Our smartphones have been among our best friends for some time now, but that’s increased significantly over the past six months. They’ve provided us with more ways to contact our loved ones, as well as keeping us entertained, with the number of app downloads increasing significantly.
In fact, consumers spent a huge $28billion in apps across Q3, on a number of different variations too. Fitness app downloads grew by 46% worldwide during the pandemic, while many are using apps to sharpen their mind as well as their muscles too.
But what are the best apps to sharpen your mind?
Well, they come in all shapes and sizes and below you’ll find some of our favourite types of app to keep your brain trained during what is a difficult time for everyone…
Brain Training Apps
There are dozens of brain training apps on the market, with the likes of Elevate and Lumosity among the most popular.
Lumosity has really established itself in the market and works by making you complete scientifically-validated tasks that fully engages and strengthens the brain. They do this in a variety of ways from games to puzzles and problem solving stages. The app adapts to your own strengths and weaknesses, offering feedback along the way and logging improvements.
Word Games
Of course, while there are games specifically designed to improve your brain, there are plenty that will do that naturally too.
Word games and puzzles such as Words With Friends has been hugely popular for people wanting to test their knowledge and flex their brain muscles. This particular game has been hugely popular for Zynga, with their stock up by two thirds this year.
Q1 of 2020 was particularly huge for this according to Sensor Tower, and a large portion of the games downloaded were puzzles, which can have a significant impact on strengthening your brain.
As well as word games, the likes of sudoku and crosswords are also good for this, with a combination often cited as the best way to really improve your skills according to scientific studies.
Bingo Games
If you’re looking to improve reaction speeds, then playing bingo for fun can aid you.
The rise of bingo apps being downloaded has also been huge, with the gambling sector making the most revenue of all mobile apps during the last six months.
Bingo games are great for the brain as they will test your speed as you try and keep up with the numbers being called, while there are also many fun quizzes and the opportunities to have intellectual conversations in the chat rooms that many online bingo sites have.
As well as bingo games, many casino games online are also fantastic for improving your cognitive skills, particularly the likes of poker, in which you have to be constantly thinking about your next move, as well as what other players may do.
It’s a good way to improve your concentration alongside bingo, with you continually needing to be aware of what’s going on.
Puzzle Games
Puzzles are perfect for all types of player and there are more puzzle games on the market than ever before. They come in all shapes and sizes and many of the best ones are incredibly simple to play.
Two Dots has been one of the puzzles to really break through during the pandemic and is a simple but addictive game in which players must connect dots of the same colour. There are many levels to keep players entertained and it’s ideal for improving concentration and observation skills.
Scribblenauts Remix is another game which is popular currently and good for your brain. It tests your creativity and brings you riddles and scenarios in which you must then solve using your very own imagination.
It’s a unique game that is perhaps the perfect example of how puzzle games can improve your cognitive skills but in ways that are far from dull.
COED recently published a list of their favourite puzzle games which included these two alongside Achromatic! and Path of Giants, alongside the classic Tetris, which has long been proven by scientists to be good for improving brain skills.
Founder Dinis Guarda
IntelligentHQ Your New Business Network.
IntelligentHQ is a Business network and an expert source for finance, capital markets and intelligence for thousands of global business professionals, startups, and companies.
We exist at the point of intersection between technology, social media, finance and innovation.
IntelligentHQ leverages innovation and scale of social digital technology, analytics, news, and distribution to create an unparalleled, full digital medium and social business networks spectrum.
IntelligentHQ is working hard, to become a trusted, and indispensable source of business news and analytics, within financial services and its associated supply chains and ecosystems