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I was at a retro game event and picked up Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! as well as Brain Age 2 for the Nintendo DS. I played those games religiously during their heyday in like 2005 to 2006. While the games are out of print, they're not hard to obtain as long as you have an old shop nearby. I’d also look into narrative games like Life is Strange. Puzzlers like Tetris and Lumines come to mind as well.

I believe that games should be fun and stimulate the mind. For me, that’s something I save for outside of work hours. I’ve been involved in a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game with a local group of friends for about 5 years now and it’s been one of the best things to build my soft skills and critical thinking chops. its team building, quick decision making, strategy, improv, public speaking, and turn-based combat all rolled into a safe simulation of dangerous situations mediated by a neutral party.  i can say pretty confidently that D&D has made me a better friend, coworker, collaborator, and strategic decision maker. i recommend it for everyone.

For me, games are more than just entertainment—they're a wonderful tool for building essential everyday skills! Starting my day with a few rounds of Slay the Spire or Elder Scrolls Legends isn't just fun; it's a strategic workout that sharpens my critical thinking and primes me for success. And when the day winds down, there's nothing like immersing myself in a captivating single-player adventure to unwind and keep my mind engaged. Whether I'm delving into the Edo Period of Japan in Rise of the Ronin or diving into the cooperative chaos of Helldivers 2 with friends and family, each game offers unique opportunities to develop crucial skills like reflexes, critical thinking, and leadership.

Games are good as a diversion primarily in order to avoid being exercised and obsessed about the impending meeting; sudoko, bridge, chess, crossword puzzles and such other.. that said any game for that matter.. personally I’d prefer tennis .. the advantage of a physical game is that you are completely engrossed instinctively/ compellingly as the whole body is engaged and participated in the activity ; can we say the same thing about mental games/ exercises.. where there’s always the greater chance of being distracted and staying in focus itself may become tedious and a challenge .. So my preference would be a physical game to beat the stress of the mental exercise such as an office meeting

Part of my morning ritual consists of playing two different Cryptogram games and a couple of hands of solitaire (either Free Cell or Spider). All of the games can be timed based. The cryptograms games are a good way to play around with words. Plus most cryptograms end up being some sort of "Words of Wisdom" or "Thoughtful Message" that could add a spark to your day. The solitaire games are good for figuring out logic problems. Both games offer a quick little challenge that can be completed in a short time frame. Although, some times you get a puzzle that just kicks your butt. Those I save for later when I'll have a little more free time to complete them.

The game will change depending on the goal. If you need to destress, doing something easy but distracting is best. For a comparative example, coloring is a good exercise to calm stress. So, games that require only passive focus are good for stress. However, if you want to level up or engage in something that will help you to concentrate, raise the stakes. Color (or play your game) with your non-dominant hand. And never do a timed game. It will decrease your mental stamina. A game that forces you to concentrate without pressure is always your best bet to engage peak performance.

In observing spouse and colleagues, there are self-paced puzzle games (solitaire, soduku, programming, accounting) and externally-timed, direct-manipulation, geometric puzzle games (bejeweled, candy crush, playing a musical instrument) that both put their adherents into "the zone". But I don't know whether the two styles are different kinds of meditations, or merely different paths to the same place.

Brain-enabled games are perhaps the best way to increase cognitive performance, executive function, relaxation, mindfulness, or peak performance. Brain-enabled games are games that use neurotechnology to control the games primarily by mind alone. Games like Play Attention (www.playattention.com) have been shown to increase attention 5x, executive function 5x, global performance 4x, and behavior regulation by 3x over control groups who performed simple online brain games. This is because brain-enabled games provide real-time brain activity feedback while you play. Otherwise, you never really know what your brain is doing while you play. This is the same problem with practicing mindfulness on your own. You begin your session and two minutes later you catch yourself thinking about work, bills, relationships, etc. So, how much mindfulness are you training? You never really know without neurotechnology, but you can be certain it's not as much as you think.

Games are such a great tool to exercise your mind, and an even better tool to create bonds with family, friends, co-workers by engaging in healthy competition, better understanding thought process/personality and fostering collaboration. I start everyday with NY Times Connections, Sodoku, Wordle and the mini-crossword. At work, I still use the Creative Whak Pack my mom gifted me in high school.... I consider it a game-like object, Bannanagrams and of course DIY Pictionary. Always looking for more reccos...

Chess is the ultimate brain game. It requires multiple brain functions: calculation; recognition of patterns, strategy, tactics, playing quickly (e.g., 5-minute chess), following several decision branches to come to a conclusion about the best move, calculating your opponent's threats and possible defenses, coming up with an overall plan based on the various different moves of the pieces and coordinating their interactions or a plan based on the structural geometry of the position. I just met with a 95 year old chess master who is not only still playing, but is convinced that chess helps stave off dementia. As an educator, I've seen both studies and personal observations of how it helps young children with math skills and even thinking in terms of making plans and seeing consequences for their actions.