Creative Brain Games

Connect through Conversation
Novelist E. M. Forster (1879 – 1970) wrote the words, “Only connect!” in the hope that readers would connect his prose with the passion in themselves. It is also my motto for all of the activity exercises I have created. I hope they will serve as a prop to open up...

Don’t Give Me Your Lip
A lipogram is a word game that consists of writing new material or rewriting existing material by leaving out certain letters of the alphabet. (Lipogram comes from a Greek word meaning “missing letter.”) One of the most famous practitioners was A. Ross Eckler, who...

Scrutinizing the Lineup
Continuing our recommendations for games to play with family and friends for Games and Puzzle Month and beyond, Lineup is a favorite in my household. Cutely subtitled by MindWare as “the memory game of quick looks and tricky crooks,” it’s really one that requires...

Creative Apples
November is Games and Puzzles Month, dedicated to preserving the tradition of investing time with family and friends. In the U.S. it’s also a reminder to be thankful for all those relationships. One game that fosters good family/friend fun is Apples to Apples from Out...

Two Round Games – Spot It! and Hue Knew?
Hue Knew? is a variation of the Stroop Effect Chart that features the names of colors – pink, purple, red, green, and so on – with each color name written in a color that doesn’t match. The word “orange” might be written in purple, for example. On the chart, your task...

Who Would Win?
In a figure-skating contest who would win – Dr. Seuss or George Washington? In a stand-up comedy competition, who would win – Tarzan or Napoleon? The Who Would Win? game I received in the mail was sealed, but without instructions either inside or out of its box. Which...

Endless pairs
Such and Such from Patch Products is essentially a game about pairs. As a timed competition, the idea is to read all five clues on your card and get your team to fill in the blank for each one before the minute timer tube runs out. In many groups, it’s fun to play by...

Gabbing about Gobblet
One of my favorite strategic thinking games is Gobblet. Gobblet is Tic-Tac-Toe on steroids. First, the new object is to get 4 of your cylinders in a row instead of just 3. Second, it has been made multi-dimensional. Each player is given 12 pieces, 3 each of 4...

Upping the Scrabble ante
Many years ago as a young mother, I was big into cooperative games. The other members of my competitive family were not. They played Scrabble® ruthlessly, entirely focused on points, while I was interested in filling the whole board, increasing my vocabulary, and...

Jump Starting Your Imagination
People have a tendency to think they need to solve puzzles created by others – crosswords, Sudoku – to keep their brains active, but using your imagination is even better. The goal in brain building is to create new dendrites – new connections – in your brain, and...