Adult sufferers of ADHD often have difficulty focusing and tuning out distractions. Participating in conversation with others can also be a challenge when behaviors such as zoning out when someone else is talking or the inability to stay on one topic when speaking are common. Emotionally, adults with ADHD often have unpredictable moods, low tolerance for frustration and high anxiety levels. These problems are exacerbated when procrastination, disorganization, and the inability to start and/or finish projects create negative consequences in a job or family setting. Impulsivity, or the inability to regulate behavior, also manifests in adult ADHD. Speaking without thinking, jumping to irrational conclusions, rash decision making, and extreme risk taking can be key indicators in the disorder.

Using cognitive skill boosting activities that strengthen memory, critical thinking, focus and attention, and coordination. Activities should be challenging but not frustrating. It is also best if they can be done in shorter periods of time and don’t have a complex list of rules. Coordination activities and Critical Thinking activities can be helpful in improving concentration and planning skills. Adults who struggle with ADD and ADHD can alleviate some of the difficulties with lack of attention and disorganization by working the brain in new ways. Coordination activities and Critical Thinking activities can be helpful in improving concentration and planning skills. We recommend Juggling Scarves, Buckyballs, Colorku, and Quarto for challenging and strengthening these skills. Our Brain Fitness Software programs like Insight, EmWave and NeuroActive Complete work in very specific ways to program our bodies and our brains to focus and to filter out distraction

Childhood ADHD

ADHD in childhood can manifest, in varying degrees, in an inability to focus, impulsivity and hyperactivity. For kids with ADHD, idle time may exacerbate their symptoms and create chaos in the home, so one of the best ways to avoid problems is by keeping them busy. Additionally, recent studies have shown a link between many of the problems shown by children with ADHD and deficits in working memory. The research suggests that training and improving the function of working memory can diminish the symptoms of ADHD. Studies have also shown marked improvement in the working memory of children through the use of a computerized training program.

Memory and Concentration Games are a great idea for improving working memory, as well as focus and attention, and they are quick and fun to play. Through repeated playing, brain circuits are “exercised” and challenged, which strengthens connections and thus improves function. Experts on ADD and ADHD recommend games that are less complicated and low-tech. If there are too many rules or steps to the game, children can easily become frustrated and lose interest.

Memory and Concentration Games: Games such as Pengoloo and Sherlock are great ideas for improving memory and concentration and are quick and fun to play. Both games challenge players to remember where the clues or eggs are hidden. Through repeated playing, brain circuits are “exercised” and challenged, which strengthens connections and thus improves function. Experts on ADD and ADHD recommend games that are less complicated and low-tech. If there are too many rules or steps to the game, children can easily become frustrated and lose interest. Pentago and Gobblet are challenging strategy games from our Critical Thinking section that are fun and engaging, but simple to learn.

Alzheimer's

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60. It is estimated that 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and it is now the number 6 cause of death in the US. Although AD cannot be prevented or reversed, strengthening your cognitive reserve by engaging in stimulating intellectual, social and physical activities can delay or reduce the severity of symptoms.

Recent studies have shown that people who engage in intellectual activities such as reading, playing board games, completing crossword puzzles, playing musical instruments or regular social interaction show a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease. This is similar to the theory of cognitive reserve, which states that some life experiences result in more efficient neural functioning which in turn provide the individual with a “cognitive reserve” that delays the onset of dementia manifestations. What this all means is that intellectual stimulation builds a stronger brain, and a stronger brain is less susceptible to the degenerative effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Also, it’s never too late, or early, to educate yourself about the various other things you can do to pro-actively ward off Alzheimer’s disease.

Software programs are the most comprehensive products and have the most science and clinical research into their effectiveness in fighting cognitive decline. Memory games are great for working short term memory skills. Puzzles are perfect for strengthening visual perception as well as manual dexterity. Since word recall may become difficult, word searches and other simple word puzzles, or word games can be recommended.

Attention

Attention is our ability to focus on something while tuning out other sensory information that could disrupt that focus. As we are bombarded with lots of sensory information, most of the time, our brain is able to filter through what is important and what is not. This is due in large part to frontal lobe function. The act of choosing what information to pay attention to is known as “selective attention”, but the selection is not necessarily conscious. How selective attention works is a little unclear, but research tends to focus on two different areas. One school of thought attributes the selection process to arousal of the senses, while another theory holds that it is a neural process.

