Marbles Top 10 Gifts for Word Nerds

Appletters -Some things just go together: peanut butter and jelly, movies and popcorn, Sonny and Cher. When you combine dominoes and Scrabble, you get the smart and delightful game of Appletters. Part wordplay and part matching, Appletters challenges players to make words and then build off of them using either the first or last letter of the growing chain.

Snatch It – Snatch-It happens to be one of the all-time favorites of Lindsay Gaskins, our brainy leader, president and CEO. She’s one smart cookie so, naturally, we can recommend it without equivocation. This competitive and fast-paced word game challenges players to think quickly while putting their vocabulary skills to the test.

Smart Mouth – So you fancy yourself a word nerd, huh? Well here’s your chance to put your smarts where your mouth is with a game of Smart Mouth. This quick-thinking word skills game reveals two tiles with letters on them and challenges players to be the first to come up with a word that begins and ends with the letters.

Bananagrams – Fun for the whole family” doesn’t do this awarding-winning word game justice. So how does “fantastic fun for generations of wordsmiths, game freaks and spelling bee champs in training,” sound? Much better, we think.

Super Scrabble – Most of the time, we’re not proponents of messing with a classic. New Coke, anyone? However, in the case of the Super Scrabble Deluxe Edition, we’re big fans of the enhancements. But don’t worry. Just like the classic version, Super Scrabble Deluxe Edition will boost your memory, problem-solving, vocabulary and planning skills.

World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle – With a whopping 28,000 clues and over 91,000 squares, the World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle is a massive undertaking for even the most ardent puzzler. It’s a challenge that can take up to a year to complete, which means this humdinger will be recharging your brain and helping ward off memory loss for quite some time.

Build Your Power Vocabulary - The average 30-year-old has a command of 30,000 words. The average 80-year-old? Only 10,000. Build Your Power Vocabulary can help you raise your number whether you’re a senior looking to slow an aging vocabulary, a foreigner learning English or a native English speaker out to become a world-class word slinger.

Rory’s Story Cubes – Rory’s Story Cubes contains nine cubes with 54 images. Just roll the cubes and come up with a story that links together all nine face-up images. So, say you get images of a bumblebee, a turtle and a crescent moon. Your story might go like this: Once upon a time, there was a bumblebee named “Turtle,” which was a very unfortunate name for a bumblebee. However, his parents wished upon a crescent moon for a turtle and got a bumblebee instead…. Hey, don’t laugh.

Hink Pink – The classic classroom game comes to life with this smart and portable party game.  For example, what’s a Hink Pink for fun mind stimulation? A Brain Game, of course! Or how about a Hinky Pinky for an improved written communication? A Better Letter!

Konexi – You fancy yourself a real wizard of words, virtuoso of Scrabble, king of crosswords. That’s all fine and dandy. But can you match your word wits with the hand-eye coordination of a surgeon? Because to win Konexi, you’ll need the perfect combo of both.

Marbles Good Thinking Kit – This portable kit boasts over 100 activities to help improve your memory, critical thinking, coordination, visual perception and word skills. Uber-cute packaging makes the Good Thinking Kit a smart gift for all your brainy chic friends. Being the thoughtful gift-giver that you are, we think you deserve a Good Thinking Kit for yourself, too.

Marbles Human Brain Puzzle – Ever wondered what a cross section of your brain would look like if were illustrated, had actual labels for the various areas and had little characters acting out the functions of each area? Well, wonder no more. Illustrated by Mike Evans, a masters student at the Illinois Institute of Art, the Marbles Human Brain Puzzles provides all of the requirements of a great jigsaw puzzle (bright contrasting colors, interesting images, challenging sections) with an educational twist (learn about your brain while having fun doing it)

Tic Tac Two – The object of this two-player game is to get three in a row, like classic TicTacToe. But, the unique design of TicTacTwo turns traditional game play on its ear by allowing the grid to move along the board. Play this game over and over again and never see the same strategy twice.

Buckyballs – As one of our top-sellers, we think a more fitting name for these magnetic little marvels would have been ‚”Totally Addictive Magnetic Balls that Look Really Cool and Will Give Your Brain One Heckuva Workout.” However, the manufacturer opted for “Buckyballs” after Buckminster Fuller, the American architect best known for his geodesic dome. Besides, Buckyballs rolls off the tongue better and fits much more nicely on the box.

Tangoes Deluxe – Based on the 4,000-year-old Chinese Tangram puzzle, these brain-boosting little beauties make a stunning coffee table display and a smart gift for hard-to-impress clients and discerning executive types. The Deluxe Tangoes set comes packaged in a sleek case handcrafted from walnut and aluminum with two sets of seven walnut and aluminum playing pieces and 27 cards with 54 puzzles and solutions.

Sherlock Deluxe – As Sherlock searches for clues, players are asked to recall objects on a facedown card. If the player is correct, the card is turned face-up and Sherlock moves on. If Sherlock lands on a face-up card, the player gets to keep that card. The first player to collect six cards wins. For adults, the game just might help you remember that you left your keys in the freezer. Sorry, when it comes to figuring out what possessed you to put them there in the first place, you’re on your own.

Pengoloo – Pengoloo is as much fun as one of penguins’ favorite pastimes: sliding down icy hills on their bellies! The best part? This charming game works your memory without you even realizing it. (The greatest brain health games are sneaky like that.)

