Get Smarter Games

[DraQ]

Spacechem is a logical puzzle game that has very little to do with actual chemistry. It does teach a bit about limited (2-way) parallelism, synchronization, and splitting complex tasks into smaller units.

It's also something you might want to play if you're ever planning to make a career as befunge programmer.

Spoiler

 

[DraQ]

Actually it seems that playing anything mentally demanding in at least some respect (including action titles - even modern ones - but not including shit like Sims - figures) can be beneficial in terms of overall brainablity.

Seems there is no escape from our long legacy of running after herbivores (with pointy sticks) and away from carnivores.

 

[Johannes]

Complex RTS's.

 

[belowmecoldhands]

I think anything which teaches you about the real world has some indirect benefits. Being able to relay trivia about history or geology or mathematics or geography or similar to someoen who's wondering is an awesome confidence booster.

I think insofar as general intelligence is concerned, I think all games help to keep the mind somewhat sharpened, although no game can match the benefits of getting up and interacting with the real world. It's not just the physical action itself which helps to keep your body active and healthy, but it's the stimulation you get from the sun which has numerous influences on your neurochemistry. I imagine there're also many neurlogical benefits from interacting with other people face-to-face, as opposed to chatting with them online inside your cave. Those real life benefits will feed into the workplace and your smile.

I think games are a necessary evil, like many other forms of entertainment. If ANY real world learning can happen, even if it's just a factoid about ancient Rome or a elementary law of algebra, it's certainly going to be better than some completely imaginary digital goooo. The digital gooo ofcourse is always going to be in much greater concentration and numbers.

This link suggests the kind of game matters:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Videogames_slow_reverse_mental_decay_study_999.html

It's a game called "Road Tour".

From here:
http://mashable.com/2013/05/02/road-tour-video-game/

“A physician could write a prescription and say ‘take this [game] home and play,’” Fredric Wolinsky, a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health, told TechNewsDaily.

Road Tour works by showing an image of either a car or a truck. Around the vehicle plate are eight signs — seven say "Rabbit Crossing" and one says "Route 66." The signs and the vehicle quickly disappear, and players have to identify what kind of vehicle they saw and where the Route 66 sign was.

As you play, the images stay on screen for shorter and shorter periods of time, and the signs get further and further away from the car, making the game progressively more difficult.

That might not sound like much fun, but research shows that it works. The study, which included groups of people between the ages of 50 and 64 and those 65 years and older, found an increase in mental agility comparable to reversing years of aging. Those results came after playing the game for just ten hours. The researchers arrived at these conclusions by testing participants' mental faculties before and after the study, and plugging their scores into a formula created by the researchers to assess cognitive ability.

Note the version of "Road Tour" the university used is no longer available.

The game looked like this (some screenshots are shown):
http://now.uiowa.edu/2013/05/want-slow-mental-decay-play-video-game

 

[Dire Roach]

Since The Incredible Machine is on the list, if you're looking for a more recent physics sandbox puzzle game, check out Besiege. A small bonus to how it translates to useful skills is that the camera controls work pretty much the same as in most pro 3D modeling programs.

 

[oscar]

Playing Hidden Agenda (1988) when I was younger gave me a greater empathy/respect for third world leaders. You play a newly established South American government having recently overthrown a corrupt and brutal dictator. Not falling to a reactionary or socialist military coup is challenge enough let alone forging a successful path for your country. In game-play it's reminiscent of KoDP (though event responses are dependent on which ministers you've appointed)

Despite it's age it has an easy and straight forward interface. I should do a Let's Play sometime.

 

[Galdred]

Just install games in any language you want to learn/train. Problem solved. Of course, it works better with RPG, but that is a plus in my book.

 

[kyrub]

oscar: you really should do the LP.
Hidden Agenda is a unique game made by a solitaire*. The game felt like a revelation when I played it, I never encountered any singularity like that before or since. It is rare to find a game with a strong opinion as well, most games try to be politically correct to the point of becoming a political caricature.

EDIT: *Actually, it was produced by a company TRANS Ficiton Systems.

 

[Johannes]

So, since it sounds interesting, I search for "Hidden Agenda game", and what do I find...

Hidden Agenda is a new Facebook game from popular developer PopCap and prolific publisher EA, this time taking the form of a free-to-play hidden object game featuring anthropomorphized “furry” characters in a distinctly “noir” setting — fans of the comic book series Blacksad will be right at home. PopCap has a considerable amount of experience in downloadable standalone hidden object games, but this is their first foray into releasing one on Facebook.

Games industry today, men

 

[kyrub]

It's here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Agenda_(video_game)

Even the acquiring process is unusual. You may "purchase" a copy directly from the author (Jim Gasperini) by making a promise:
https://web.archive.org/web/2013012...maricopa.edu/proj/sw/games/hidden-agenda.html

 

[Dim]

I think insofar as general intelligence is concerned, I think all games help to keep the mind somewhat sharpened, although no game can match the benefits of getting up and interacting with the real world. It's not just the physical action itself which helps to keep your body active and healthy, but it's the stimulation you get from the sun which has numerous influences on your neurochemistry. I imagine there're also many neurlogical benefits from interacting with other people face-to-face, as opposed to chatting with them online inside your cave. Those real life benefits will feed into the workplace and your smile.

I think games are a necessary evil, like many other forms of entertainment. If ANY real world learning can happen, even if it's just a factoid about ancient Rome or a elementary law of algebra, it's certainly going to be better than some completely imaginary digital goooo. The digital gooo ofcourse is always going to be in much greater concentration and numbers.

This link suggests the kind of game matters:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Videogames_slow_reverse_mental_decay_study_999.html

Not giving up the gaming, might as well make it useful. Games with educational trivia probably belong in historical sim list. Straight mental training 'game' may belong in the list but Luminosity isn't in so i guess that is list 5.

Just install games on any language you want to learn/train. Problem solved. Of course, it works better with RPG, but that is a plus in my book.

"on" you mean games made for the teaching of the language or games made IN the language and then decompiled?

 

[Galdred]

oh, I misstyped, I meant IN any language indeed, but mostly do that for games whose original version is in said language (I try to play German games in German for instance).