Best Memory Board Game for Brain Training

Looking for the best memory board game for brain training? You have come to the right place! The human brain is the most complex organ of our body; we attempt to understand this complicated structure again and again but fail every time something new comes up. With the limited verified knowledge out there, we learn how our brain manages so many tasks simultaneously. 

The human brain is divided into many regions that have specific dominant functions, but all of them need to work in harmony to produce even the simplest of reactions like picking up a fork. Similarly, keeping a memory seems like a pretty simple task, but for our brain, it is quite a workout. 

Our memory storage system depends upon our intelligence quotient, which in layman terms is determined by our IQ number. During the early developmental years of an adolescent, the brain matures to its full capacity, and hence the terminal IQ number is determined at that point as well. 

There are many ways to enhance the process of learning and start memory training at an early stage of development. But children are often drawn away from scientific knowledge and such tough subjects. 

If you don't know already which games will be suitable for you and your family then spend a few minutes here and learn all about it. We have a complete list of board games that you and your family can extract benefit from just give our blog a read and you will understand the importance of board games and the aspects to consider before purchasing a board game for your family. 

Let's get started!

Our Overall #1 Rated Pick


Pressman Chess
  • Improves motor skills
  • Increases IQ level
  • Enhances concentration and critical thinking
  • Prevents Alzheimer

Chess was created almost 500 years ago, and now it is one of the most popular strategy board games. Playing chess enhances IQ level, brain development, and concentration. Playing chess makes us think deeply and keenly about the solutions to a problem and never give up. 

Not only does chess help in improving skills, but it also helps in the prevention of Alzheimer's. The brain is a crucial part of our body, and it needs exercise just like other body parts to stay healthy and fit. It teaches you planning and focus.

The 10 Best Memory Board games Comparison Chart

The 10 Best Memory Board games for brain Training Out There

In this section, we review the Top 10 Memory Board games for brain Training.

Pressman Chess

Chess was created almost 500 years ago, and now it is one of the most popular strategy board games. Playing chess enhances IQ level, brain development, and concentration. Playing chess makes us think deeply and keenly about the solutions to a problem and never give up. 

Not only does chess help in improving skills, but it also helps in the prevention of Alzheimer's. The brain is a crucial part of our body, and it needs exercise just like other body parts to stay healthy and fit. It teaches you planning and focus. 

Playing chess, you have to think before every single move you make. The whole game revolves around logical thinking. As you constantly visualize your moves and your opponent's countermove, it improves your concentration.

Features

  • Chessboard: 2-player
  • Checkered board: 64 squares and 8 x 8 grid
  • Material: heavy-duty
  • Ivory pieces: 32, plastic made
  • Black pieces: 32, plastic made

PROS

  • Improves motor skills
  • Increases IQ level
  • Enhances concentration and critical thinking
  • Prevents Alzheimer
  • The chessboard is folding
  • Perfect family game
  • Portable and affordable

CONS

  • Pieces might be a little fragile
SmartGames – Puzzel

The puzzle is a remarkable game to increase short-term memory. The brain has two hemispheres, and the puzzle helps enhance the activity of both sides. One side of your brain controls logical thinking, and the other side controls creativity. 

Playing puzzles, you exercise critical thinking as you have to think logically for each step to complete the puzzle. It helps to enhance motor skills in kids and facilitates their concentration. We utilize our memory in remembering the shapes, techniques, and strategies while completing the puzzle so that it will help us next time when we play it. 

While completing a puzzle, you think and visualize your moves that trigger your spatial reasoning skills. When we focus on how to solve the puzzle, our minds are just doing one task, and that takes our brains into a meditative state.

Features

  • Puzzle game board: 5 puzzle pieces
  • A booklet including challenges
  • A book having pictures
  • Little red riding hood, a house, a wolf and 3 trees
  • Games have 4 levels

PROS

  • Affordable
  • Portable
  • Increases motor skills
  • Helps improving IQ and critical thinking
  • Reduces stress level
  • Increases parent-kid relationship

CONS

  • The booklet might have flimsy pages
  • Might be a little tricky to understand at first
ThinkFun Laser Maze

We know that physical exercise keeps our body healthy and fit. The same goes for our brain. Playing games can help exercise our brain cells. This maze game helps boost IQ level, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. 

It comes with different pieces, and to complete the game, you have to focus on the movement of each piece. It helps with concentration and focus. When we visualize our moves to complete the maze and how to place each piece, it enhances our spatial reasoning skills. It is also a great STEM board game. 

The game comes with different challenge cards, and for winning it, you have to think logically that helps with problem-solving skills. Attaching pieces in the correct position increases motor skills.