Auditory Processing

The neurological functions associated with the perception and understanding of sound. Auditory Processing is what allows us to interpret spoken word, and distinguish important auditory signals from noise. As we age, our brain begins to slow down in its ability to process auditory information. This can affect our ability to remember information, follow a conversation or presentation, follow instructions, and other skills that we need to function in our daily lives. Auditory Processing Disorder is a problem that affects how the brain receives and interprets information. It causes a breakdown in receiving, remembering and understanding auditory information. In children its symptoms can sometimes be confused with symptoms of ADD because it can affect the child’s ability to listen, follow instructions and to filter out background noises that distract them. The Posit Science Brain Fitness Auditory Program (Also known as The Brain Fitness Program) successfully works to re-train the brain to process auditory information. The program increases the speed at which the brain processes the information, improves the accuracy with which the information is interpreted and sharpens the way the information is recorded.

Autism

A neural development disorder characterized by repetitive behavior and impaired social interaction and communication. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize. However, scientists and doctors are not sure why this happens. Symptoms usually manifest in children before the age of three.

For autistic children, multi-player games are an excellent way to teach valuable life skills. Games present ways for autistic children to socialize, including playing with non-autistic children, and the creative process of learning a new game provides parents with a fun way to connect with their children. Playing games can develop memory, problem-solving, deduction and planning skills. Word games can improve vocabulary skills. Games with multiple players encourage social skills and communication skills. The preset rules also teach children how to share, take turns and win in a fair competition or loose without a tantrum. A number of games provide opportunities to sharpen fine and gross motor skills such as hand and eye coordination and balance. Children in higher functioning levels of autism can also improve cognitive skills with brain fitness software programs that are created for children.

Brain Injury

Although there is no single cure for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), cognitive rehabilitation is the most common approach for those who have suffered an injury to the brain. The treatment that TBI patients go through is based on neuropsychological symptoms identified in special tests. Treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms. Various cognitive tasks, such as solving logic puzzles, practicing concentration skills, and reading, are commonly used in rehabilitation, but often aren’t enough. In many cases, basic skills – attention, focus, and perceptual skills – must be re-developed and strengthened first.

Coordination

Coordination involves groups of muscles working together to execute movement. The coordination center of your brain is the cerebellum. This handy little marvel can be found just above the brain stem, toward the back of the brain and is responsible for voluntary motor movement, balance, equilibrium, and muscle tone. It also includes hand-eye coordination, which is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task, such as writing or catching a ball.

Our coordination section has products that exercise manual dexterity, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and balance. The products in this section also tend to be the most active. In addition to strengthening hand-eye coordination and balance, they also have an added brain benefit.

During the warmer months, Marbles the Brain Store puts a spotlight on products from our Coordination section that you play with outside. Our buying department has scoured through hundreds of products to find unique and engaging items that incorporate physical activity. Customers may look at the products and automatically assume that they are just for kids, but we’d like to challenge that assumption.

You probably know that physical activity is good for your heart, but did you know that it is extremely beneficial to your brain as well? Research has shown that exercise increases the diameter of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain, allowing greater delivery of oxygen to your neurons. It can also stimulate the growth of connections between those neurons (known as synapses). These connectors can strengthen many areas of our brain. Ultimately, areas of the brain governing reasoning, judgment and memory are actually increased in volume. Recent studies have even shown that physical activity can decrease your risk of dementia, including symptoms from Alzheimer’s Disease.

We also carry classic puzzles like the Rubik’s Cube that work your fine motor skills, as well as problem solving and logic. For those who like to build things we have options that range in degree of difficulty from simple to challenging. These activities work your fine motor skills, dexterity, visual-spatial skills and your creativity.

Creativity

Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby something new is created which has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs. What counts as "valuable" is similarly defined in a variety of ways. Scholarly interest in creativity ranges widely: the mental and neurological processes associated with creative activity; the relationship between personality type and creative ability; the relationship between creativity and intelligence, learning and mental health; and ways of fostering creativity through training and technology. Creativity and creative acts are therefore studied across several disciplines - psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, and economics. As a result there is a multitude of definitions and approaches.