Rush Hour – This multi-award winner is one of our bestsellers. Perhaps it’s the fun of setting up the game board based on pictures of traffic jams and then plotting your escape as you slide cars and trucks out of the way. Or maybe it’s because Rush Hour looks like a kid’s game but it’s challenging to even the best adult puzzlers.

Dakim Brain Fitness – With an easy-to-use program, new brain games installed almost every night and engaging content from old movies and TV shows, Dakim Brain Fitness Software the ultimate in computerized cognitive stimulation for seniors. Based on standardized neurological tests and exercises developed by brain scientists over the past 30 years, Dakim Brain Fitness Software can help prevent or slow the development of dementia through activities that exercise all six cognitive domains, including long-term memory, short-term memory, language, computation, visuospatial orientation and critical thinking.

Little Black & White Book of Crosswords – Of course, there are other crossword puzzles out there. But The New York Times Crossword is the gold standard. The bible. The one that all others are measured against. Now you can get 200 of these brilliant bad boys in The New York Times Little Black (and White) Book of Crosswords from puzzle master Will Shortz.

Here are some of great games to play together with your family.  Go ahead, give them a try!

Telestrations

Telestrations is the visual version of the classic schoolyard game Telephone. The game starts with a secret word that’s passed onto the first player who sketches a picture of the word. When time is called, the sketch is passed onto the next player who writes down what they think the picture is before passing it onto the next player who draws that word, and so on. The results of Telestrations are unpredictable and hilarious. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll pee your pants. Well, on second thought, hopefully not that last one.

Perpetual Commotion

Perpetual Commotion is a real-time card game that’ll have your hands and mind operating in nanoseconds. This crazy-fun amalgamation of strategy, speed and luck challenges players to get rid of their cards as fast as they can. The first player to empty their feeder pile wins the round and the first player to get 150 points wins. Although Perpetual Commotion seems like all fun and games, our brain will be working hard as the neurons in your prefrontal cortex fire at warp speed. This addictive party game will have your heart racing as you improve your visual processing speed and reaction time

Blurt

Think fast! What word means “a partially dried grape”? Be the first to say “raisin,” and you’re on your way to winning this riotous game of rapid word recall. Players take turns reading clues aloud, competing to blurt out the correct answer first and move ahead on the board. The first person or team to circle the board wins. Sounds simple, right? But as the race for the right word heats up, and the blurting gets boisterous, it’s easy to get tongue-tied! Blurt is a great vocabulary builder for kids, a hilarious addition to adult parties, and a must for family game night.

I may be a bit biased since I majored in Spanish, but learning languages can be really fun. Not only will it prepare you for an amazing trip, but it also opens up doors to new cultures. And I have made so many friends by speaking another language! In my experience, learning a language that is written with completely different characters – like Mandarin Chinese – adds an additional challenge. Not only are you working your word skills, but you are also stimulating your memory and visual perception skills as you strive to recall certain characters and their meanings.

Ultimate Chinese

The book, The Female Brain, by Dr. Louann Brizendine covers the female brain as it goes through different life points like puberty, motherhood, and menopause, as well as the emotional states like love, feelings, and sex. This may be a good pick for a guy who wants to figure out the ever-elusive female brain, but also extremely interesting and insightful for mothers who may be able to relate to many part of the book.

Little B&W Book of Crosswords

On the Dot

Lastly, I would suggest “The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind” for all the mothers out there who feel like their brains just aren’t what they used to be. Did you know that research has shown that brains are at their prime between their early 40s and late 60s? Scientific American gives a great review of the book and explains that brains, “like certain French cheeses, get better with age.” The author, Barbara Strauch, also recently wrote a fascinating piece in The New York Times about training the aging brain.

Paulette: Build Your Power Vocabulary
I love this book because I enjoy learning the origins of words and why we use them. I find this to be a key component in helping me remember new words and incorporate them into my vocabulary. There are chapters on ways to improve spelling and pronunciation, the roots of words, words that are commonly misused, specialized words, and words that we borrow from other languages. The book also includes exercises at the end of each section that almost feel like games. This is a great book for people who love words or for people who just want to strengthen their vocabulary.

Emily: Play
This book shows how essential play is in everyone’s life and how we can get it back. As a parent I thought it would be about how to help my children in play and reinforce my belief that we need to incorporate more into their daily life (and it is). However, it also argues that adults, parents in particular, need to prioritize some play time too. The opposite of play is not work, but depression. When we stop playing, we start dying. Brown has some incredible research to support that in order to be successful in life you must play. Have fun!

Rachel: Brain Rules
The 12 principles outlined in Brain Rules are presented in a very interesting way that is easy for anyone to understand and often very funny. The author, Dr. John Medina is also a professor and a lot of the book discusses how we learn, and more so, how we should be taught. This book is separated into segments that each discuss parts of the brain, how they work, and how they differ from person to person. Brain Rules is cleverly written combining science with real life experience and ideas for the future.

Come visit us and we can tell you even more about our favorite things to do!

I am thrilled when people are willing to give the brain fitness software a try. It truly makes a difference and is fun!

NeuroActive Complete

I also understand if you would rather stick to something more hands-on, and so I have some suggestions for that area as well.

Set

There are more possibilities as well! Come chat with us and we will find the perfect fit for you.

Snatch-It

Brain Software:
Art Dealer
Brain Fitness Program
Insight
Mindfit
NeuroActive

Insight - for Mac and PC

Of course, there are many more possibilities that you can discover in our stores or online. Feel free to ask a Brain coach for their favorites or recommendations for any age – that is what we are here for.