critical thinking computer games

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Games for Building Critical-Thinking Skills

Students love opportunities to sink their teeth into problems that don't have clear answers, or to tackle tough challenges that test their deduction skills and knowledge. It's often out of this challenging murkiness that new perspectives and ideas emerge. Treat your students to these terrific, fun critical thinking games and watch how they develop thinking skills and more complex understandings of the world. On this list are puzzle games that help students solve problems and think ahead, story-based games that help students understand and unpack local and global issues, and strategy games that get students to manage time and resources.

Minecraft: Education Edition

Stellar collaboration tools, controls make Minecraft classroom-ready

Bottom Line : An excellent tool to engage students in learning, collaboration, and critical thinking is now more accessible than ever to teachers.

Kahoot! DragonBox Learn Chess

Gentle chess puzzle game ideal for young newbies

Bottom Line : For kids who are new to chess but want to learn how to play, this fun intro to the game provides a well-done tutorial combined with a light overarching storyline.

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Influential physics game is still a draw

Bottom Line : Instantly engaging and super accessible to learners of many ages and abilities, Crayon Physics Deluxe fuses conceptual science learning with a brand of playful problem solving that demands creativity.

Contraption Maker

Solve problems, puzzles, brain teasers while creating wacky machines

Bottom Line : Hands-on problem-solving leads to great fun and independent learning with the right curricular wraparound to connect what kids are doing with what they need to know.

Classic logic puzzler gets a beautiful new look

Bottom Line : Promote powerful thinking skills, resilience, and decision-making through purely fun gameplay that will keep students begging for more.

Spiraling sandbox of adventure and creation gets kids to dig deep

Bottom Line : An irresistible and seemingly limitless incubator for 21st century skills that, with a little guidance, can chart new courses for learning.

WordWhile: Casual Literary Fun

Clever fill-in-the-blank game playfully promotes literature

Bottom Line : A different spin on reading the classics can engage students in the short term, but teachers should find ways to extend learning.

Little Alchemy 2

Flex alchemical muscles in amusing, discovery-based puzzler

Bottom Line : This amusing puzzle game encourages creativity, perseverance, and systems thinking, and with creative integration it can build interest in math, science, history, and literature.

Addicting gameplay jazzes up geography

Bottom Line : Game-based platform can get kids interested in world geography and expose them to different cultures on a surface level.

Slick ethics game teaches students to make tough decisions

Bottom Line : This versatile game that can teach ethics, argumentation, and civics is light on interactivity but will come alive through discussion.

Scribblenauts Remix

Vocab-building word puzzles inspire creative problem-solving

Bottom Line : Wide-open problem solving builds creativity, vocabulary, and spelling skills, but controls can be tricky.

Tyto Online

Ambitious science role-playing game has bright future

Bottom Line : Diverse characters, immersive experiences, and useful teacher tools make this life science RPG worth checking out.

Beats Empire

Music producing game balances fun with critical thinking and planning

Bottom Line : Students will have a blast with the music production and band-managing theme that carries with it some useful lessons in 21st century skills.

Refinement of strategy game formula supports historical exploration

Bottom Line : Like any consumer-oriented game, this experience will absorb and delight students far more than "educational" games, but it'll require open-minded and creative teaching.

An avant-garde journey of group dynamics sparks discussion

Bottom Line : An unusual app that will confuse and entertain classrooms, generating discussion on a number of societal and philosophical topics.

Mars Horizon

Authentic space agency sim focuses on logistics, planning

Bottom Line : This sim is backed by major space agencies, so it's a neat and trustworthy way to learn about the challenges of past and future space exploration.

NewsFeed Defenders

Social media simulation builds news literacy skills

Bottom Line : This is a great tool to kick off critical discussions about news and social media.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Brilliant, charming puzzler challenges kids' ELA and math skills

Bottom Line : It's on Nintendo DS so it's not easy to weave into a classroom, but it's worth it, bridging ELA and math in complex puzzles guaranteed to absorb students.

The Pack - NYSCI

Deceptively gentle coding game really packs a problem-solving punch

Bottom Line : This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions.

Think Like Churchill

Stunning visuals, thoughtful feedback bring critical decision points to life

Bottom Line : An excellent tool for studying the events and ethics that guide pivotal moments in history.

7 Billion Humans

Amusing puzzler challenges kids, teaches programming principles

Bottom Line : This high-quality puzzle game is a fun way for students to learn effective and efficient programming skills.

BBC iReporter

Spot real stories, dodge fake news in cheeky media literacy sim

Bottom Line : A refreshingly modern way for students to explore how to filter and interpret info and media during breaking news events.

Modern, minimalist fake news game has players be the villains

Bottom Line : Quick, fun, and to the point, this game gets at the social mechanics behind viral falsehoods.

Radio General

WWII game has layers of learning, novel voice-based controls

Bottom Line : This is a refreshingly new approach to a WWII game that offers students a more accurate simulation of battlefield chaos.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

Best entry in classic strategy series might not be best for classrooms

Bottom Line : As with all games in this series, Civilization VI is a great learning experience with the right support, but older, cheaper versions may be more practical for classrooms.

Provocative, first-person look at poverty builds empathy

Bottom Line : It'll need some scaffolding, but for students ready for the subject matter it's a great -- if sobering -- way to illustrate to students the daily realities and struggles of poverty in America.

Surviving Mars

Colonizing Mars is in our future, but why wait?

Bottom Line : Lots of potential and perhaps much better in a year or so of updates; use this in a class about space exploration and the harsh realities of colonization.

Political Animals

Charming political campaign sim mixes data analysis and civics

Bottom Line : It's a highly entertaining and surprisingly deep way to help students see the strategy -- as well as ethical choices -- involved in elections.

Papers, Please

Mature immigration game forces tough ethical choices

Bottom Line : It's a provocative simulation about ethics and immigration that could spark debate but might be tough to implement.

Parable of the Polygons

Dynamic interactive helps classrooms explore topics of bias, diversity

Bottom Line : A fascinating way to address how communities become segregated due to individual bias.

The Republia Times

Unassuming editorial sim elegantly exposes the business of bias

Bottom Line : What this game lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in smarts, and it's certain to get students thinking and talking about bias and media politics.

This War of Mine

Strategy game offers superb, mature take on war and civilian survival

Bottom Line : A stark portrayal of civilian life in a war-torn city that requires strategic thinking and invites repeated plays.

Related Content

10 Engaging Online Games To Test Your Critical Thinking Skills

Last Updated on October 4, 2023 by Editorial Team

To define it in very simple terms, critical thinking refers to the overall analysis of all the facts and figures you have at your disposal and using them in an organized way to make a judgment or a decision.  There are a lot of interactive ways that can help develop your critical thinking abilities. However, what better way to do it than playing games and having fun? 

Conventional learning methods mainly demand a longer attention span which is at times difficult for young individuals. In such cases, using online games to ace the skill can be a wise choice. This post includes a list of ten online critical thinking games to develop critical thinking skills while keeping you focused and occupied in learning new things.  

Online games to improve your critical thinking ability

Various game developers have launched games that require the player to use their deep critical thinking skills in order to play and win. From matching numbers to presenting the player with real-life situations, these online critical thinking games come in myriad forms. 

1. Spent 

The first game on the list is Spent, based on the concept of budgeting and the various challenges one has to face in day-to-day life. While playing the game, the player will face multiple difficult scenarios and has to make crucial decisions that will directly impact their income (in the game). The kind of problems and challenges that you will face while playing the game include:

• Issues related to your health concern
• Getting correctly educated
• Trying your best to provide the basic amenities for the members of your family

This game will get one’s mind racing as it requires making quick and critical decisions that will have an impact on the growth of the decision-making process. This game plays with planning, summarizing, decision-making, and information-synthesizing skills. In addition, they get to learn about poverty, unemployment, the Affordable Care Act, etc.  

2. Air Traffic Controller Game 

As the name might suggest, the air traffic controller is an online simulation game that lets a player direct and guide various aircraft on the ground, on runways, and via the medium of controlled airspace. The main purposes of the game are to manage a popular airport, ensure there are no delays in the landing or the take-off process, and see to it that there are no collisions. 

In short, the player is responsible for maintaining the air traffic of that particular airport. In addition, the game also offers three levels of difficulty. At level one or Gate 1, the player needs to manage one airstrip where the difficulty level is very low. Once they are comfortable with the first one, they can move on to the second and third levels to stimulate their critical thinking skills. 

3. Sudoku 

Sudoku is a familiar and common game. The game is based on the concepts of basic logical thinking and a combinational number placement puzzle where a player needs to fill a 9×9 grid with digits ranging from 1 to 9. But the catch is that they need to fill in the blanks so that all of the columns, rows, and nine 3×3 subblocks present within the 9×9 grid contain all the digits, as mentioned earlier. 

For example, if a player places ‘1’ in the first block of the first row, they cannot put it anywhere in that row and column again. They must use numbers 2-9 to complete that specific row and column. The game (or puzzle) requires one to stimulate their brain in a manner that involves their critical thinking skills and enables them to think logically while taking aid from numerical skills. 

4. Good Game Empire

Similar to various other RPG and strategy games you will find online, Good Game Empire is based on an MMO strategy style, and the setting of the game is in Medieval times. The central theme of this game is that you need to build a thriving empire worldwide.

But, you will start the game with only a castle to your name, and you have to develop and make your empire strategically and fight opposing nations. This game pushes you to think critically and expand your strategic ideals to the best extent to make your empire spread throughout the world. The game will also offer you various choices from which you would need to select the option that works the best for you. 

5. Chess 

Chess is one of the board games played across the globe that requires analytical skills . There are always two players in this game, and the primary objective of the game is to capture the opponent’s king. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. White and black checkered board (64 squares) with different pieces (each piece symbolizes different positions like King, Rook, Bishop, Queen, Pawn, and Knight) arranged on it in specific positions- this is what a player gets on the screen while they choose to play chess. They can move one piece at a time, and each piece has a set pattern of movements that they must follow. 

The same applies to the opponent too. Using specially designed and designated moves, the players are supposed to check their opponents (also known as Checkmate) and capture their king to win the game. It needs the players to practice critical thinking, for one cannot randomly move pieces and win the game. Well-calculated moves and timely yet quick decisions are what they need. Thus, chess highly stimulates the players’ brains, allowing them to think critically.  

6. Minecraft 

The objective of the game is to freely explore the Minecraft world, explore infinite possibilities, and create new setups. Starting from building a block to making an entire city as they see fit, one can do it all in this game. This game allows you to freely exercise your imaginative and creative side of the brain. 

The game is an ideal option for students to practice math concepts and give them the experience of how those concepts are used in our day-to-day lives. Players critically analyze situations and draw conclusions all the while building and planning the entire city. The game not only offers the experience of endless fun but also helps individuals to use and practice their critical thinking abilities.