Critical Thinking

"Critical" as used in the expression "critical thinking" connotes the importance or centrality of the thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern. "Critical" in this context does not mean "disapproved" or "negative." There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem, deliberating as a group about what course of action to take, or analyzing the assumptions and the quality of the methods used in scientifically arriving at a reasonable level of confidence about a given hypothesis. Using strong critical thinking we might evaluate an argument, for example, as worthy of acceptance because it is valid and based on true premises. Upon reflection, a speaker may be evaluated as a credible source of knowledge on a given topic. Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening can all be done critically or uncritically. Critical thinking is crucial to becoming a close reader and a substantive writer. Expressed most generally, critical thinking is "a way of taking up the problems of life."

Dementia

Although the causes of dementia are not yet defined and there is currently no cure, there is growing evidence that certain measures can be taken that will postpone the onset of the disease and slow its progression. Research increasingly shows that engaging in intellectual activities may help keep a person mentally sharp in their senior years. The Nun Study carried out by researchers at the University of Kentucky examined the autobiographies of nearly 100 nuns written as young women. Those women who evidenced low linguistic ability in early life were found to be more likely to develop AD in later years. The Einstein Aging Study conducted by Verghese et al. studied the relationship between leisure activities and the risk of dementia in a prospective cohort of 469 subjects older than 75 years. Their findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2003, showed that reading, playing cards or board games such as chess, checkers or Scrabble, and playing a musical instrument all correlated with a lower risk of developing dementia, both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. In addition, the more frequent the activity, the lower the risk. Why activity contributes to prevent dementia could be explained by a "brain reserve" or "cognitive reserve" built up by the brain, resulting in additional connections between neurons that are more resistant to the deterioration seen in dementia.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements which occur e.g., in the fingers, usually in coordination with the eyes. In application to motor skills of hands (and fingers) the term dexterity is commonly used.The abilities which involve the use of hands develop over time, starting with primitive gestures such as grabbing at objects to more precise activities that involve precise eye–hand coordination. Fine motor skills are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand, fingers, and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing, and buttoning.

Hand-Eye Coordination

The coordinated control of eye movement with hand movement. Hand-Eye coordination is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task, such as writing or catching a ball. It has been studied in activities as diverse as tea making, the movement of solid objects such as wooden blocks, sporting performance, music reading, online first person computer gaming, and copy-typing. It is a way of performing everyday tasks and in its absence most people would be unable to carry out even the simplest of actions such as picking up a book from a table or playing a video game.

Judgment

Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. Critical thinking games such as Dao are excellent ways to improve your judgment in social and professional situations.

Learning Disorders

Board games are an excellent way to help your learning-disabled child learn and practice important skills. Experts report that children continue to progress at home through interacting with their family and friends and practicing the lessons learned at school. To help with this progression, parents should look for games that reinforce social and learning skills while remaining both fun and relaxing for the child. Game play also builds on skills that the child may not be able to focus on at school. Social skills such as waiting for a turn, following rules and sharing are difficult to teach in a one-on-one situation between a teacher and a student. These skills can become less structured, and therefore easier to learn, when they are practiced with a group of friends while playing a board game. While the aspects of building and implementing a strategy may prove frustrating for the learning disabled child. As an alternative, games such as Mancala can be played without require strategies, as a simple practice of social skills, turn-taking, counting, reading and working towards a goal.

Logical Reasoning

In logic, three kinds of logical reasoning can be distinguished: deduction, induction and abduction. Given a precondition, a conclusion, and a rule that the precondition implies the conclusion, they can be explained in the following way: Deduction means determining the conclusion. It is using the rule and its precondition to make a conclusion. Example: "When it rains, the grass gets wet. It rains. Therefore, the grass is wet." Mathematicians are commonly associated with this style of reasoning. Induction means determining the rule. It is learning the rule after numerous examples of the conclusion following the precondition. Example: "The grass has been wet every time it has rained. Therefore, when it rains, the grass gets wet." Scientists are commonly associated with this style of reasoning. Abduction means determining the precondition. It is using the conclusion and the rule to support that the precondition could explain the conclusion. Example: "When it rains, the grass gets wet. The grass is wet, therefore, it may have rained." Diagnosticians and detectives are commonly associated with this style of reasoning.

