You don’t tend to associate games with health benefits, yet many strategy games will bring surprising improvements to your well-being. From helping you de-stress to improving your cognitive ability, here are four of the best games to play if you want to give yourself (and your brain) a boost:
Mahjong
With its origins in the 1800s, mahjong is an ancient game with a host of health benefits. The game centers around many tiles with different patterns displayed. Some of these tiles are grouped into specific categories – like flowers or the seasons – and you can match these to remove them from the board. Other tiles can only be matched when finding a replica. You’re also only ever able to remove tiles that are on the edge of a section.
Already, you can see this game has some complexities to it, which means you must develop a winning strategy to clear the tiles as quickly as possible. As a result, it improves your strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. You’re always thinking of what to do and what happens if you remove two tiles from a section.
At the same time, there’s a relaxing element to mahjong that few games replicate. The fact you’re not competing against anyone makes it very chilled out. You can play it for hours and feel the stress melt away – it’s a fantastic game to play if you want to take care of your mental health and avoid being stressed.
Chess
Chess is another old game with origins in the 6th Century! It’s amassed serious popularity in the last few years, thanks to a Netflix series and the emergence of free online chess games. As far as strategy games go, this might be the most strategic of the lot.
In a game of chess, you’re forced to think two, three, or four moves ahead. Every piece you play will be met with a reaction from your opponent – you have to try and predict this or force them to do what you want.
Think about how much brainpower this takes. You’re always using your brain in a game of chess, and this trains it to become healthier. It’s like training and developing a muscle in your body – chess is like push-ups for the brain. Therefore, it’s not surprising that it presents numerous health benefits. The biggest of all is that playing chess is linked to a reduction in cognitive decline.
In simpler terms, it helps you maintain normal brain functions and avoid things like memory loss as you get older.
Civilization
The Civilization series is perhaps the most well-known strategy video game of all time. Different versions have been released since 1991 and it’s still going strong. It’s a turn-based strategy game where you try to build the ultimate civilization. This involves controlling things on a map and building vast cities/empires.
You don’t realize this while you play it, but Civilization provides some great health benefits. It’s particularly brilliant at building up analytical thinking. You have to think like you’re running a country – this means knowing how to plan things and where to direct resources to help your civilization thrive.
You develop impeccable patience and long-term planning skills in this game as well. It teaches you to think ahead rather than focus on immediate results. All the while, this contributes to a much healthier brain that’s better at critical thinking and making sense of problems in the world.
Monument Valley
Lastly, we have the small mobile game Monument Valley. This strategy game is based on unlocking pathways to help move a character across different terrain. It’s visually pleasing and enjoyable to play, but it also provides amazing mental health benefits.
The soft music combined with colorful visuals is mentally stimulating. Alongside this, the puzzles themselves are just challenging enough to make you think without causing too much stress or anger. It’s the ultimate game to play when you want to unwind and get ready for bed.
Monument Valley is almost like listening to relaxing lo-fi music while also giving your brain a mini workout. It’s one of those games you don’t appreciate until you feel the effects after playing.
Strategy games all have one big thing in common: they train and challenge your brain. As a result, they’ll always deliver some critical health benefits that will improve your well-being. Start playing strategy games if you feel stressed or want to prevent cognitive decline. You’ll have fun and will notice the positive changes they make for your mental health.