7. Brainstorm 

Critical thinking is all about making decisions based on analytical observation and this game allows individuals to brainstorm and find answers to challenging questions. In this game, the players need to answer questions that come on the screen by choosing the correct answer from the given options. The game starts from a basic level named “Newborn.” Answering all questions enables the player to move to the next level. For example, this Newborn level has 18 questions. 

A maximum of four players can join and compete with each other to complete small tasks and objectives ahead of every other player. The players would need to push their brains to their limits which means that this game will stimulate their brains and let them exercise critical thinking skills. In addition, this will allow them to improve their decision-making process. 

8. 2048 game

2048 is a sliding puzzle video game where the primary objective is to slide the numbered tiles within the puzzle setting until the players have combined them to form a tile with the number 2048.  Even though it sounds easy, the game requires one to think before moving a single tile as it could determine the outcome. One needs to actively think of the moves ahead of making to ensure a proper flow of movements. This game is ideal for stimulating one’s brain and keeping it on its toes. 

9. Unolingo 

Unolingo is an online crossword puzzle game where you need to fill in a 10×10 puzzle box. The player needs to fill the boxes by placing the words and letters precisely and completing the puzzle. Unlike a regular crossword puzzle, there are no clues as to which letter the player should put in to make a complete word. 

They can ask for a hint but that will add 30 seconds to the elapsed time. Clicking on the “Solve” tab will show the solved puzzle. This game requires the players to think more critically and stimulate their brains further. It is a fun alternative to regular crossword puzzles and will keep a player occupied for longer as they have to think more critically as to what letter to put and what word to make. 

10. Tangram puzzle 

The Tangram puzzle is a fun game that helps one to exercise their brain. There are seven geometrical shapes in the game. Each level comes with a diagram where the players need to position the shapes such that it matches the diagram. There is a provision to rotate the shapes and place them wherever the player sees fit. 

There will be 25 puzzles to solve with these seven shapes.  The faster the player solves the puzzle, the faster they get access to the next puzzle. It requires creative and critical thinking for they have to recognize which shape will fit which part of the puzzle. Also, how to rotate it to match the puzzle needs deep thinking. It pushes the player to think creatively and use their critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking refers to understanding a piece of information, analyzing it, applying it to practical application, combining the information with other prior knowledge to draw conclusions, etc. Critical thinking is essential in all aspects of life, personal or professional.

These online games can help an individual use them in practical scenarios and draw effective conclusions. The games mentioned above help one to think critically and also to keep their brain active by stimulating it to its limit. These enjoyable games will keep a player occupied for longer, allowing them to explore and learn new things freely.

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of  Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

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15 Fantastic Logic and Critical Thinking Games

Games are wonderful additions to any homeschool. In fact, we typically play at least one game a day – sometimes even gameschooling for an entire day!

Not only do games bring joy and lightheartedness to the school day, they can help teach new concepts and practice old ones.

One of the most important reasons I include games in our homeschool frequently is because they are amazing for building logic and critical thinking skills!

This post includes affiliate links.

If you’ve read any of my blog posts about brain training , you’ll know that I place a lot of value on building logical thinking skills in kids. Luckily, games are one of the best ways to do that – and they don’t even require much effort on our part!

While almost every game has logic and critical thinking value, some games are made specifically to give those skills a workout. I’ve included 15 of my favorites here for you!

Logic and Critical Thinking Games

Invasion of the Cow Snatchers – A creative, single player game that uses magnetic playing pieces as you maneuver a flying saucer around obstacles on a farm to beam up all the cattle.

Domino Maze – In this hands-on, single player game, you create fun domino mazes with a critical thinking twist as you set out to build based on challenge cards.

Thinking Putty Puzzle – This is another hands-on, single player game that “stretches” your thinking skills as you complete mazes with Thinking Putty.

Qwirkle – A family favorite, this game is kind of like Scrabble with shapes & colors. Your goal is to rack up as many points as possible as you work to complete symbol combinations.

Battleship – Coordinate graphing and logical thinking are required to sink all your opponent’s ships in this classic game for two players.

Mastermind – Another classic game for two players, Mastermind is truly a top pick for practicing logical thinking skills as you deduce a hidden code.

ZooLogic – This is such a cute single player game. You must figure out how to organize dogs, cats, and mice on puzzle cards so that no fights ensue between the animals.

Guess Who? – This is the perfect game to teach beginning critical thinking skills as you ask pertinent questions to figure out your opponent’s mystery character.

SET – Get ready to work logic skills faster than your opponents as everyone races to put together the next combination of cards based on shape, color, shading, and number.

Clue – A good, old-fashioned game of Clue is perfect for sharpening logic and critical thinking skills since the goal is to use deductive reasoning to solve the mystery before anyone else.

Cat Crimes – In this hands-on, single player logic puzzle, you place cat characters on the board based on clues you are given in order to determine which one is to blame for an oopsie that has occurred.

Codenames – While this game can be played with as few as four people, it’s great for a crowd, too. Spymasters use word clues to help their teams logically consider which cards on the table will locate friendly spy agents instead of foes.

Rover Control – This creative, single player coding game teaches basic programming skills through critical thinking puzzles in which a rover must go through various start to finish challenges.

Rush Hour – A classic, single player game, Rush Hour utilizes logical thinking as you work to get an ice cream truck out of a rush hour traffic jam.

Rook – This four player card game is another family favorite that is won by logic and critical thinking between teammates (as well as a little luck.)

Gameschooling

There are so many wonderful games available these days! I’ve written about favorites for other subjects plenty of times. Feel free to click on any of the images below to see a different list of games.

P.S. Games make great gifts for any holiday or birthday. They also make great family gifts or for people who are hospital or homebound. Games are one the most frequent things we give when a gift is in order!

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My 4 year old introduced me to the game and we’ve been hooked since. The colorful gem games are cool, yet this game keeps your brain trained.

Game Trailer

Insanely fun & challenging puzzles to train your brain

One of the 500 Best Apps in the world, as chosen by The Sunday Times, with over 2 million downloads!

Join the millions worldwide who enjoy training their brain with A Clockwork Brain, a series of fun & challenging games, specifically designed to test Memory, Attention, Dexterity, Language and Reasoning. All puzzles feature bite-sized, fast-paced gameplay and adaptive difficulty, so get ready for a great mental workout!

With a distinctive, hand-painted look and feel, influenced by Victorian Steampunk and Mayan art, this is unlike any other brain training title out there. Whether you are a puzzle game fan, a health enthusiast, or just looking for a fun and productive way to pass the time and exercise your brain, look no further!

Sprocket, the friendly robot, will be your guide!

Play challenging games that test your memory, language, reasoning, dexterity and attention!

Practice daily with personalised workouts that adapt to your performance!

Track your progress over time with in-depth stats and graphs!

Latest Updates

• What’s New in A Clockwork Brain 2.0! 20 April, 2016
• A Clockwork Brain Gets a Major Rewiring! 20 July, 2015
• Unity Port for A Clockwork Brain – DevLog #11 26 January, 2015
• Hello world! 18 December, 2014
• Designing anagrams 15 December, 2014
• Mahjong Solitaire
• Mahjong Connect
• Mahjong Titans
• Baker's game
• Connect Four

What the Press say

Learning was never so much fun, and you will actually get addicted to improving your brain power with this free app. – LifeHack

Clockwork Brain throws out a few visual curveballs and game speed increases as users answer correctly, but the pace is never frustratingly frantic. – Appolicious

You’d feel like you were sitting to take a tea at the court of Queen Victoria, or exploring a Maya Temple as an archaeologist. [...] Come on, Sprocket is waiting… No pain, no brain. – Serious Games Society

I like the steampunk theme and how the app is laid out. I'm also a fan of the way it mixes things up a bit with the challenges. There's no power-ups or strategy to learn, it's just your wits against time and the machine. – The Mac Observer

It’s challenging and addicting, which only helps improve your brain’s performance by making you want to come back to the app. – AppStorm

Many of us love sitting down to a good Sudoku puzzle and scribbling away. The Clockwork Brain app has changed up the game and delivered a brand new challenge to your fingertips. – Fip Net

You feel mentally tested while playing, but the exercises are so nicely gamified that A Clockwork Brain can start to get a little addictive. The fun factor is pretty high. – TechHive

[T]o prove learning games don't have to be boring, all the artwork is hand-painted by artists with influences ranging from Victorian Steampunk to Mayan art. – sheknows

[A] Clockwork Brain is a fantastic brain training game with enough minigames to keep you busy for hours. – The Gamer with Kids

With hand-painted, Victorian artwork and a robot mascot, Clockwork Brain has a wonderful sense of craft and atmosphere. – Kris Abel

This may be the world’s most authentic simulation of studying in a steampunk classroom taught by a brass-plated robot. – Pocketnext

Awesome Brain teasing that test logic and observation. Rating 8/10. – Azubu.com

Highly polished with no two games feeling quite the same, it’s both challenging and fun. Rating 8/10. – Azubu.com

The presentation is excellent all round, with lovely graphics, well managed menus and a suitable musical track. Rating: 85%. – The Smartphone App Review

Slick, easy to use interface. Fun, and constantly pushing you to your limits. Rating: 90%. – AppBlitz.net

A Clockwork Brain has the difficulty levels just right, gently massaging your ego whilst keeping your feet firmly on the ground. – PopBucket

The brain teasers in this game are designed to test your memory, along with cognitive visual, spatial, logic, language and mathematic abilities. – Awaken

The way [the game] mixes the process up is the real star of the show. [...] The additional challenge packs make for an awesome experience, and well worth the dollar you spend on each of them. – AppsPirate

As the title might give away, this game has a lot to do with your brains. It’s a brain teaser, and it’s a good one at that. – Appspirate

Essentially, Clockwork Brain sets out to stretch your synapses with a series of bite-sized mini-games. – mobot

Combining a Victorian Steampunk theme with brain training puzzles [...] offers something a little different than the clinical appearance of many other brain training games. – 148Apps

The Clockwork Brain, is great to look at and includes an upbeat cartoon robot teacher to explain the sections. – New York Times

Nothing goes together quite like Steampunk and brain training. But don't let the cartoony feel fool you, this game will definitely make you think as well. – ArcadeSushi

The world’s most authentic simulation of studying in a Steampunk classroom taught by a brass-plated robot. – Pocketnext

Quirky and stylized, it’s gratifying to feel intelligent through the rapid solving of puzzles and no two ever feel alike. Rating: 4/5 – Gamezebo

A fantastic collection of brain teasers [...] no two ever feel alike. – Gamezebo

I’m really digging A Clockwork Brain in the same way I love the Brain Age series on Nintendo DS [...] The cool Victorian-inspired Steampunk aesthetic only adds to the enjoyment of the game. – 4GTV

5 Games for Building Critical Thinking Skills

• alfordabby's Blog

Games can be more than just a fun way to pass time; they can stimulate your brain and help you develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is the ability to examine information rationally and make a logical judgment based on your analysis. Critical thinking skills help us solve problems, make good decisions, and understand the consequences of our actions.

