appreciate and understand how to use critical thinking skills. Our hope is that these critical thinking games will be used by: educators in classrooms; by parents and trusted adults at home; and directly by young people themselves. If we were to limit the critical thinking game design challenge to narrowly focus on the topic of healthy dating relationships then that might limit the reach and use of these critical thinking games. With that said, you are welcome to incorporate themes about healthy relationships into your critical thinking video game should you choose to do so.

Round One: game pitches were due by March 19th, 2023

These questions were answered by those submitting a game pitch.

Critical Thinking Game Pitch Questions

• (Q1) What is the title of your critical thinking game?
• (Q2) Write a short description of your critical thinking game. After reading this description players should want to play your game. (100-150 words)
• (Q3) How will your critical thinking game use visual and auditory elements to engage and inform players about critical thinking and how best to use it? (100-150 words)
• (Q4) How will your critical thinking game effectively use game mechanics , storytelling , and/or rhetoric to engage and inform players about critical thinking and its importance? (Please realize that this means that your game does not have to be story-based; it may use other design strategies or it may be story-based, as you prefer.) (100-150 words)
• (Q5) How will your critical thinking game effectively use persuasion to engage and inform players about critical thinking and its importance? (100-150 words)
• (Q6) How will your game help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help them become better able to use critical thinking in their lives? (100-150 words)

Round Two: were due by end of June 2023

Finalists were notified by March 30, 2023 if their proposed game pitch was selected to move on to Round Two of the contest. For Round Two, Finalists were given until June 30, 2023 to design, develop, and complete their critical thinking game. The finished critical thinking games will then be reviewed and scored to determine the winner.

• No VR or AR games . We want to reach as many people as possible with these critical thinking games and we feel that VR and AR technologies are currently too limiting.
• No subscription-based services . We cannot afford to pay for recurring subscriptions.
• Ideally you will use Unity to develop your game . Due to its large user base it is easier for us to get support if needed and the majority of the games we have published in the past were developed using Unity. Also, it is generally easier for us to export Unity games to a variety of platforms. Importantly, Unity supports exporting to HTML5 . Browser-based games are often more accessible because they can be played, for example, in public libraries and at schools. We strive to publish games that are accessible.
• Some suggested game design engines: Godot , Unity , and Unreal Engine . If you are wondering about a particular engine or technology please contact us.

Critical Thinking Games: FAQs

About this contest.

What is the Life.Love. Game Design Challenge?

The Life.Love. Game Design Challenge is an annual game design contest focused on violence prevention. The contest is open to game designers and game developers around the world. Entries have been received from six continents. Designers and developers are invited to create their own prosocial games intended to engage, educate, and empower game players. This contest is from the award-winning Gaming Against Violence program presented by the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann's Group. The games are published, localized, and maintained by Life Love Publishing.

Why is Jennifer Ann's Group running this contest?

Violence is a public health issue and games are an effective approach at engaging young people about serious and complex issues. Jennifer Ann's Group is a non-profit organization working to prevent violence since 2006 in memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente.

Although traditional outreach programs about violence prevention are available, many schools lack the funding to implement these programs and so Jennifer Ann's Group considered how to leverage technology to reach and help young people at no cost. Given the popularity of video games -- especially among young people -- Jennifer Ann's Group launched the first annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge in 2008, challenging video game designers to create prosocial games intended to prevent dating violence. In 2023, for the 16th annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge, the focus is on supporting the use of critical thinking skills by young people to help them be better informed and self-sufficient. These skills will lead to better outcomes for themselves and for those around them. This will help them to lead happier, healthier lives.

In the years since launching the contest it has become increasingly clear that games are fantastic tools for engaging players in uniquely compelling ways. As compared to traditional methods: players more easily understand complex, nuanced issues; they become invested and engaged in the success of the game's outcome; and they can safely explore and experience difficult situations in context.

Every year since 2008 Jennifer Ann's Group has presented an annual game design competition encouraging developers to create games about selected themes intended to help young people in the short term and benefit society in the long term. Prosocial games help engage, educate, and empower young people around the world.