 If you keep doing this exercise again and again for a long period your brain remembers the techniques, strategy, and patterns. This helps with increasing the memory of your kid.

Features

  • Challenge cards: 60 pieces
  • Game board: 1 piece
  • Game tokens: 11
  • 1 x laser
  • 5 x mirrors
  • 2 x beam splitters
  • 1 x double-mirror
  • 1 x cell blocker
  • 1 x checkpoint

PROS

  • Affordable and portable
  • Increases IQ level and critical thinking
  • The game comes with extra batteries
  • Boosts visualization and spatial reasoning
  • Fun and challenging
  • Easy to learn

CONS

  • The contact between pieces and the board is weak
SmartGames Smart Farmer Board Game

Kids tend to learn more when they are having fun. Board games help increase kids' IQ level, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. This board game helps to boost the cognitive skills of your kid. It is a puzzle game that triggers kids' motor skills. 

To complete the puzzle, kids have to figure out which shape goes where. This enhances visualization and spatial reasoning. It can be turned into a family game that results in an enriched parent-kid relationship. 

Puzzles challenges kids to think and make a strategy to complete it. When it is played again, and again kids remember all the moves, shapes, and techniques that enhance the long-term memory of a kid. It also helps with motor skills: eye-hand coordination. 

The game comes with different challenges, and each challenge requires a new strategy. The brain cells exercise and link with other brain cells to create new ones.

Features

  • Game challenges: 60
  • Game levels: 4
  • Game board: plastic made
  • 3 x fences
  • 2 x cows
  • 2 x horses
  • 2 x pigs
  • 2 x sheep
  • A booklet of instructions

PROS

  • Affordable
  • Portable
  • Increases IQ level
  • Boosts problem-solving and motor skills
  • Enhances cognitive skills

CONS

  • Pieces might be a little fragile
Pandemic

Educational games help to boost kids' IQ levels, motor skills, and cognitive skills. Pandemic is one of the best educational games in the market. It revolves around planning and critical thinking after 4 diseases have broken out of nowhere in the world. 

Now specialists have to work as a team to find out the cure. This game promotes teamwork and coordination among kids as they play it in a group. Planning out the strategies to save the world triggers their logical thinking and spatial reasoning. 

Controlling the epidemic outbreak makes them think for all the possible planning strategies that help in the healthy growth of their brain. The gameplay time is 45 minutes, so they have to work fast and give their best. 

Knowing the strengths of each character in the game and remembering them enhances the memory of a kid.

Features

  • Character cards
  • Board
  • Players: 2 or 4
  • Playtime: 45 minutes
  • Play cards

PROS

  • Easy to learn
  • Enhances IQ level
  • Increases problem-solving skills
  • Fun and educational
  • Promotes teamwork
  • Boosts cognitive skills

CONS

  • Might be tricky to understand in the beginning
Scrabble Game

Scrabble can help your kid in healthy brain growth and improves vocabulary. No doubt, scrabble teaches us new and unique words that enrich our vocabulary. 

Children focus on the game and think about tricks. Concentration helps kids learn fast. It increases the IQ level and problem-solving skills of kids. Scrabble is all about creating words, but the trick here is to create a long word and earn more points. 

This requires thinking and planning. Sometimes a good move will give the opponent enough opportunity to win. So, you have to think smart. This game helps to enhance memory. A good memory means you have trained well, and that improves cognitive skills. 

These skills help in facing challenging tasks in daily life. No better game can be found that helps both with brain growth and improve vocabulary at the same time.

Features

  • Letter tiles: 100
  • Tile racks: 4
  • Game guide
  • 1 x gameboard
  • Bag to store tiles
  • Each tile with scores

PROS

  • Affordable
  • Improves IQ level
  • Enhances problem-solving skills
  • Fun and educational
  • Improve vocabulary
  • Good quality material

CONS

  • Racks might be fragile
Monopoly Board Game

A monopoly is a real estate board game. It is a classic game for 2 or players. It revolves around buying and developing land, and the player who has a large amount of money at the end wins the game. The game requires a lot of tricks, techniques, planning, fore sighting, and strategy. It helps kids to improve their planning and problem-solving skills at a young age. 

Winning and learning from mistakes are the goals here. To win, you have to do smart planning that includes thinking and concentration. While focusing on brain cells are in constant exercise mode, and they develop. 

Buying land and saving money could be tricky, so in this game, you will learn to make wise decisions and think logically to remain in the safe zone. This game also enhances self-confidence in kids. They become confident and believe in their decisions more often.