In this blog, we discuss five of our favorite games to improve critical thinking skills and sharpen the mind.

Chess is the most widely played board game of all time. Your goal in chess is to get a checkmate by getting your opponent’s king into a position where it can be captured and cannot be freed by your opponent’s next move. To win, you must use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to decide which pieces to move to yield the best results on the board.

Chess is all about thinking strategically, anticipating consequences, weighing options, and making strategic decisions. If you want to beat your opponent, you’ve got to get your mental muscles moving!

2. 4 in a Row

4 in a Row is a classic strategy game that encourages players to think strategically with every move to trick and beat their opponent. The objective of the game is to connect four pieces horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Like Chess, you’ll have to plan your moves in advance to stump your opponent.

Identifying patterns and thinking ahead are both key critical thinking skills and 4 in a Row teaches both.

3. Backgammon

Despite being one of the oldest known board games, Backgammon is still one of the most popular critical thinking games. The objective of the game is to move all your checker pieces off the board and into one of the boxes on the right side.

Playing Backgammon can help teach basic arithmetic as well as more complicated themes like probability and luck. The game teaches players to not rely on pure luck by using strategies and tactics to overcome a bad roll. Players must use critical thinking skills to think ahead and identify patterns to determine the least damaging move and what move will give them an advantage if their opponent has a good roll.

2048 is a single-player puzzle game that encourages players to plan ahead and think strategically. The objective of the game is to join the numbers to get a single tile to be 2048.

2048 requires you to use critical thinking skills to identify the best way to move a tile to generate the number 2048. The game also promotes strategic planning to maximize your time before you run out of moves.

To further improve your critical thinking skills and make the game more challenging, consider setting a time limit.

5. Minesweeper

This single-player puzzle game teaches pattern recognition and deductive reasoning. Minesweeper is a game rooted in logic, problem solving, and deduction. The objective of the game is to clear all the squares on the board that don’t have mines and flag all the mines in the shortest time possible.

Minesweeper teaches pattern recognition as you’ll learn how to look at a series of numbers and figure out what the numbers mean when they’re in a specific order. The more you play the more you’ll pick up on different patterns and the quicker you’ll be able to solve deduction-based problems.

This goes to show that games are not just a form of entertainment. The right games can also be intellectually stimulating and improve critical thinking skills. To further improve your critical thinking skills while having fun at the same time, check out our favorite thinking games to put your critical thinking skills to the test and train your brain.

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Games That Help Kids Think Critically

When gamers pick up a controller, they're frequently placed in the role of the hero or the protagonist that always wins. But that doesn't always challenge them to think critically or examine all sides of a situation rationally. In fact, what can help some incredible games and apps stand out from other titles is that they don't simply ask kids for RIGHT or WRONG answers. Instead, they encourage them to experiment and consider the shades of gray in problems. Players interested in testing their emotional responses may want to check out our list of the Best Empathy Games, Apps, and Websites as well.

Tozzle - Toddler's favorite puzzle

Drag-and-drop shape puzzles made especially for toddlers.

Montessori Geometry - Recognize and learn shapes

Amazing starter geometry app is fun and comprehensive.

BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!

Think outside the box with this charming, fun puzzler.

Solve and create puzzles that gush with STEM learning.

Super Mario Maker 2

Fun, accessible editing tools expose kids to game design.

The Last Campfire

Utterly charming, brilliantly made puzzle game.

Mass transit simulator is simple, marvelous, hard to master.

Mystery Math Town

Great math practice with fun story, entertaining characters.

Savings Spree

Kids learn financial literacy through game-show action.

Co-op puzzler is violence-free and promotes teamwork.

BrainPOP Featured Movie

Daily films from educational group provide tons of learning.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics

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Office-themed puzzler rewards creative and logical thinking.

Lumines Remastered

Classic puzzle game buzzes with new immersive play feature.

Maggie's Earth Adventures

Save the planet with these terrific learning activities.

Fun co-op sim is appropriate for all ages, skill levels.

Clever pinball-esque puzzler has a bit of mild combat.

The Path of Motus

Adventure tackles bullying with positivity and mild combat.

Untitled Goose Game

Don't let your goose get cooked in feathered fun puzzler.

Journey to explore big questions only gets you so far.

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Group games are ideal for developing critical-thinking skills.

The link between critical thinking and one’s education is obvious – you can’t learn well unless you think well.

Critical thinking is the ability to look at problems in new ways, to analyse how parts of a whole interact with one another and to interpret information and draw conclusions.

Critical thinking and problem-solving skills were once thought to be the domain of gifted people. Today, they are necessary for every individual and group who seeks to make sensible decisions about financial, health, civic, workplace and leisure activities.

The solutions to international concerns such as climate change and global warming require highly developed critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. These skills include the ability to effectively analyse and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs.

Benefits of Developing Critical-Thinking Abilities

The ability to solve interesting and unfamiliar problems often leads to the development of other skills such as increased engagement, higher concentration levels and improved thought processing.

Here are a few examples of experiences that occur in many programs which may provide you with an opportunity to focus on problem-solving skills:

• Forming a project team to solve an existing, yet complex problem.
• Thinking of a new campaign slogan to broadcast a difficult, yet important message.
• Adopting a rational, analytical and evidence-based approach to investigate a conflict.
• Challenging one of your group’s long-held beliefs or practices.

Naturally, one of the most powerful (not to mention, enjoyable) ways to develop and strengthen your group’s problem-solving skills is to employ the use of fun group games.

Group Activities Which Develop Critical-Thinking Skills

The images below provide links to a sample of simple group activities which may help you develop the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities of your group, drawn from playmeo’s ever-expanding activity database .

Enjoy browsing to your heart’s content.

If you’re not yet a playmeo subscriber, join today to unlock hundreds more group games and activities just like these.

We Engage Cards

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Set of question cards to inspire meaningful conversations.

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Useful set of emotive cards to encourage fun & reflection.

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Fun deck of cards to inspire team-building & creativity.

UBUNTU Cards

Innovative tool that inspires valuable sharing & fun.

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9 PC Games That Make You More Intelligent

For most of our lives, we’ve been told that video games are bad for us. They keep us inside and in a sedentary position staring at a screen for hours at a time. Some parents even go so far as to tell their kids that playing too many video games will make them brain dead. But the more science analyzes video games, the more we begin to see that most of that is entirely untrue.

In fact, several scientific studies are now starting to show that playing video games can be helpful on several fronts. Video games can help to improve hand-eye coordination and reaction time, in addition to improving a person’s memory and problem-solving abilities. In short, playing video games can actually make you smarter.

It sounds crazy when you first hear it, but it makes sense scientifically. Video games present challenges, reward accomplishments, and force high levels of concentration. Instead of making you brain-dead, they actually exercise the mind, much like reading a book, playing a musical instrument, or solving a puzzle.

Of course, not all video games are created equal. There are strategy games, sports games, role-playing games, puzzle games, first-person shooter games, and more. Each genre of video games can help to develop different skills and enhance intelligence in unique ways as a result of providing distinct cognitive challenges in order to master the game.

The bottom line is that contrary to what you may have been told in the past, video games are not entirely bad for you, and they will most certainly not rot your brain. In fact, your brain can benefit greatly from playing video games. Here are nine PC games that may make you more intelligent.

1. Minecraft

Minecraft is a wildly popular game for both young children and adults, as well as everyone in between. It’s lacking in high-end graphics compared to other video game and is akin to playing with Legos on a computer. But that doesn’t prevent Minecraft from being as enjoyable as it is educational.

Essentially, players are tasked with building armor, weaponry, and anything else they may need to protect themselves from an impending alien attack. As a player, you have complete control over everything that happens and the freedom to build and explore your own civilization. Ultimately, the goal is to survive, but putting the game in creative mode allows your imagination to run wild without having to worry about anything else.

Regarding improving intelligence, the limitless creativity in Minecraft is second to none. Players, particularly young kids, have the freedom to create anything they want, which can be quite empowering. They are free to think creatively, while also thinking strategically to solve a problem. Minecraft is not just a one-player game, so it can also teach teamwork and collaboration.

On a slightly deeper level, Minecraft can also teach players a great deal about city planning and what it takes to build a civilization. It’s also not hard to see how Minecraft can help enhance the spatial reasoning skills of a young player. Ultimately, a game like this not only sparks great imagination, but it can also prepare young players for understanding social studies and geography as they get older.

2. Starcraft

Studies that have explored the possibility of video games boosting intelligence have looked specifically at Starcraft, making it one of the most important games in debunking many of the long-held beliefs about video games. On the surface, it’s a game about a bunch of different alien species fighting for power and control. But it’s so much more than that.

Success in the game depends on a player’s ability to manage resources, stay organized, and make smart tactical decisions with regard when and how to attack an enemy and when to give up and retreat. Some have gone so far as to compare Starcraft to Chess in terms of the amount of strategy involved and how taxing it can be on the mind.

Of course, a brain that’s under stress and being taxed is a brain that’s working hard and developing new skills. University studies tested students who don’t typically play video games but who began to play to play Starcraft and found that their cognitive flexibility was better than similar students who had begun playing The Sims, which is believed to be a more cerebral game.

Strategy-based games like Starcraft force players to analyze information and make snap decisions. This can then translate to other areas of life with regard to the decision-making process and the ability to learn from previous mistakes. The studies performed on strategy games like Starcraft have helped to back this up.

On top of that, Starcraft can also teach players a great deal about morality and heroism. The game features complex characters like Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan, some of who may toe the line between good and evil at times. The story is well thought out and not always black and white, and so in addition to improving cognitive function, it gives players an elaborate storyline to follow.

3. Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program is a video game that’s specifically designed to be a teaching tool. Like many other games in the simulation genre, it’s meant to mimic real world situations, forcing players to think and act as if they are experiencing them in real life. Many of them force players to manage resources, analyze information, and make impactful decisions.

In the case of KSP, players are tasked with assembling a spaceship capable of successfully launching into space. The game applies actual concepts of physics, and so a player’s understanding of these concepts has a profound influence on their success. There is also a Sandbox mode that allows players to learn and experiment on their own.

The game is designed primarily for high school students, and when playing it for the first time, most will be challenged to fulfill the missions. This forces them to view tutorials and consult others for help. They are then forced to apply what they learned to succeed within the scope of the game.

KSP is a great way to keep math, physics, and engineering students engaged in the subject matter. But it also has benefits that go beyond the science of it all. The game is challenging and can teach students about the importance of trial and error. It also teaches them to be more detail-oriented, as small differences in their rocket can make a difference between success and failure.

4. Portal Series

Describing Portal to someone who has never played the game before may prove difficult. But we can say without hesitation that it’s a wonderfully intricate game that is fun to play and it definitely challenges the brain in a constructive way. Suffice it to say the player is trapped in a terrible laboratory and needs to escape using only their mind and their “portal” gun.