What else can you tell me about the games that have come from this program?

Entry Information

How do I get started?

Game pitches for the Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge were due by March 19, 2023. However, the 2024 game design challenge is coming February 2024 with the topic of connectedness . Visit the website for the connectedness video games for the latest info.

Who is allowed to enter?

Anybody age 13+ at the time of entry is eligible to enter (except in countries or regions where prohibited). Officers, employees, and immediate family members of Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing are prohibited from entering the game design challenge.

Can I enter more than once?

Sorry, but no. Make sure and enter your best game because you only get one chance to enter each year!

What are the technical requirements?

Round One of the contest only requires submitting the text of your proposed game narrative. If you are selected as a Finalist you will receive all necessary information for Round Two, including any technical requirements for your final game entry. There are some notes in the Critical Thinking Game Pitch Submission section, including some technical suggestions and limitations. Our intention is to be as flexible and supportive of as many different formats as possible but we do need to be able to reliably judge the games and, in the event that it is a winning game, be able to: modify the game; make the game available through various channels; possibly translate the game into other languages; and also to provide support for game players. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask us.

What are the content requirements?

As with all of our game design challenges no violent content is permitted in the game entries. Games should be age-appropriate for those ages 11 and up.

How long do I have to enter?

Registration was from March 7, 2023 through March 19, 2023. The Finalists were notified by March 30, 2023 and had until June 30, 2023 to submit their finished game.

Do you accept group entries?

Yes - please just identify a primary contact person when you submit your game pitch on the Round One submission form.

Where can I learn more about critical thinking?

Visit the About Critical Thinking section for information and resources about critical thinking.

How can I keep up to date about the contest info?

Register for our newsletter to be notified about our next game design challenge. You can also follow the Critical Thinking Mastodon account at: games.ngo/@CriticalThinkingGames . Finalists will be invited to join our Discord server.

Judging and Selection Process

What criteria will be used for judging?

Round One of the contest will be judged based on the creativity of your proposed game pitch and the potential for that idea to be developed into a compelling video game which will help players: be more aware of the importance of critical thinking; be better informed about critical thinking skills; have strategies to strengthen skills associated with critical thinking; and as a result, be generally better at making informed decisions and become more self sufficient.

Judging details and scoring rubric for Round Two were distributed to all Finalists at the time that they were notified of their Finalist status.

Information about the judges, including their bios, will be added to the contest website June 2023.

Critical Thinking Games: Official Rules

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. Entry in this contest constitutes your acceptance of these official rules.

The 2023 Life.Love. Game Design Challenge (the " Contest ") is designed to encourage participants (" Entrant(s) " or " You ") to use their creativity to create their own video game that helps players of the game: be more aware of the importance of critical thinking; be better informed about skills supporting the use of critical thinking; have strategies to strengthen skills associated with critical thinking; and feel more empowered through the use of critical thinking, especially for those players in the approximate age range of 11 - 22 years of age (the " Target Age Group "). Life Love Publishing and/or its representatives will select Finalists (" Finalists ") from those eligible entries submitted in Round One. Finalists will be eligible to participate in Round Two and will submit completed games. Judges will choose the winning entries from the Round Two eligible Finalist submissions and prizes will be awarded in accordance with these Official Rules (these " Rules ").