Features

  • 1 x gameboard
  • 1 x bank tray
  • Houses
  • Hotels
  • Lucky cards
  • Community cards
  • Money
  • 1 x dice

PROS

  • Good Quality
  • Affordable
  • Fun and educational
  • Enhances problem-solving skills
  • Helps with cognitive skills
  • Family-oriented game

CONS

  • Money might be a little fragile
Rush Hour Traffic Jam Logic Game

This is a logic game in which you have to complete the path to get free from traffic. It requires a lot of problem-solving skills and planning.  When a kid concentrates on solving the problem and thinks logically, it will help boost his focus. 

Motor skills also increase as there is a lot of movement of pieces. Kids who are enthusiastic about learning planning and strategy this game is best for them. It is a fact that kids tend to learn more when they are challenged. 

These challenges made them confident, and they believe in their decisions. Planning will help them in practical life. When they concentrate on solving the game, their brains go in meditation mode that helps them healthily fight with stress and anxiety. Moreover, it is best for the healthy growth of their brain.

Features

  • 1 x red car
  • 4 x blocking trucks
  • 11 x blocking cars
  • 1 x traffic grid
  • Challenges: 40 with solutions
  • Booklet with instructions

PROS

  • Easy to play
  • Affordable
  • Helps in boosting IQ level
  • Increases problem-solving skills
  • Improves planning techniques
  • Comes with a bag to store the game
  • Help with increasing self-confidence in kids

CONS

  • The material is not very high-quality
Retro Series Clue

The clue is a classic edition of a detective game. The players have to figure out the facts behind the murder: the murderer, the location, and the weapon. The game begins with the murder of Mr. Boddy. He has been murdered in his mansion, and it involves 9 mansion rooms, 6 guests and 6 weapons. Playing the clue game teaches children how to think logically from all perspectives to reach the end.

This helps in boosting critical thinking and problem-solving skills—this game helps in promoting a good IQ level. The kid will have fun and learn about different skills that will help them with the healthy development of the brain. 

It enhances spatial reasoning in kids when they create links between murder, murderer, weapons, and the guests present at the party. In short, this game will increase logical thinking, problem-solving skills, planning, and spatial reasoning in the kid—all of these results in healthy brain development.

Features

  • 6 x Wooden token
  • Old Weapons
  • Die
  • Notes for detective
  • Envelop with solution
  • Cards with graphics
  • Instructions booklet

PROS

  • Available in advance models
  • Affordable
  • Increases IQ level
  • Boosts spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills.
  • Family-oriented game
  • Develop self-confidence

CONS

  • The game might be tricky to understand in the beginning
Prime Climb

It is a mathematical board game. You have to roll the dice and make your way towards the center of the game by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. It teaches kids mathematics in a fun way. 

Kids tend to learn more and faster when it is fun for them. It helps increase problem-solving skills in your kid and boost IQ levels. 

When kids roll the dice and make their way towards the center of the game by facing problems, it gives them self-confidence. It is the best game to help them with healthy brain development.

Features

  • A board
  • 24 x prime cards
  • 4 x blank cards
  • 8 x colored prawns
  • 2 x dice

PROS

  • Easy to play
  • Helps to boost IQ levels
  • Improves problem-solving skills
  • Boosts brain growth
  • Family game
  • Fun and educational

CONS

  • A bit expensive

Buying Guide

To buy the perfect board game for your family, you must understand the aspects you need to consider before breaking out your wallet. To help you make this decision, we have compiled a list of qualities you might want to be based on your desirability in a board game you subject your family to.

Indulgent

The first principal any board game has to follow is that it needs to be indulgent. The board games were invented to create an atmosphere where the players would have to focus on the game with all of the components of the nervous system. 

A board game should be built in a way that it is able to paint a virtual picture in your brain and distract you from the world to create the ultimate experience. This quality plays an integral part in building the stamina to concentrate on the given issue rather than having your mind wander from one issue to another and not being able to solve any of them. 

Story-based

Story-based board games are often preferred because they are able to attract even the most distasteful of people. They have the ability to grow upon a person in a way that they feel unable to walk away without finishing the game. 

Also, it is fun to play a story-based board game because it may let you role-play a bit with your character in the game. A story-based board game often has consequences of bad decisions and thus teaches us the value of freedom like monopoly where you take a wrong step and the next moment lose all your money.

Multiple components 

If you have a big family, you might understand the struggle of board games having a set limit of players. You do not want any of your family members to feel left out, so always look for board games that can integrate all of your family or at least the ones that would be interested in playing with you. 

A game that has multiple components also allows you to mix and match your roles every time you play, so the duties do not get stagnant, and the game always remains interesting.