Both games in the Portal series have become quite popular and proven to be effective at killing off boredom. However, because the premise of the game is essentially a puzzle, it forces the player to think logically and creatively. There are multiple ways out of the lab and several ways to use the portal gun, but players still have to carefully plan their escape.

The nature of the game forces players to think several steps into the future in order to solve the problem. Players think that they’re being entertained by the game, but in reality, they are actually improving their cognitive skills. There’s even research that shows Portal is potentially more effective at improving cognitive skills that activities specifically designed to improve brain development.

A university study had half its subjects spent eight hours playing Portal 2 while the other half spent eight hours playing Lumosity, which is a brain-training game. After those eight hours, the Portal 2 players showed far more improvement in cognitive skills testing. It was a short study but did show that Portal had a profound impact in helping the brain to learn and grow.

5. Trine Series

The Trine series of games is not only one of the more fun and underrated video games out there, but it’s also wonderfully educational. The game itself takes you to a magical land that’s straight out of a fairytale or a child’s wild imagination. But traversing the game’s challenges takes critical thinking in order to solve the puzzle that is your journey.

The premise of Trine involves three characters, a thief, a knight, and a wizard. The three are on a journey together and all possess different tricks and skills that will be important along the way. The key to the game is knowing how and in what situations to utilize the tools of each character. Many challenges will present themselves, and players are tasked with figuring out what character’s abilities will help them overcome it.

Not all of the puzzles are particularly difficult, but they are tough enough to make players think critically without realizing they are actually doing a brain exercise. As a result, the game promotes critical and at times, outside-the-box, thinking, inadvertently helping players develop these skills.

One final aspect of the game that often gets overlooked is the ability as part of a team of three, with each person controlling a specific character for the duration of the journey. Like other video games that encourage multiple players at once, this encourages collaboration and teamwork, two important skills to learn with regard to solving puzzles.

6. Civilization Series

Civilization is one of the most epic and recognizable video game series ever. The first game in the series came out in 1991, and ever since it challenged players with the task of building an empire out of nothing. Players believe they are playing God and on a quest for world domination, but they are actually exercising their brain through logic, reasoning, and planning.

The first educational benefit of Civilization is rather obvious. The game follows the history of mankind, from the very beginning all the way to the space age. They build settlements and turn them into empires; they research technologies and use them to advance societies; they also deal with diplomacy and warfare with other civilizations.

If nothing else, players will learn more about the history of mankind and perhaps gain an appreciation for how difficult a journey it was to reach this point in time. But the game is so complex and so encompassing that it’s impossible for players not to exercise their brains and develop important skills along the way.

Civilization is essentially one giant puzzle with a number of ways to reach the finish line. Traversing the game’s many intricacies sound reasoning and decision-making based on past experiences. It can enhance memory, critical thinking, and reasoning. In a way, Civilization is the ultimate video game for developing critical thinking skills, as it’s essentially re-living all the major moments in human history.

7. Total War Series

The Total War series of video games is similar to other brands of strategic and war-based games. However, each new game in the series focuses on a different time period or aspect of history, making it come alive for players, at least in the form of a video game.

The settings of the various games in the Total War series include ancient Rome, feudal Japan, and medieval Europe, while others include such important historical figures as Attila the Hun and Napoleon. If nothing else, the games offer an introduction to some of the more noteworthy moments in world history, helping to jumpstart a player’s interest in history.

Beyond that, the Total War series forces players to engage in strategic maneuvers in order to wage war on enemies and come away victorious within the parameters of the game. Players are forced to think critically and make important decisions based on information they know about their own army as well as the armies of their opponents.

On the surface, the Total War series appears to be just another violent video game about warfare. But Total War actually does a great job of emphasizing the cerebral side of war. It shows how those in charge are forced to think through decisions, teaching players to do the same in the process.

The Total War series helps to reinforce that video games that center on war are essentially puzzles that are simply more entertaining to players. Between that and the subtle history lessons that come with each version of the game, Total War is actually one of the best video games out there in terms of educating and enhancing intelligence.

8. Call of Duty Series

Call of Duty and similar first-person shooter games can do wonders for a player’s motor skills, and there are multiple studies to back it up. The game itself entices players with futuristic scenes of war and combat, including the use of weapons that are pure fantasy at the moment. However, there are a number of cognitive benefits to playing Call of Duty for hours on end, which many gamers do.

A study by the University of Toronto found that Call of Duty players excelled at learning new sensorimotor skills better than non-gamers. Sensorimotor skills combine vision with motor movement, such as riding a bike. The study found that Call of Duty players are better capable of learning the intricacies of a new sensorimotor skill.

Playing Call of Duty forces quick reactions amidst a lot of moving parts, enabling the brain to make faster connections between what it sees on the screen and the proper reaction. In turn, gamers are much faster to learn new skills that involve reacting properly to what they see, as shown by the study.

The game also forces players to constantly take into account a variety of factors, such as where they are in the game, how fast they’re moving, what type of ammunition they’re currently using, and where they’re pointing their weapon. Players have to take all of these factors into account and react on the controller, forcing the brain to make quick interpretations and think at a faster rate.

9. XCOM Series

The XCOM series makes players the last hope for defending Earth from a band of attacking extra-terrestrials, and along the way, they learn how to think rationally and strategically. Much of the game is logistics in terms of commanding a base and the research and development of technologies that help protect Earth from the invasion.

However, the game is bound to improve decision-making, especially in the wake of a worst-case scenario. XCOM gives players an intelligent enemy, forcing them to prove they are smarter. Players have to make tactical decisions that take into account the strength of their army, the weakness of the aliens, and various environmental factors that could swing the pendulum in their favor.

Odds are players will never have to transfer these skills to an actual alien invasion. However, like similar types of video games, the strategy involved in XCOM forces players to think differently and change their tactics if one idea doesn’t work. By doing so, the reasoning and cognitive skills of players can become much improved.

Hey, I’m Brent. I’ve been building PCs and writing about building PCs for a long time. Through TechGuided.com, I've helped thousands of people learn how to build their own computers. I’m an avid gamer and tech enthusiast, too. On YouTube , I build PCs, review laptops, components, and peripherals, and hold giveaways.

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Mind Benders®

Deductive thinking skills.

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Critical Thinking

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This is our best-selling deductive thinking puzzles series that develops the logic, reading comprehension, and mental organization skills vital to achieving higher grades and top test scores in all subjects. These award-winning, fun puzzles are also great for developing real-life, problem-solving skills! Students learn to carefully analyze each Mind Benders® story and its clues, identifying logical associations between people, places, and things. The key is to make sure you get all the information out of each clue, by starting with the most obvious associations, then deducing the less obvious associations until everything finally fits together. Puzzles increase in difficulty as you progress.

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Problem Solving Games, Activities & Exercises for Adults

By: Angela Robinson | Updated: February 13, 2024

Here is our list of the best problem solving games, activities and exercises for adults.

Problem solving games are activities that require players to use critical thinking skills to solve puzzles. Example activities include escape rooms, Sudoku, and murder mysteries. The purpose of these exercises is to sharpen reasoning and decision-making skills in group settings and to do team building with employees.

These activities are a subset of remote team games , found in problem solving books , and are similar to team puzzles , team building brain teasers and team riddles .

This article contains:

• team building problem solving activities for employees
• free problem solving games for adults
• virtual problem solving activities for students
• group problem solving activities
• problem solving team builders

Here we go!

List of problem solving games & activities

From word and number puzzles to role-playing games, here is a list of inexpensive and free problem solving team builders that help groups practice the art of critical thinking and compromise.

1. Espionage! (Team Favorite)

For an exciting game of social deduction, check out Espionage! This thrilling experience will put your team’s wits and instincts to the test.

Espionage! offers the following:

• a 90-minute session led by an experienced host
• undercover teams of agents and spies
• challenging puzzles, tasks, and maneuvers
• team conversations to help uncover secret identities

The best part is we will bring all the necessary game materials to your preferred location. If you are interested in boosting communication and critical-thinking skills within your team, then consider Espionage!

Learn more about Espionage!

2. Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh (Hosted)

You can turn your team into skilled detectives with Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh! In this captivating mystery, participants will locate the stolen artwork, The Bedroom .

Key features of this experience include:

• a 90-minute adventure led by a world-class host
• detailed puzzles, clues, and mysteries to unravel
• trails of evidence and hidden secrets
• group discussions to find the art

Additionally, you can include a cocktail kit to spice up your event. Through Art Heist, you will enhance your team’s ingenuity and problem-solving skills!

Learn more about Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh .

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3. War of the Wizards (Popular)

With War of the Wizards, teams roleplay as minions of powerful wizards to vanquish forces of evil. Participants will play thrilling games and go on a quest to restore harmony to the realm!

War of the Wizards offers the following:

• a 90-minute journey guided by a distinguished host
• immersive storytelling that transports players into a magical realm
• engaging activities like world-building, role-playing games, and storytelling
• opportunities for forming alliances, facing challenges, and going on quests

Through the power of imagination and teamwork, your team can overcome tasks and participate in an epic fantasy battle. To improve communication and bonds, include War of the Wizards in your agenda!

Learn more about War of the Wizards .

Sudoku is one of the most popular free problem solving games for adults. The objective of this game is to fill each box of a 9×9 grid so that every row, column, and letter contains each number from one to nine. The puzzle makes a great team challenge. To play Sudoku on Zoom, screen share the game board. Then, turn on the annotation features. Using the add text functions, participants can fill in the numbers on the grid.

We made a starter puzzle you can use in your next meeting or virtual team bonding session:

Here are more online Sudoku puzzles .

5. Crossword puzzles

Crossword puzzles are word games that ask players to fill in words based on clues. Words interconnect, and players must think critically about the surrounding words to select the right phrase for the space.

You can use an online crossword puzzle maker to create a custom puzzle. Here are a few themes you may want to consider:

• teammates’ tastes and interests
• company knowledge and history
• industry terms and trends

Or, create a miscellaneous puzzle just for fun.

We made a sample puzzle you can use for your game:

To complete puzzles during online meetings, you can use the share screen function and add text through annotations.

Or, subscribers can play the New York Times’ daily crossword puzzle virtually . Dictionary.com also offers a free daily online crossword puzzle .

Check out more vocabulary games .

6. Online Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are timed games that get groups working together to solve puzzles. Traditionally, players enter a locked room and must complete all puzzles in an hour or two to unlock the door. However, groups can also play escape rooms online.

Digital escape rooms typically come in one of two forms: in a Zoom room and led by a host, or in a choose-your-own adventure format via Google Forms or websites. To play escape rooms virtually, enter a video meeting and follow the prompts, or screen share the Google Form and work out the puzzles together.

Check out our full list of online escape rooms .

7. Murder Mysteries

Murder Mysteries are story-based games that ask players to take on the roles of suspects or detectives while trying to identify a killer. These games often involve reading lines from a script, searching for clues, and occasionally solving puzzles to get hints.