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory (LTM) is memory that can last as little as a few days or as long as decades. It differs structurally and functionally from working memory or short-term memory, which ostensibly stores items for only around 18 seconds (Peterson and Peterson, 1959). Biologically, short-term memory is a temporary potentiation of neural connections that can become long-term memory through the process of rehearsal and meaningful association. Much is not known about the underlying biological mechanisms of long-term memory, but the process of long-term potentiation, which involves a physical change in the structure of neurons, has been proposed as the mechanism by which short-term memories move into long-term storage. The time scale involved at each level of memory processing remains under investigation. As long-term memory is subject to fading in the natural forgetting process, several recalls/retrievals of memory may be needed for long-term memories to last for years, dependent also on the depth of processing. Individual retrievals can take place in increasing intervals in accordance with the principle of spaced repetition. This can happen quite naturally through reflection or deliberate recall (also known as recapitulation), often dependent on the perceived importance of the material.

Mental Illnesses (Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder)

Bipolar Disorder

Sometimes referred to as manic depression, bipolar disorder is a brain disorder characterized by extreme mood shifts that can affect a person’s ability to function from day to day. It is thought to be caused by a chemical imbalance that alters a person’s mood. This imbalance could be hormonal or a chemical imbalance that affects the relay of messages among nerve cells. In a manic state, a person may experience a period of “high” that can include inflated self-esteem, inability to focus, extreme irritability, reckless behavior, hyperactivity, racing thoughts, and talking very fast while jumping from one topic to another. In a “low” or depressed state a person can experience restlessness, fatigue, difficulties with sleep (too much or too little), appetite extremes, feelings of despair, and suicidal thoughts. Bipolar disorder is often difficult to diagnose because its symptoms overlap with other disorders or diagnoses like Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a life-long illness, but it can be treated with medication and therapy. Recognizing what can trigger episodes is often helpful in coping with the disorder. For instance, highly stressful situations and lack of sleep can cause an onset of symptoms. Stress management tools like EmWave Desktop can be beneficial in monitoring and controlling the mind and body’s response to stress. As a result, retraining the mind and body to cope with stress can also help with insomnia and poor sleep quality. Therapists often recommend physical activity to help counteract the effects of stress, and to help focus the mind. Adding a fun element to activity can give a mental boost. EmWave Desktop and Kiwido are fun tools to help get you moving. Along with medication and therapy, cognitive exercises and nutrition can play a big part in managing bipolar disorder. Dr. Amen’s Change Your Brain Change Your Life DVD highlights how lifestyle and environmental factors can improve or exacerbate symptoms.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder and brain disease. It is often characterized by delusions and hallucinations, distorted speech and behavior, and impairment of cognitive processes such as memory, organizing thoughts and prioritizing tasks. There may also be periods of emotional flatness or detachment from ones life. Approximately 2 million Americans suffer from the disease, but a diagnosis is often difficult because symptoms can be similar to other mental and cognitive diseases. Schizophrenics also struggle with social skills and communication skills. Because of these difficulties, and the stigma surrounding the disease, isolation can often occur. In group home or group therapy sessions, social games are often used to encourage positive social interaction. Games like Telestrations and Blurt can be helpful with communication and interacting with other people. To improve memory skills, we recommend games like Magic Labyrinth, Charley Harper Memory Game, The Brain Fitness Program and Telgruv. Other cognitive issues, such as difficulty with problem solving, can be addressed in a fun way with products like Rush Hour, Pentago and Colorku.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Doctors are not certain what causes Borderline Personality Disorder, but it can be linked to genetic factors, and most often environmental factors. People who have BPD may have suffered trauma during childhood or adolescence such as abandonment, an unstable family structure or sexual abuse. Characteristics of the disorder often include identity issues that result in rapid changes in values, interests, and feelings toward people in their life. They also have a high level of impulsive behavior that involves risk taking, extreme mood swings, and inappropriate displays of anger. This impulsivity can also be witnessed in promiscuity, shoplifting, substance abuse and binge eating. If not treated and managed, the disorder can lead to self harm. Recommended treatment can include individual talk therapy, behavioral therapy, group therapy, and medication to control mood swings or depression. In a therapy group setting, people who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder can benefit from moderately structured social activities. Social games can be great at helping with communication skills and reinforcing appropriate social behavior. We recommend Storymatic, Dixit, Pass the Popcorn and Instructures.

Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition is "the act of taking in raw data and taking an action based on the category of the pattern." Most research in pattern recognition is about methods for supervised learning and unsupervised learning. Pattern recognition aims to classify data (patterns) based either on a priori knowledge or on statistical information extracted from the patterns. The patterns to be classified are usually groups of measurements or observations, defining points in an appropriate multidimensional space. This is in contrast to pattern matching, where the pattern is rigidly specified.

Sequential Reasoning

Sequential Reasoning is the ability to start with stated conditions, rules or parameters and to undertake steps that lead to a solution to the problem. Sequential Reasoning moves beyond retaining and recalling information (learning by rote). It requires the application and analysis of information in order to deduce what steps to take. We use sequential reasoning in decision making and in problem solving. Board games are a fun and effective way to strengthen these skills. Games like Rush Hour, Quoridor and Chess involve the movement of game pieces in sequential steps to solve the challenge or win the game.

Short-Term Memory

Short-term memory (STM) (or "primary" or "active memory") is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds. Estimates of short-term memory capacity are 7 plus or minus 2 units, depending upon the experimental design used to estimate capacity. A commonly-cited capacity is 7±2 elements. In contrast, long-term memory indefinitely stores a seemingly unlimited amount of information.

Spatial Reasoning

Spatial Reasoning refers to the ability to form mental images, to visualize movement or change in those images and to formulate ideas or draw conclusions based on the spatial relationships between those images. Geometry, for example, requires good Spatial Reasoning skills. People with well developed Spatial Reasoning have the ability to visualize concepts and values as well as images, and to form and test new ideas and create new possibilities within their own minds.

Strategic Planning

A cognitive skill that incorporates forward thinking to create a system of steps or a strategy to accomplish a task or specific goal. It is often used in conjunction with problem solving and critical thinking. Solving puzzles and playing games that involve strategy are ways you can strengthen this area. Products like Rush Hour, V-Cube, Quoridor and Hive give you the perfect opportunity to work on your planning skills while have fun.

Stress Relief

Studies show that stress can have a negative impact on our physical and emotional health. When our body’s stress response is triggered, hormones get released. These hormones are part of the body’s survival system known as “Fight or Flight”. The “Fight or Flight response is only supposed to be triggered when we are in danger, but unfortunately we often live in a sustained state of heightened stress. This can affect our health, impair our judgment, inhibit sleep and create conflict in our work and personal relationships. It also affects our ability to problem-solve, communicate clearly and effectively, and perform at our best.

EmWave Desktop and EmWave Personal are products that can help re-train the mind and body over time to reduce the stress response. Buckyballs, Tangle Therapy and Marbles Mind Putty are great products to relieve every day stress in your life. When the stress hits at work, these products can keep your hands busy and the stress at bay. These stress-relieving items can also give you a chance to breathe, clear your head and to spark your creativity.

Stroke

Because stroke affects different functional areas of the brain, there is no single recommended treatment plan for stroke. Instead, doctors and therapists of various disciplines must work together to create an appropriate rehabilitation plan to match each individual stroke victim's needs. This may involve speech therapy, physical therapy, nutrition counseling, mental health treatment, and more. After a stroke, mental and physical capabilities are regained through the brain's ability to change, or neuroplasticity. This means that a person who loses a particular function due to stroke must work very hard and in a targeted manner to retrain their brain and regain that function. Board games are an excellent way to target the different sections of the brain and help a recovering stroke victim regain their prior abilities. With practice, a stroke survivor can strengthen neural connections for the lost functions and regain some or all of their prior abilities.

Visual Perception

Visual perception is a combined function of our eyes and brain. We see images as a whole rather than in parts. However, images can be broken down into their visual elements: line, shape, texture, and color. Elements of visual perception include: visual closure-the ability to identify or recognize a symbol or object when the entire object is not visible; visual discrimination-the differentiation of objects based on their characteristics (shape, size, color, etc.); visual memory-the ability to store and retrieve visual images and experiences; visual integration-the ability to integrate visual information with information from our other senses or from other visual information.