• BINDING AGREEMENT : In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to the Rules. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules and that you may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you, Jennifer Ann's Group, and Life Love Publishing with respect to the Contest.
• ELIGIBILITY : To be eligible to enter the Contest, an Entrant must: (a) be 13 years of age (or older) at time of entry; and (b) have obtained a parent's or legal guardian's prior permission if under the age of majority (" Minors ") in their jurisdiction. Minors who enter must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to receive any prizes, as described in Section 8 of these Rules. Contest is void where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Jennifer Ann's Group, Life Love Publishing, and any affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (" Contest Entities ") are ineligible to participate in this Contest.
• SPONSOR : The Contest is sponsored by the Jennifer Ann Crecente Memorial Group, Inc. d/b/a Jennifer Ann's Group(" Jennifer Ann's Group " or " Sponsor "), a Georgia non-profit corporation (501 c(3)) with principal place of business at 2554 Drew Valley Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30319, USA. (EIN: 20-4618499) .
• CONTEST PERIOD : The contest period is from March 7, 2023 through August, 2023. Round One of the Contest begins on March 7, 2023 and ends on March 19, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern Time (ET) Zone (GMT-4) (" Round One Contest Period "). Round Two of the Contest begins on March 30, 2023 and ends on June 30, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern Time (ET) Zone (GMT-4) (" Round Two Contest Period "). All dates are subject to change. Winning Games will be announced in August or September, 2023.
• HOW TO ENTER : NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter the Contest, visit the Contest website located at https://CriticalThinker.games (" Contest Site ") during the Contest Period and follow the instructions that appear in the "Critical Thinking Game Submission" section. You will be requested to complete an official entry form (" Entry Form ") with all requested information, including your responses, or "game pitch", to the questions about your proposed critical thinking game (" Game Narrative "). Entry Forms can only be submitted by Entrants. Those Entrants notified by Jennifer Ann's Group that they have been selected to proceed to Round Two of the Contest (" Finalists ") shall participate in Round Two of the Contest by submitting their completed game entry (" Completed Game "). LIMIT ONE (1) GAME NARRATIVE PER ENTRANT IN ROUND ONE. Subsequent entries will replace, and be treated as, the initial entry. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant submitted at the time of entry. LIMIT ONE (1) COMPLETED GAME PER FINALIST IN ROUND TWO. Subsequent entries will replace, and be treated as, the initial entry. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant submitted at the time of entry.
• They must not contain any depictions of violence.
• They must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libellous or contain any content that is tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
• They must be unique creations that have not been previously published and will remain unpublished until after the contest has ended.
• They must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of, or contrary to, any applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations including the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where the entry is created.
• They must not contain any content, material, or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party or commercial entity. For Round Two Finalists, text acknowledgements are acceptable in the Completed Game entries; additionally, Jennifer Ann's Group will supply a graphic image identifying Jennifer Ann's Group as the game's sponsor; the image will be placed at an appropriate location as part of the Finalist's Completed Game entry.
• They must only contain text, graphics, audio, designs, and game mechanics that entrants have proper rights to use (e.g. works in the public domain; original creations by the entrant; third-party works with rights granted by rights owner).
• They cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party's publicity, privacy, or intellectual property rights.
• During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Judges will be evaluating the Entries to ensure they meet the Entry Requirements. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant who submits an entry that does not meet the Entry Requirements. Incomplete entries or entries not complying with these Rules are subject to disqualification.
• potential educational value of the proposed game to discuss, demonstrate, or otherwise engage players about critical thinking and its importance, especially for those in the Target Age Group
• potential entertainment or otherwise compelling value of the proposed game
• potential of the proposed game to increase awareness about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to encourage discourse about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to persuade game players about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help the player become more adept at using critical thinking
• game elements of the proposed game
• adherence to the Game Narrative , Entry Requirements , and these Rules .
• educational value of the game to discuss, demonstrate, or otherwise engage players about critical thinking and its importance, especially for those players in the Target Age Group
• entertainment or otherwise compelling value of the game
• potential of the game to increase awareness about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to encourage discourse about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to persuade game players about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help the player become more adept at using critical thinking
• game elements
• adherence to the Game , Entry Requirements , and these Rules .
• Round One Finalists Finalists will be notified on or before March 30, 2023 by email.
• Potential Winners Potential winners will be notified August 2023 by email.
• Decisions of the judges are final and binding. In the event there are not enough eligible entries, not all prizes will be awarded. If a potential winner is unable for whatever reason to accept their prize, then Life Love Publishing reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant.
• Notification of Potential Finalists / Winning Game(s) : Becoming a Finalist / Winning Game is subject to validation and verification of eligibility and compliance with all the terms and conditions set forth in these Rules. If a potential Finalist is disqualified for any reason, a replacement Game Narrative Entry entrant might be chosen as a potential Finalist. If a potential Winning Game is disqualified for any reason, the Completed Game that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential Winning Game. The potential Finalist(s) / Winning Game(s) will be selected and notified by email.