These games make participants pay attention to conversations, analyze other characters’ behavior, and search for hidden meaning in the script. Players must use their powers of observation and logic to unravel the mystery.

Check out our list of Zoom murder mystery games .

8. Treasure Hunts

Treasure hunts are scavenger hunts with intention. While virtual scavenger hunts often ask players to collect random items, treasure hunts require participants to locate clues that lead to other prompts and hints. The game typically ends with players finding a treasure or solving a mystery, sometimes both.

The treasure hunt can have a specific theme such as secret agent missions or a hunt for pirate treasure, or you can run a more general hunt. Teammates can either compete simultaneously via Zoom call, or can play the hunt on an app individually and compete to beat each other’s scores.

Check out our list of treasure hunt apps .

9. Poem or story challenge

Most team building problem solving activities for employees revolve around science, math, and logic. Poem/story challenges rely on writing skills and are sure to appeal to the language lovers on your team.

Each player receives a limited word bank to use to create a story or poem. Then, players have a few minutes to craft their pieces. Afterward, everyone reads out or screen shares their creations.

Here are a few word challenge activities you can do remotely:

• Found poems or stories : Participants make poems or stories out of words they find by visiting websites, searching emails, glancing out the window, or taking a walk or drive around the neighborhood.
• Random word generators : Teammates use a random word generator to populate a word bank, and must use each word in the poem or story.
• Poetry magnets : Group members make poems using poetry magnets. You can send poetry magnet sets to employees and assemble the verses on a cookie pan during a Zoom call. Or, teammates can play with poetry magnets online .
• Page poems: Participants receive one page of a book or magazine, and must make a poem or story by blocking out other words so only the chosen text remains visible. This activity is part storytelling, part art, since story crafters can illustrate the pages as part of the design.
• Ransom note stories or poems : Players cut out letters from magazines and must form new words to make poems and stories. Or, players can receive a mix of random letters, form words, and run the text through a ransom note generator .

These activities are suitable for teams and individual players.

10. Moral challenge

Some problems are ethical rather than factual. Moral judgment plays just as important a role in the decision-making process as technical prowess. Players can flex their moral problem-solving skills by tackling ethical dilemmas or social puzzles.

Here are some social problem solving games online:

• Moral machine
• Scruples – the game of moral dilemmas
• Morality play

To play these games, either download the apps, or pull up the website and then screen share the prompts. These games are best played when discussed as a group, because the more belief systems and opinions, the harder an issue is to resolve. These exercises provide practice for real-life conflict resolution.

You can find similar challenges on our list of online personality tests .

11. Frostbite

Frostbite is a group game that hones team leaders’ communication skills while sharpening teammates’ listening and cooperation skills. The premise behind the game is that a group of explorers gets caught in a snowstorm and must build a shelter. Frostbite has paralyzed the leaders’ hands and snow-blinded the rest of the team. The leader must give the team instructions to build a tent that can resist arctic winds.

To play Frostbite, each teammate wears a blindfold. Then, the leader gives directions. Once the structures are complete, players turn on a fan to test whether tents can withstand the wind.

Frostbite is usually an in-person game, however you can also play virtually. In the remote version of the game, teammates construct tents out of cards and tape, while the leader surveys the scene on screen.

This exercise demonstrates the challenges of leading remotely, as teams need to operate with minimal oversight or supervisor observation. Therefore, instructions need to be clear and direct to be effective.

Check out more team building games .

12. Virtual Hackathons

Hackathons are events where participants have a set amount of time to design and pitch a new product or solution. This type of event originated in the programming world and is often used to create new apps, however you can apply the game to any industry or school subject.

Virtual hackathons are online versions of the event. Teams enter the competition, then work with each other via virtual meeting software or remote work communication platforms to design the solution. At the end of the competition, teams pitch ideas to a panel of judges and a winner is decided.

To run a virtual hackathon, first announce the theme of the event and collect sign-ups. So that no teams work ahead, hint at the general idea of the issue, and only explain the precise problem when the event begins. Then, give teams anywhere from a few hours to a few days to complete the project.

Discover more virtual hackathon ideas .

13. Improv games

Improv games are excellent problem solving activities. These exercises force participants to think and respond quickly to keep scenes moving in a logical and entertaining way.

Here are some good problem solving improv games:

Banned words : Performers cannot say certain words. Scene partners will conceive of situations that encourage the actors to use those words, and the actors must find alternatives, such as using synonyms or taking the scene in a new direction.

Scenes from a chat : Audience gives a suggestion for a scene, and players act the scene out. Though it’s a fictional and often ridiculous scenario, actors must react to the situation and solve the problem in order for the scene to end.

Miracle cure : Miracle cure is a quick-moving exercise that follows a simple format. One player declares, “I have a problem.” Another player responds, “I have a….[random object.]” The first player then replies, “great! I can use the [random object] to….” and describes how they will solve the problem.

Check out more problem-solving improv games .

14. Spaghetti Tower

The spaghetti tower is a classic team building game. Participants gather uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows, and must construct the tallest freestanding tower.

During the in-person version, players must construct one tall freestanding tower. However, for the virtual version of the game, players construct individual towers. You can send groups to breakout rooms for the build, then reconvene in the main room for judging. Teams are judged on three main factors: number of towers, height, and uniformity.

This version of the game not only tests the structural integrity of the tower, but also consistency and quality control. This exercise teaches teams to align and collaborate remotely, and produce a consistent product even when far apart.

15. What Would You Do?

What Would You Do? is a simple situational game that challenges participants to react to different circumstances. To play this game, read prompts one by one, and then ask participants to respond with gameplans. You can use the polling or raise hand feature to vote for the best option.

Here are some problem solving scenarios for adults or kids to use in the game:

• Zombies attack and you have to find a place to hide.
• You are at the zoo and the animals escape. Which one do you try to corral back into the pen first?
• After waiting in line for hours, someone cuts in front of you last minute. The person appears to be visually and hearing impaired, and doesn’t notice your protests. An official announces that due to diminishing supply, this individual will be the last in line to be served.
• You are eating a meal with important clients and/or your partner’s parents, and you want to impress. The individuals make you a dish that does not fit within your dietary restrictions, but you do not speak the same language and cannot explain why you do not want to eat.
• An imposter has infiltrated the organization, who looks, speaks, and behaves exactly like you. How do you convince your peers that you are the original?

For similar dilemmas, check out this list of Would You Rather? questions.

16. Desert Island Survival

Desert Island Survival is a game that challenges players to prioritize. The premise is that players have been stranded on an island, and must decide what order to perform survival steps.

Here are the possible actions:

• Set up shelter
• Explore the island
• Try to signal for help
• Make weapons for self-defense
• Build a raft to escape the island
• Start a fire
• Choose a group leader
• Search for other survivors

All group members must agree on the order of the steps. Players should explain the reasoning for the order of each step while ranking the actions.

Another version of the game involves players receiving a list of 15 to 20 items, and selecting five or so to bring to the island. You can also vary the location of the game, substituting remote islands for destinations like outer space or the distant past.

17. Choose Your Own Adventure

Choose Your Own Adventure stories enable readers to determine the outcome of the story by making decisions. Each action has a consequence that takes the tale in a different direction. Participants can try to guess how the story may unfold by talking through the different choices. When completing the activity in a group setting, the majority of the team must agree on an action before moving forward in the story.

There are a few ways to facilitate these activities online:

• Play an online role playing video game
• Watch an interactive movie like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
• Read from a Choose Your Own Adventure book on Zoom
• Click through a Choose Your Own Adventure platform
• Create your own story using a Google Form

Whichever way you choose to do the exercise, you can use the screen share feature in your virtual meeting software so that listeners can more easily follow along.

18. MacGyver

MacGyver is a show where the hero escapes sticky situations by improvising tools out of unlikely materials. For example, in one episode the hero makes a telescope out of a newspaper, magnifying lens, and a watch crystal.

To play MacGyver, you can either list three to five objects participants can use, or challenge players to use items that are within arms reach.

Simply state a desired end result, such as “a way to open a locked door,” or “a getaway vehicle,” and then ask teams to explain what they will build and how they will build it. To make the activity more collaborative, you can give teams five or ten minutes in breakout rooms to strategize and design a prototype.

19. Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a roleplaying game where players pretend to be magical figures and creatures. One player serves as the dungeon master, who guides the game, while the other players pick characters and make decisions to move the story forward. Upon choosing a course of action, players roll a twenty-sided die to determine whether or not the plan succeeds. The game is story-based, the possibilities are nearly limitless, and truly creative problem solving options arise. Also, since gameplay is mostly verbal, Dungeons & Dragons is an easy activity to do over Zoom.

Here are the basic rules for Dungeons & Dragons .

20. Pandemic

Pandemic is a game that pits players against the forces of nature in a race to contain and control disease outbreaks. At the beginning of the game, each player receives a role such as containment specialist or operations expert. Participants must carry out the duties of their roles by choosing appropriate actions. Pandemic is a great game for groups because each team member has a clear part to play, and players must collaborate and work together instead of competing against each other.

To play the game online, you can use a Pandemic game app , or talk through the exercise while one attendee moves and displays pieces on the board.

Note: The subject of this game might hit too close to home for some players, considering recent history. You can find games with similar mechanics that deal with different subject matter, such as Forbidden Island.

Check out more team building board games .

21. Model UN

Model UN is one of the best virtual problem solving activities for students. This exercise casts participants in the role of international diplomats who must negotiate to solve realistic problems. Each player assumes the role of a country ambassador and must form alliances and propose solutions to solve crises.

Here are some sample Model UN scenarios:

• Human rights violation by powerful country
• Food shortage
• Disease epidemic
• Technology privacy violations
• Civil war branching into surrounding countries
• Natural disasters

Depending on the size of the group, participants either take on the part of an entire government of a country, or play a certain role within the government. To carry out the activity on Zoom, players can take turns giving speeches, message other countries privately via the chat, meet in breakout rooms to form alliances or have more intimate discussions, and use the polling feature to vote on propositions.

If politics does not resonate with your group, then you can alter the exercise by applying the same activity structure to a different theme, such as the Justice League, movie characters, business board members, or reality TV stars.

The main purpose of the exercise is to research, talk through problems, and compromise. As long as these elements are present, then the specifics of the setup do not matter.

There are many types of problem solving activities for adults. You can do online problem solving games, which require a different skill set than in-person problem solving. For instance, communication must be much clearer and more abundant when group members are far apart and unable to demonstrate or pick up physical cues.

Though many problem solving games include props and in-person elements, there are many games you can play together online. These exercises work well as educational tools as well as team bonding accelerators. Upon completion, participants are likely to feel a sense of accomplishment and increased confidence. These games are also great practice for real life conflict resolution, creative thinking and team building.

Next check out this list of connection games , this collection of crime-solving games , and this post with conflict resolution games .

We also have a list of the best decision making books and a list of team building problems for work .