Using products such as On the Dot, Tangoes, Brick by Brick and Q-Bitz can be a fun and engaging activities to help strengthen areas of visual perception. Software programs like Insight and Brainware Safari offer activities to help improve visual perception and the way the brain processes information. See Visual Processing for more information.

Visual Processing

Visual processing is the ability to interpret information taken in through the eyes. This processing allows us to perceive, analyze and think in visual images, and it is necessary for reading, remembering, walking, driving and the majority of our everyday tasks. The aging brain experiences a slowdown in processing speed which can affect the reception, interpretation and storage of visual information. Difficulties can be experienced in the following tasks: remembering driving directions, finding specific info on a page (like a name or phone number), organizing information from different sources and combining it together, tracking moving objects, and reading with speed and precision. Posit Sciences’ Visual Program, also known as Insight, can retrain the brain to process visual information. The program targets four areas of visual processing (visual memory, peripheral vision, useful field of view and divided attention).

Visual processing disorders in children and young adults can inhibit their ability to learn in the classroom. Difficulties are often witnessed in some of the following areas: reading speed and accuracy, reading comprehension, interpreting written symbols, copying from the board or a book, writing neatly and within the margins, easily distracted by competing visual information and problems distinguishing letters and numbers. Recommended by educators, optometrists, and psychologists, Brainware Safari can improve visual processing in children. Using a video game format, the program targets many skills necessary for learning including visual discrimination, visual-motor integration, visual memory and visual thinking.

Visual Scanning

The ability to scan an image and pick out details. Finding a street address, looking for information on a website, locating the correct gate at the airport, picking out items at the grocery store or editing a paper are all common examples of how we use visual scanning in our daily lives.

Our eyes take in visual information through small, rapid eye movements called saccades. These saccades are like quick snapshots that the eye takes and sends to the brain. Think of all of those snapshots and how the brain filters out what information it needs in that moment. We can actually work to strengthen these skills. Spotcha and Spot It are excellent at building these skills.

Vocabulary Improvement

Reading books is one of the best ways to improve your vocabulary. But while reading, do you notice that you often know words by their context without actually being able to define them or use them? Expanding your recognition and understanding of words is important, but the ultimate goal of vocabulary improvement is being able to incorporate and use them in verbal and written communication. The book Build Your Power Vocabulary is a great tool for helping you to connect to words and incorporate them in to your conversation. The book explains the etymology, or where the word comes from, and why we use it. Learning the roots of our language can help you understand a wider range of words and their usage.

Use your imagination. Children learn words by playing with them. They sing them, shout them and create stories with them. Try to find fun ways to use the words you learn. You can use some of our creativity games like Storymatic or Rory’s Story Cubes to fuel your imagination. Create an additional challenge by incorporating several new words you’ve just learned into the stories you create in these games.

One very important aspect of learning new words is to have fun. Improving your vocabulary doesn’t have to be a chore. Playing word games is a great way to strengthen your vocabulary. Playing classic games like Scrabble is always a great choice, but learning new word games can be even better. Combining your vocabulary workout with the novelty component that our brains crave will boost the learning process and help your brain remember what you learn. Bananagrams, Quiddler, Hink Pink and Word on the Street are some of our favorites.

Word Skills

Enhance your vocabulary, improve your ability to recall words, stimulate your creativity, learn a new language, or get better at solving crossword puzzles and playing Scrabble—whatever your goal may be, our Word Skills section can help you achieve it.

One overall way to improve your word skills is to learn another language. This may seem counterintuitive, but learning a foreign language (rather than simply studying your own) can actually strengthen your facility with language by giving you a better understanding of its structure and how we use it to express ourselves. You will also be improving your brain health. Research has shown that learning another language can reduce the risks of dementia.

Having trouble recalling words? Games like Blurt, Hink Pink and Smart Mouth challenge your brain to recall words quickly in order to beat your opponents. Are you a Puzzler looking for new challenges? Browse our variety of crosswords, acrostics and word puzzle decks.