• If a potential Finalist does not respond to the notification attempt within three (3) days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Finalist may be disqualified and an alternate potential Finalist might be selected from among all eligible Game Narrative entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• If the Entrant of a potential Winning Game does not respond to the notification attempt within three (3) days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Winning Game may be disqualified and an alternate potential Winning Game will be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• Except where prohibited by law, all Prize Winners will be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor. If required, Prize Winners must return all such required documents via fax (or as otherwise instructed) within forty-eight (48) hours following attempted notification or such potential Prize Winners will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential Prize Winner may be selected based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• In the event the potential Prize Winner is a minor, their parent or legal guardian must sign the documents and return them as described herein. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of Judges are final and binding. All Prize Winners, including any parent representatives, agree to keep the Completed Game strictly confidential between time of submission and the Completed Game's final launch by Life Love Publishing.
• PRIZES : The entrant of the Winning Game will be eligible to receive a minimum of $3,000 (USD) prize money. An announcement about the Winning Game(s) will be displayed on Jennifer Ann's Group's game portal JAGga.me website and itch.io page for the remainder of 2023. All Non-Winning Finalists will be eligible to receive a minimum of $100 (USD) prize money upon submitting their completed game in accordance with these rules. Some Non-Winning Finalists may also have their games published on the JAGga.me website and/or itch.io page. A total of $10,000 (USD) in prize money will be distributed among all Winners and Finalists, subject to the minimum prize monies described above. Distribution of prize money will be announced when the Winning Games are announced. Additional Winning Games might be selected from among the Finalists. Further details regarding prize distribution will be provided to winners in the prize acceptance documents but will be approximately four (4) to six (6) weeks after Sponsor's receipt of prize acceptance documents from winners. All entrants receiving prize money are considered prize winners (" Prize Winners ") for purposes of these Rules.
• TAXES : Prize Winners are responsible for any federal, state, and local tax consequences and for compliance with all governmental reporting and payment requirements. Winning funds will be sent in U.S. Dollars via cashier's check through Postal Mail or via PayPal (at the option of the winners).
• GENERAL CONDITIONS : At the time of submitting a Completed Game all Round Two Finalists will also electronically provide to Life Love Publishing all source files and components necessary to re-create the Completed Game ("Source Files"). Life Love Publishing and/or Jennifer Ann's Group may use these Source Files to publish the Completed Game to marketplaces; provide language translations; update content; develop derivative works; and / or to localize such game for other countries at Life Love Publishing and/or Jennifer Ann's Group's sole discretion.
• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS : All Prize Winners give Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing the right to the Entrant's name, voice, picture, portrait, and likeness for advertising and promotion purposes without further compensation, where permitted by law. All Prize Winners also give their consent to Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing and to those whom they may authorize, to photograph, film, videotape, and/or to use a photographic / digital reproduction of their entry with or without their name, to identify them by name, and/or to quote or record statements made by them, for any editorial, promotional, marketing, or other purpose broadly related to the mission of Jennifer Ann's Group ("violence prevention"). This consent does not extend to the purposes of endorsement of product or service advertising for any unrelated third parties. As a condition of receiving their prize, Prize Winners must grant Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing the non-exclusive, royalty-free, licensable, assignable rights to all: completed, object, and source files; necessary media files; and associated intellectual property rights of their entry for purposes of publishing, promotion, marketing, research, creation of derivative works, and internal use.
• WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY : Entrants warrant that their entries are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Game Narrative / Completed Game and that they have the right to submit the Game Narrative / Completed Game to the Contest and to grant all required licenses. Each Entrant agrees not to submit any Game Narrative / Completed Game that: (a) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable international, state, federal, or local law. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Sponsor and its agents and subsidiaries at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs, and expenses resulting from any act, default, or omission of the Entrant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor and its agents and subsidiaries from and against any and all claims, actions, suits, or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from: (i) any Game Narrative / Completed Game or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent, or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) any misrepresentation made by Entrant in connection with the Contest; (iii) any non-compliance by Entrant with these Rules; (iv) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to Entrant's involvement with the Contest; (v) acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in the Contest; (vi) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant; (vii) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry or voting information in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant and in the voting process; or (viii) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering, or announcement of any prize or winners in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant.
• ELIMINATION : Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by Entrant concerning identity, mailing address, email address, ownership of right, or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entrant from the Contest.
• INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER : Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing are not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed entries due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical, or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital, or satellite malfunctions which may limit Entrant's ability to participate. Jennifer Ann's Group is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others which might prevent Entrant from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Contest. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Rules will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify Entrants who violate the rules or interfere with this Contest in any manner. If an Entrant is disqualified, Sponsor reserves the right to terminate that Entrant's eligibility to participate in the Contest.
• RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY, OR DISQUALIFY : If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Jennifer Ann's Group reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. Jennifer Ann's Group further reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site. Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Site, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing reserve the right to seek damages from any such Entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.