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FAQ: Problem solving activities

Here are common answers to questions about group problem solving activities.

What are problem solving games?

Problem solving games are challenges that ask players to think critically and use logic to overcome issues or answer riddles. Examples include sudoku, murder mysteries, and spaghetti towers. These games are also known as “problem solving exercises”, “problem and solution games” and “group problem solving activities.”

What are the best problem solving games for groups?

The best problem solving games for groups include online escape rooms, moral challenges, and improv games.

What are some good problem solving team building activities for students?

Some good problem solving activities for students include crossword puzzles, choose your own adventure stories, and model UN.

How do you play problem solving games online?

The best way to play problem solving games online is to join a video call meeting to talk through the issue. Using the screen sharing and digital whiteboard features helps participants visualize the problem more clearly. Breakout rooms give teams the chance to discuss the issue more intimately.

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com.

Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

Begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.

What Are The Best Team-Building Games For Promoting Critical Thinking?

by TeachThought Staff

One of education’s primary goals is to groom the next generation of little humans to succeed in the ‘real world.’

Yes, there are mounds of curricula they must master in a wide breadth of subjects, but education does not begin and end with a textbook or test.

Other skills must be honed, too, not the least of which is how to get along with their peers and work well with others. This is not something that can be cultivated through rote memorization or with strategically placed posters.

Students must be engaged and cooperation must be practiced, and often. The following team-building games can promote cooperation and communication, help establish a positive classroom environment and — most importantly — provide a fun, much-needed reprieve from routine.

See also Team-Building Games For The First Day Of School

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Collaborative Critical Thinking

You can purchase a classroom-ready version of team-building games that promote critical thinking here .

1. If You Build it…

This team-building game is flexible. First, divide students into teams and give them equal amounts of a certain material, like pipe cleaners, blocks, or even dried spaghetti and marshmallows.

Then, give them something to construct. The challenge can be variable (think: Which team can build the tallest, structurally-sound castle? Which team can build a castle the fastest?). You can recycle this activity throughout the year by adapting the challenge or materials to specific content areas.

Skills: Communication; problem-solving

2.  Save the Egg

This activity can get messy and may be suitable for older children who can follow safety guidelines when working with raw eggs. Teams must work together to find a way to ‘save’ the egg (Humpty Dumpty for elementary school students?) — in this case, an egg dropped from a specific height. That could involve finding the perfect soft landing, or creating a device that guides the egg safely to the ground.

Let their creativity work here.

Skills: Problem-solving, creative collaboration

Zoom is a classic classroom cooperative game that never seems to go out of style. Simply form students into a circle and give each a unique picture of an object, animal, or whatever else suits your fancy. You begin a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on your assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on.

Skills: Communication; creative collaboration

4. Minefield

Another classic team-building game. Arrange some sort of obstacle course and divide students into teams. Students take turns navigating the ‘minefield’ while blindfolded, with only their teammates to guide them. You can also require students to only use certain words or clues to make it challenging or content-area specific.

Skills: Communication; trust

See also 10 Team-Building Games For A Friendlier Classroom

5. The Worst-Case Scenario

Fabricate a scenario in which students would need to work together and solve problems to succeed, like being stranded on a deserted island or getting lost at sea. Ask them to work together to concoct a solution that ensures everyone arrives safely. You might ask them to come up with a list of 10 must-have items that would help them most, or a creative passage to safety. Encourage them to vote — everyone must agree to the final solution.

Skills: Communication, problem-solving

6. A Shrinking Vessel

This game requires a good deal of strategy in addition to teamwork. Its rules are deceptively simple: The entire group must find a way to occupy a space that shrinks over time until they are packed creatively like sardines. You can form the boundary with a rope, a tarp or blanket being folded over, or small traffic cones. (Skills: Problem-solving; teamwork)

7. Go for Gold

This game is similar to the ‘If you build it’ game: Teams have a common objective but instead of each one having the same materials, they have access to a whole cache of materials. For instance, the goal might be to create a contraption with pipes, rubber tubing, and pieces of cardboard that can carry a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of steps, using only gravity.

Creative collaboration; communication; problem-solving

8. It’s a Mystery

Many children (and grown-ups) enjoy a good mystery, so why not design one that must be solved cooperatively? Give each student a numbered clue. In order to solve the mystery — say, the case of the missing mascot — children must work together to solve the clues in order. The ‘case’ might require them to move from one area of the room to the next, uncovering more clues.

Skills: Problem-solving, communication

9.  4-Way Tug-of-War 

That playground classic is still a hit — not to mention inexpensive and simple to execute. For a unique variation, set up a multi-directional game by tying ropes in such a way that three or four teams tug at once. Some teams might choose to work together to eliminate the other groups before going head-to-head.

Skills: Teamwork; sportsmanship

10. Keep it Real

This open-ended concept is simple and serves as an excellent segue into problem-based learning. Challenge students to identify and cooperatively solve a real problem in their schools or communities. You may set the parameters, including a time limit, materials, and physical boundaries.

Skills: Problem-solving; communication

While education technology is a basic and crucial component of the 21st-century classroom, educators must still ensure that students are engaging with each other in meaningful ways. Team-building exercises are a great way to do this, and because of this, they will never go out of style.

Aimee Hosler is a writer and mother of two living in Virginia. She specializes in a number of topics, but is particularly passionate about education and workplace news and trends. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and is a contributor to several websites including OnlineSchools.com; 10 Team-Building Games For Kids, Teenagers, or Adults

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

Playtime with a Purpose: 8 Critical Thinking Games Your Kids Will Love

Encouraging critical thinking in children is essential to their success in an ever-changing world. This article provides a list of eight fun critical thinking games for kids, including Sudoku, puzzles, mazes, spot the difference, and board games like Guess Who? and Clue.

As parents, we want our kids to grow up to be independent, critical thinkers. We want them to be able to analyze a situation and come up with their own solutions. However, in today's society, it seems like there is less and less emphasis on critical thinking skills.

With the proliferation of screens and the constant stream of information, it can be hard for kids to know how to sift through everything and figure out what is important. That's why it's so important to find ways to encourage critical thinking in our kids.

One way to do this is through games. Games that require kids to solve problems or figure out clues can help them learn how to think critically. And the best part is that they won't even realize they're learning!

So next time you're looking for a fun activity for your kids, try one of these critical thinking games for kids and watch their minds grow.

What is critical thinking and why is it important?

According to Stanford , critical thinking is the process of making reasoned judgments. It involves analyzing and evaluating information, identifying bias and errors, and formulating well-supported conclusions.

In many ways, it is the opposite of blind faith or simply accepting something as true because it is a popular opinion. Instead, critical thinkers use evidence and reason to reach sound conclusions.

This process is essential for making informed decisions in all areas of life, from personal finances to politics. Far from being a simple yes or no question, critical thinking requires taking multiple perspectives into account and constantly analyzing and re-evaluating information.

As such, it is a lifelong skill that is essential for success in an ever-changing world.

8 Fun Critical Thinking Games for Kids

Here are some of the best critical thinking games for kids:

Among the greatest critical thinking games for kids are puzzles. Not only do they have to figure out how to put the pieces together, but they also have to use their problem-solving skills to figure out what the puzzle is supposed to represent.

In addition, puzzles help kids to develop their attention to detail and spatial awareness. For these reasons, puzzles make an excellent critical thinking game for kids.

There are a variety of different puzzles that you can use to challenge kids of all ages. For younger kids, try simple jigsaw puzzles with large pieces. As they get older, you can introduce them to more difficult puzzles with smaller pieces.

You can even make your own puzzles by cutting up pictures from magazines or printing out images from the internet. No matter what type of puzzle you choose, you're sure to encourage critical thinking in your kids.

Mazes are fun and exciting critical thinking games for kids. They have to find their way through the twists and turns, using logic and problem-solving skills. And, it's great fun!

Mazes come in all different shapes and sizes, from simple dot-to-dot puzzles to more complex ones with multiple paths. There are even mazes you can make yourself, using everyday objects like string or masking tape.

Mazes can be found in books, magazines, and online. They can also be created using everyday objects like paper towels or string. Mazes can be used to teach kids about planning and following directions. They can also be used to improve memory and concentration.

4. Spot the Difference

Did you know that playing spot the difference games can help improve your child's critical thinking skills? In this type of game, kids are presented with two images that appear to be identical.

However, there are usually a few subtle differences between the two pictures. To win the game, kids must carefully examine both images and identify all of the discrepancies.

Not only is this type of activity fun for kids, but it also provides a great opportunity for them to practice critical thinking.

As they search for the differences between the two images, kids are forced to pay close attention and look at the details. This type of focused thinking can help them develop important problem-solving and observation skills.

5. Board Games

You don't have to be a grown-up to enjoy a good board game - in fact, many of the best board games out there are specifically designed for kids!

Not only are board games a fun way to spend some time with friends or family, but they're also a great way to encourage critical thinking. The following is a list of some of the best critical thinking games for kids that are sure to get those little brains working:

• Guess Who? - This classic guessing game is a great way to teach kids about basic deduction and logic. Players take turns asking each other questions about their mystery character in an effort to narrow down who they are.
• Clue - Another excellent deduction game, Clue challenges players to solve a murder mystery. By interrogating suspects and gathering clues, players must determine who did it, where they did it, and with what weapon.
• Monopoly - Everyone's favorite real estate trading game is also a great way to teach kids about money management. Players must learn how to budget their money wisely in order to buy property, pay rent, and avoid going bankrupt.
• Settlers of Catan - This popular strategy game requires players to trade resources in order to build up their settlements. Players must learn how to make the most efficient use of their resources in order to come out ahead.
• Potato Pirates - Potato Pirates is a computer science game that encourages critical thinking and problem-solving. In Potato Pirates, players compete against each other to collect all 7 Potato King cards in order to win. Another way to win the game is by eliminating all the opponents.

6. Word Search

Word search puzzles are a great way to improve your child's critical thinking skills. To solve a word search, your child must first identify all of the words in the puzzle. Then, they must figure out where each word is hidden within the grid.

This can be a challenge, as some words may be hidden in reverse or diagonal direction. Once all of the words have been found, your child can then circle or highlight them.

This activity requires kids to think carefully and look closely, which helps to improve their problem solving and analytical skills. In addition, word search puzzles are a fun and engaging activity that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages.

Riddles are one of the best critical thinking games for kids! Not only are they fun, but they also help kids to flex their problem-solving muscles. Here are a few of our favorite riddles for kids:

Q: What has a head but no body, a bed but no sleep, a mouth but no voice?

A: A river!

Q: I’m not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?

Q: You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?

A: Everyone was at lunch!

8. Memory Game

One of the funnest critical thinking games for kids is memory games. The basic premise of the game is to turn over a series of cards and try to remember where each card is located.

The catch is that the cards are turned over one at a time, so you have to rely on your memory to keep track of where the cards are. This may sound easy, but it can be quite challenging, especially as the number of cards increases.