Picturesque 

A board has many purposes of serving besides providing an interactive medium for groups of people to come together and play. Any board game that has the ability to attract the consumers to itself must have some components that stand out. 

The quality of graphic design comes in play over here. The higher the picture quality, the more customers the game will attract.

Fun

Of all the things a board game needs to be the most important one is it needs to be fun to play it. After all, at the end of the day, we want to get away from the stress of the outside world to indulge in some relaxed game time with our family and friends. The more fun the game is, the more everyone will be interested in playing it again and again. 

STEM Approved

STEM toys are those that have the ability to stimulate the center of the brain responsible for learning. These groups of toys have the ability to create environments that push young minds towards the fields of science and technology. 

The board games are often termed as STEM toys because they can nurture the mindsets of children to integrate complex knowledge and produce a response based on logic and critical thinking within a small amount of time.

Benefits of Board Games

There are one too many benefits of board games, some of which we have taken the liberty to explain here further to convince you of the importance of board games.

  • Expediting Response

While playing board games, all of the centers of the brain start firing neurons because you are using every bit of it; for logic and reasoning, the prefrontal cortex, for image formation, the occipital lobe, etc. 

During the playtime, you have to make accurate and fast responses involving the game, but that mechanism gets integrated into your nervous system and then is used to generate a quick response in every situation.

  • Teamwork 

Board games are all about creating an environment that integrates different people into one similar situation. While playing competitive board games, one learns to form teams to build trust and rely on other people for specific tasks. 

While forming teams with your friends and family, we learn how to be patient if anyone messes up a little bit. Teamwork teaches us how to communicate with our like-minded people. The essence of collaboration and foundation of trust is built upon such exercises that promote teamwork, thus further enhancing our point of benefiting board games. 

In the professional world, successfully conveying your point across the table calls for great negotiation skills, all of which can be taught via board games like monopoly.

  • Cognitive Skills 

A person's cognitive skills depend a great deal upon the time dispensed on reaction formation. The cognition works by producing a response in our brain itself; it is what we think about things that we process at the moment. 

The decisions that we make in our everyday life depend on the cognitive skills of a person. Like everything, the neurons of our brain have a set time for developing the rest of the years of life that is spent on the maturation of said neurons. 

While playing board games, we program the neurons to fire faster electric potentials and increase the speed of reaction formation by many folds that are then utilized in an increased level of cognitive skills. This enhanced speed helps us process information faster and produce a response integrated with logic and strategy. 

  • Memory boost

The skills that we learn, as well as the common knowledge, is saved in our brain infractions with cues that the brain feels might be important in retracting such information from the memory center. 

When we play board games, we make decisions based on logic, and we learn to strategize, the knowledge of these processes happening in our brain gets stored for future usage. The information then helps us create unlimited cues in our brain with the production of specific cues. 

There are instances when people are not able to retract information because they cannot recall the cues associated with those memories, but in reality, that information never gets stored in their brain. The board games create such integrated responses that we learn to manage cues and store information in the brain permanently, and in this way, they help boost our memory.

FAQs

Can board games become addictive?

Sometimes, people are drawn to play board games again and again out of boredom only. But these games are not addictive, and their operation is subjective to your perspective only. If you feel that any board game can become addictive, then you might feel bored of it after some time of excessive playing.

Can some people be drawn away from board games?

There is a chance that people might not be attracted to board games for one reason only and that maybe that they do not understand the rules or the story behind it. Once explained, everyone loves to play a good old mind-stimulating game that is fun for everyone at the same time.

Can we change the rules to board games for ourselves?

A lot of the board games come with instruction packages of their own. But most of the people add or subtract rules according to their own liking in order to make the game more complex or simple based on their audience.

Does losing a board game impact a kid's mind?

Children's mindset can be impacted in many ways, and hence the games are involved in them too. If you voluntarily let a child win every time, they might end up thinking they are superior. And if you constantly defeat them, it might crush their confidence. It best to play with children at their level of expertise so as to create a competitive environment without being discouraged.

Final Words

The tradition of board games is hundreds of years old, and that is not the only evidence it stands upon. The recent scientific studies back up the importance of board games in memory training as well as enhancing IQ levels. 

The level of complexity of board games may differ, but their function stands strong behind tradition as well as scientific inquiry. These board games, in times like these, are the only rehab from the stress of the outside world. 

They are the best alternative for introverts to attract their children and create a family-friendly all-inclusive atmosphere in a fun way. These board games create geniuses at an early age, all while being fun and informative as well. 

Buy one of the above reviewed 10 best memory board games for brain training and help your kid become a genius!

Happy Learning, Folks!