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• Mental Health

Are There Mental Health Benefits of Video Games?

There are many misconceptions about video games and the impact they have on mental health. The truth is that video games have many benefits, including developing complex problem-solving skills and promoting social interaction through online gaming. Video games can be a great way to stimulate your mind and improve your mental health. 

Benefits of Video Games

Playing video games has numerous benefits for your mental health. Video games can help you relieve stress and get your mind going. Some benefits include: 

Mental stimulation. Video games often make you think. When you play video games, almost every part of your brain is working to help you achieve higher-level thinking. Depending on the complexity of the game, you may have to think, strategize, and analyze quickly. Playing video games works with deeper parts of your brain that improve development and critical thinking skills.

Feeling accomplished. In the game, you have goals and objectives to reach. Once you achieve them, they bring you a lot of satisfaction, which improves your overall well-being. This sense of achievement is heightened when you play games that give you trophies or badges for certain goals. Trying to get more achievements gives you something to work toward. 

Mental health recovery. Regardless of the type, playing games can help with trauma recovery. Video games can act as distractions from pain and psychological trauma. Video games can also help people who are dealing with mental disorders like anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Social interaction. Multiplayer and online games are good for virtual social interaction. In fast-paced game settings, you’ll need to learn who to trust and who to leave behind within the game. Multiplayer games encourage cooperation. It’s also a low-stakes environment for you to test out talking to and fostering relationships with new people. 

Emotional resilience. When you fail in a game or in other situations, it can be frustrating. Video games help people learn how to cope with failure and keep trying. This is an important tool for children to learn and use as they get older. 

Despite what people may think, playing video games boosts your mood and has lasting effects. Whether you’re using gaming to spend time with your friends or to release some stress, it's a great option. 

Playing for Your Well-Being

Playing video games has been linked to improved moods and mental health benefits. It might seem natural to think that violent video games like first-person shooters aren’t good for your mental health. However, all video games can be beneficial for different reasons.

Try strategic video games. Role-playing and other strategic games can help strengthen problem-solving skills. There’s little research that says violent video games are bad for your mental health. Almost any game that encourages decision-making and critical thinking is beneficial for your mental health. 

Set limits. Though video games themselves aren’t bad for your mental health, becoming addicted to them can be. Spending too much time gaming can lead to isolation. You may also not want to be around people in the real world. When you start to feel yourself using video games as an escape, you might need to slow down.

If you can’t stop playing video games on your own, you can contact a mental health professional .  

Play with friends. Make game time fun by playing with friends. There are online communities you can join for your favorite games. Moderate gaming time with friends can help with socialization, relaxation, and managing stress. 

Limits of Video Games as a Mood Booster

Video games stop being good for you when you play an excessive amount. More than 10 hours per week is considered “excessive.” In these cases, you may:

• Have anxious feelings
• Be unable to sleep
• Not want to be in social settings

Another troubling sign is using video games to escape real life. As noted above, this type of behavior can lead to video game addiction, which then leads to other negative behaviors. Too much gaming can become a problem, but in moderation, it can do great things for your mental health.

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