The memory game is a great way to help kids develop their critical thinking skills by forcing them to pay attention, remember important details, and make inferences based on what they see.

Here you have it – eight critical thinking games for kids to foster the development of your child's critical thinking abilities. However, it's important to note that critical thinking, like any skill, requires time and practice to cultivate. By initiating this process early on and nurturing your child's critical thinking abilities, you provide them with a valuable tool that will serve them effectively in the long run. The wonderful part is that these activities can all be facilitated through Rolljak. You can find inspiration from the Rolljak community in creating critical thinking sessions via Rolljak Templates or create your own with the assistance of the AI Question Generator.

• 10 Calming Activities for Kids to Try After Lunch or Recess
• Encourage Critical Thinking: How To Get The Most Out Of Open Ended Questions
• How to Use Rolljak in Your Daily Lessons

Thinking Games

Thinking games are the perfect way to flex your mental muscles while having a great time. These games often involve solving puzzles, strategizing, and using logic to complete tasks or overcome challenges. They're an entertaining option when you're looking for a brain workout or a fun activity to share with friends.

The variety of thinking games available is vast, with a wide range of themes and mechanics, from pattern recognition and problem-solving puzzles to strategy-based challenges. These games not only provide an engaging gaming experience but also help improve cognitive skills, including critical thinking, planning, and decision-making. Whether you're in the mood for a casual game or a more intense, mind-stretching challenge, there's something for everyone in this genre.

Silvergames.com is the go-to online platform for an extensive selection of thinking games. With its user-friendly interface and diverse array of entertaining games, Silvergames.com caters to the interests of all gamers, ensuring a satisfying and enjoyable gaming experience. Regardless of your gaming preferences or skill level, the collection of thinking games on Silvergames.com offers an exhilarating and rewarding challenge for everyone.

Most Played Games

What are the TOP 5 Thinking Games?

• The Visitor: Massacre at Camp Happy
• Free Block Puzzle
• Words of Wonders

What are the best Thinking Games on tablets and mobile phones?

What are the newest thinking games on silvergames.

• Unblock Cube 3D
• Hexa Sort 3D
• Tiles of the Unexpected
• Rope Puzzle
• Tricky Ball
• Brain Games
• Board Games
• Logic Games
• Educational Games
• Games For Kids
• Fun Games
• Brain Teaser Games
• Board Games for Adults
• School Games
• Number Games
• Brain Training Games
• Math Games

10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

Students may improve their capabilities in critical thinking and other skills that will help them be successful in the contemporary job by participating in Team-building games for critical thinking. Students who value collaboration (and who will go on to become employers!) have higher levels of motivation and creativity.

It is common knowledge that kids like collaborating in groups very lot. Why don’t we make it into a game instead? Games are often a better option than brain training activities for helping children develop lateral thinking. However, brain training activities may be employed. Implementing these strategies in your classes can help students become more critical thinkers and more successful collaborators.

Here are 10 Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking;

1. minefield.

Minefield Team-building games for critical thinking is a time-honored exercise that has been shown to foster better communication and a sense of trust among participants of all ages. It requires the construction of an obstacle course as well as the grouping of the students into different teams. Students take turns navigating the “minefield” while wearing blindfolds and relying only on the support of their classmates to find their way. You might also encourage kids to use certain terms or hints in order to make it more challenging for them or to utilize information that is related to the topic in order to make it more interesting to them.

2. If You Build it

This exercise in establishing teams may easily be adapted to fit your needs. To get started, separate the children into teams and give each group an equal quantity of a certain substance. Some examples of this material are pipe cleaners, bricks, dried spaghetti, and marshmallows.

After that, you should assign them a project to work on. The challenge may take on a variety of forms, such as “which team can build the biggest castle that is also structurally sound?” Which side has the capacity to build the greatest number of castles in the least period of time? You may recycle this exercise throughout the year by modifying the challenge or the resources to correspond to other subject areas in the curriculum.

3. It’s a Mystery

Since many children, especially younger ones, like a good mystery, why not challenge them to solve it in a way that encourages them to collaborate with one another? It would be helpful to offer each child a numbered clue. The youngsters need to cooperate in order to find the answers to the clues in order to allow themselves enough time to solve the mystery, such as the case of the missing mascot. It’s possible that in order to solve the “case,” they’ll need to go about the room and look in other areas for additional clues.

Zoom team-building games for critical thinking is an old standby when it comes to games for constructing teams, and the many advantages that come with playing the game make it even more interesting. The children are seated in a circle, and one child gives each child an image of an item from Zoom.

The game begins with one child relating a story based on the image that they are holding, and the next student continues the story from where the previous student left off. The game helps youngsters improve their creativity, critical thinking, and communication abilities by compelling them to create the tales on the spot and challenging them to think critically about what they’ve written.

5. Save the Egg

During this team-building games for critical thinking, each team of three or four persons will have the opportunity to drop their egg from a certain height. They need to devise strategies that will prevent the egg from cracking while it is in the air. They are free to use whatever items or apparatus of their choosing to effect a soft landing for the egg or to guarantee that it settles in an unharmed state.

Because this one has the potential to get ugly, it is essential to choose a site that is risk-free and where no one will be worried about hurting valuable school property.

6. marshmallows-game

7. Go for Gold

The teams compete to achieve the same objective in this Team-building games for critical thinking, which is similar to the game “If you create it,” but rather than having the same resources, the teams have access to a huge quantity. For instance, the objective may be to construct, consisting of pipes, rubber tubing, and cardboard, a machine that, with the only assistance of gravity, can move a marble from point A to point B in a certain number of stages.

Although learning through textbooks is essential, teachers also have a responsibility to ensure that pupils can interact effectively with one another. Exercises that focus on fostering a sense of teamwork are an effective way to do this, and there is no sign that this fad will ever die out.

8. Keep it Real

Because it is founded on a straightforward concept that encourages conversation and problem-solving, this open-ended model functions as an efficient examination tool for students. Give the students the mission to identify and address a genuine issue that exists in their own schools or communities. For the purpose of assisting youngsters in defining their own boundaries, some restrictions, such as time limits, material limits, and physical limitations, might be put on them.

9. Shrinking Vessel

Critical thinking may be tough to understand after undergoing brain training, but after participating in exciting Team-building games for critical thinking like the shrinking vessel, it quickly becomes second nature. The participants will first be split up into smaller groups to begin the exercise. Every group is going to have to coordinate their efforts so that they can fit into a smaller and smaller area until there is no more room. Cones or a rope might be used to define the perimeter of the area. Playing this game will teach you how to collaborate with others to find solutions to challenges.

10. The Worst-Case Scenario

Students are split up into two or more groups, and each of those groups is given a tough scenario to solve. Some examples of these scenarios include being abandoned on a barren island or becoming lost at sea. They are then given the instruction to collaborate with one another within their teams in order to find a solution to the challenge and ultimately emerge triumphant. The children have to come up with a strategy in order to guarantee that everyone will live through the worst-case scenario.

In this particular situation, the students may be quizzed about the things that they will need in order to do the task, in addition to any other passages that they may come across. The fact that youngsters are required to cooperate with one another helps in the development of their ability to solve problems and teaches them the importance of working together as a team through Team-building games for critical thinking.

Bottom line

To achieve the highest productivity at work, Team-building games for critical thinking are conducted in distinct corporate games. However, these games can boost efficiency in the study if undertaken in a classroom atmosphere. They help students to break the monotony in the learning environment. We hope our blog helped you to get new ideas regarding Team-building games for critical thinking. You can implement them in your next session within the classroom.

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Mind by Design

21 Amazing thinking games for adults | Classic brain games

Thinking games for adults is the best way to train your brain. It not only improves your intellectual capacity but also sharpens up your skills and makes you more productive.

Thinking games for adults will help you to:

• It helps you in increasing your creativity and imagination.
• It increases your concentration skills.
• It improves your memory and information retention ability.
• It builds and repairs brain cells.

It helps you in making a decision quickly. It also sharpens up your thinking process by playing with logic and challenging yourself with puzzles, games, riddles, knowledge-based games etc.

In this post we will present 21 of the best thinking games for adults , so you can see and choose which one is best for you!

1. Mind Benders

Mind Benders by Martin Gardner is a game of logic and puzzles. This game is a collection of puzzle problems that include Zen koan questions, puzzles in geometry, and magic squares.

To play this game you need to solve the problems in order starting from easy to hard. Once you are done with answering the easy ones, you can move on to the next harder ones until you have finished all of them.

Sudoku, which means “single number”, is a popular logic game. It is a Japanese puzzle of numbers in which players must fill in the blanks so that each row, column, and region contain the digits 1 to 9 and no more than four of them are used together in each row, column, or region.

3. Flip Question

This game requires you to answer the questions in a logical way, without relying on any wrong information. It is kind of a simple puzzle involving finding the right order for the numbers that are shown from 1 to 80.

4. Logic Trails

Logic Trails is a game that requires you to follow a trail of logical deductions. The basic rules are:

• Be sure to not make any assumptions.
• Always start with an assumption.
• Weave logic from the given premises to the conclusion. What do you need more than anything else is to be sure that your answer is correct and values your ideas?

5. Hinge Puzzle

Hinge Puzzle is a classic game with a lot of challenging questions. It requires you to find the ways by which the three given figures can be connected into one figure, without lifting the puzzle apart and possibly disabling it from being completed.

6. Tower of Hanoi

Tower of Hanoi is a strategy game for 2 players who are trying to get their wooden disks on top of the tower filled with discs. One person moves the disks at a time, while the other player is trying to stop them.

7. 20 November 2012 Brain Teaser

From 20 November 2012, this puzzle will keep your brain working as it asks you to solve a riddle every time you look at it. Your mission is to find out what happened on this day by solving all kinds of riddles and puzzles.

Bamboo is a classic board game that requires you to move the tokens from start to finish in order. There will be various obstacles in the way that you must avoid in order to get your token moved. You can also use logic and help other players by giving them boosts on their way.

9. Labyrinth

This is a great strategy game that requires you to move your token by using the correct path among the colored labyrinths. You will have to start from easy ones and then move your way towards harder ones.

10. Monopoly Empire

Monopoly Empire is a fun logical game that requires you to build your empire in a realistic manner just as the original game does. The only thing is that this version requires you to build your empire from scratch.

11. Moondial

Moondial is a classic logic game that requires you to follow the instructions given to get the token through a maze of obstacles. You would have to start at easy ones and then move on to harder ones until you have completed all of them.

12. Transport

Transport is a logic game that allows you to race a vehicle in a puzzle-like scenario just like the original board game. The only difference between this version and the original one is that the puzzle will be solved with a vehicle rather than with trains.

13. Hangman’s Puzzle

This is an easy puzzle game that requires you to find out the letter that can form words from the given stack of letters, without using any letters twice in the same word. It is also great for improving your memory and attention skills.

14. The Alphabet Game

The Alphabet Game is a fun game that requires you to guess the letters by making use of your logic and knowledge. This game starts from the alphabet A and it will keep on going until you cannot guess it in any other way from any other letter. The aim is to try to guess them all!

15. Sudoku meets Asteroid

Excluding the differences in the rules, it is still a Sudoku game, you must fill up all the cells on a grid so that each row, column and region has only 1 to 9 numbers. The only difference here is that instead of using numbers 1 to 9, you will be using letters of the alphabet.

16. Letter Sequence

Letter Sequence is a fun puzzle game that requires you to identify the sequence in which the letters are given. The only difference is that they are not numbers but letters of the alphabet. This game will test your memory and attention skills as it requires you to remember them all.

17. Magic Square Puzzle

The magic square puzzle is a great thinking game that consists of square blocks filled with various letters. It will test your logical thinking skills as you have to find the square blocks that consist of some letters and use a combination of them to form a whole number.

18. Jigsaw Puzzle Fun

Like the original jigsaw puzzles, this version features over 15 different puzzles that feature animals like lions, kangaroos, sharks, dolphins, elephants and more. It requires you to put the puzzle pieces together in order so that there are no overlapping or missing pieces.

19. Alignment Game

Alignment Game is a great puzzle game that requires you to connect the dots on a grid to form various patterns. This game will test your memory and attention skills by asking you to solve the pattern without looking at the given grid.

20. Rubik’s Snake

Rubik’s Snake is another great logic game that will require you to find out a snake by rotating the blocks around it until it has become a snake again. The only thing is that this version is played with a snake instead of blocks and will test your logical thinking skills instead.

21. Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is a logic game that requires you to match the letters on the wheel so that each letter on the wheel lands on an appropriate letter in the grid. It will test your memory and attention skills as it requires you to remember them all!

Conclusion – thinking games for adults

Playing thinking and puzzle games is not just a fun activity that the kids do. It is also a great way for adults to improve their memory, brainpower and logic skills . The best thing about these games is that they are fun to play and they require a lot of thinking as well.

These games will help you increase your IQ level by giving you the ability to make logical decisions in various situations without having to worry about the outcome. They also improve your problem-solving skills by testing and training them every time you play one of these games.

Playing these games can also help you to develop your logical reasoning and become better at making decisions in a more efficient manner. The best part about playing these games is that they are very fun!

Now that you have found out the best thinking and puzzle games for adults, it is time to try one of them and see for yourself how much your IQ has improved or how much better you have become at playing them.

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Critical Thinking Games

Prosocial video games supporting critical thinking . Presented by the Gaming Against Violence program from Jennifer Ann's Group ®, a nonprofit charity.

★ Congratulations to MushWhom? and Figure It Sprout for winning 2023 Silv-E Awards! Corporation, Inc. (KSU Narrative Game Lab) Figure It Sprout (David Li, Quang Nguyen, Gaby Sanchez, Kitty Huang, Isaac Orozco) Mushwhom? (Collin Lang, Knitwit Studios) Critical Thinking Games Press Release for more details. -->

• About Critical Thinking
• Critical Thinking Game Design Contest

What is critical thinking?

Here are some definitions about critical thinking to give you an idea of what is meant by "critical thinking." Although there is a general consensus regarding its meaning, these definitions offer a variety of perspectives to better understand critical thinking.

"Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. It involves the evaluation of sources, such as data, facts, observable phenomena, and research findings."

~ ThoughtCo

"Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question, analyse, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, say, or write."

~ Monash University

"[...] careful thinking directed to a goal."

~ The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"The process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you."

~ Cambridge Dictionary

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."

~ University of Louisville

"Thinking critically is a skill that is taught at school and university BUT its main purpose is to better equip you to understand the world, to make more sense of the vast amount of information that is available to us and to avoid, being manipulated. It is a life skill."

~ University of Greenwich

• Critical Thinking Resources

Critical Thinking Articles & Resources

These resources and articles about critical thinking are helpful in designing critical thinking games .

• ► A Guide to Costa's Levels of Questioning [The Edvocate] "Like Bloom’s taxonomy, the questions in Costa’s lower levels encourage students to use their more fundamental cognitive processes. [...] A sizable body of research backs up Dr. Costa’s schema. Following a constructivist theory of education, Newmann (1993) discovered that higher-order thinking forces students to 'manipulate information and ideas in ways that modify their meaning' and 'expects students to solve issues and build meaning for themselves.'"
• ► 5 Tips for Critical Thinking [Psychology Today] "[Critical Thinking] is necessary when you care about your decisions or when the consequence of a decision is impactful. According to Jean Paul Sartre, every time an individual acts, they are making a choice to commit that act as opposed to not acting, or acting in an alternative manner. With that in mind, if we were to think critically about every single decision we make, we would be mentally exhausted before we even got to work."
• ► 60 Critical Thinking Strategies for Learning [teach thought] "A critical thinking strategy is simply a ‘way’ to encourage or facilitate the cognitive act of thinking critically. "Critical thinking is the ongoing application of unbiased, accurate, and ‘good-faith’ analysis, interpretation, contextualizing, and synthesizing multiple data sources and cognitive perspectives in pursuit of understanding. "What are the 7 critical thinking strategies? Someone emailed me recently asking that question and I immediately wondered how many more than seven there were. 27? 77?"
• ► Critical Thinking [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy] "Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational goal. Its definition is contested, but the competing definitions can be understood as differing conceptions of the same basic concept: careful thinking directed to a goal."
• ► Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving [The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga] "In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess the validity of something (statements, news stories, arguments, research, etc.)."
• ► Critical Thinking Definition, Skills, and Examples [ThoughtCo.] "Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information, and discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve problems or make decisions."
• ► Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? [AdLit: All About Adolescent Literacy] "Learning critical thinking skills can only take a student so far. Critical thinking depends on knowing relevant content very well and thinking about it, repeatedly. Here are five strategies, consistent with the research, to help bring critical thinking into the everyday classroom."
• ► CRITHINKEDU Impact Report - A journey on critical thinking in European higher education [CRITHINKEDU] "Funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme, the ‘Critical Thinking Across the European Higher Education Curricula – CRITHINKEDU’ project arises from the background and experience of European Higher Education Institutions, business corporations and Non-Governmental Organisations, and their ongoing concern to improve the quality of learning in universities and across different sectors, which converge in a common need on how to better support the development of Critical Thinking (CT) according to labour market needs and social challenges."
• ► Defining Critical Thinking [The Foundation for Critical Thinking] "Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2,500 years. The term 'critical thinking' has its roots in the mid-late 20th century. [In this article, we] offer overlapping definitions which together form a substantive and trans-disciplinary conception of critical thinking."
• ► How To Teach Critical Thinking in K-12 [Forbes] "What’s needed is not necessarily new courses, but a critical thinking focus throughout the curriculum. Some of these changes can happen quickly with tweaks to existing curricula and the incorporation of deeper and more creative thinking exercises."
• ► Logical Fallacies: Examples and Pitfalls in Research and Media [Research.com] "In public discourse, research and academic writing, logical fallacies should always be avoided because they invalidate conclusions and arguments. Unfortunately, it is easy to commit such logical fallacies ourselves. "A recent analysis of medical fallacies can be found in a paper titled, 'Fallacies in medical practice: Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibition and COVID-19 as a Paradigm' in the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology. "It states that 'In emergency situations, such as during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical community looks for quick answers and guidance. Under these circumstances, experts instead of admitting ignorance, feel obliged to give an answer, often pressurized by political or other authorities, even when such an answer is unavailable. Under these circumstances, publications based on fallacious reasoning are virtually unavoidable. (Triposkiadi, Dean Boudoulas, Xanthopoulos, and Harisios, 2020).'”
• ► The Critical Thinking Consortium [TC2] A collection of resources for educators and parents supporting "critical, creative, and collaborative thinking as an educational goal and as a method of teaching and learning." Many of these resources require payment but the website also includes several excellent free online collections and published lessons.
• ► What is critical thinking? [Monash University] "People who apply critical thinking consistently are said to have a critical thinking mindset, but no one is born this way. These are attributes which are learnt and improved through practice and application. "In the academic context, critical thinking is most commonly associated with arguments. You might be asked to think critically about other people's arguments or create your own. To become a better critical thinker, you therefore need to learn how to: clarify your thinking purpose and context; question your sources of information; identify arguments; analyse sources and arguments; evaluate the arguments of others; and create or synthesise your own arguments."

Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge

Note: the critical thinking game design challenge has ended. Here is the press release announcing the award-winning critical thinking games . The following information is for reference and will be archived soon.

Background: About the Critical Thinking Games Contest

Since 2008, Gaming Against Violence , an award-winning program from the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann's Group , has produced prosocial games in an effort to improve the lives of young people around the world. Every year a new game design challenge is issued for game designers and developers to create compelling games about that year's topic. Previous game challenges have focused on a variety of topics and themes including consent , culture , gaslighting , healthy relationships , and resilience . This year the game design challenge theme is critical thinking .

Critical Thinking Game Overview

The Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge consisted of two rounds. For Round One , contestants submitted a game pitch using the theme of critical thinking. For Round Two , Finalists were selected based on their submitted game pitch. These Finalists will then design and develop their critical thinking video games based on their game pitches. They will have three months to develop their games.

Each Finalist who submitted an eligible game was guaranteed a prize of at least $100 (USD). The Winning Game was guaranteed a prize of at least $3,000 (USD). The total prize pool awarded to the group of Finalists was $10,000 (USD). All Finalists also receive critiques of their submitted games from experts in game design and/or critical thinking.

The critical thinking game design contest was open to everybody age 13 and older (minors will need a parent or guardian to sign the prize acceptance agreement in the event they are selected as a Finalist). The critical thinking games should be designed to be generally appropriate for ages 11 and up. Your entry should be a video game that has never been published before. And, as has been the case since 2008: the games cannot contain any depictions of violence .

Critical Thinking Game Timeline

Round One consisted of submitting a proposed game pitch. This entails answering six questions and providing other registration data.

Round Two was limited to Finalists who will be selected from the Round One proposed game pitch submissions. You do not need to be a game developer or game designer in order to become a Finalist - you just need to have a clever idea that you believe would translate well into a compelling video game that supports critical thinking!

• Round One: Game pitches were submitted by March 19, 2023.
• Finalists were selected and notified by March 30, 2023.
• Round Two: Finalists had until June 30, 2023 to submit their completed critical thinking game.
• Judging and critiquing of the critical thinking games during July 2023.
• The winning critical thinking games will be announced after Labor Day Weekend 2023.

Critical Thinking Game Prizes

A total of $10,000 (USD) awarded in prize money to the Finalists. Distribution of prize money will be announced when the Winning games are announced. At least one Winning game will receive at least $3,000 (USD). Each Finalist will receive at least $100 (USD). Additional Winning Games might be selected from among the Finalists.

In addition to the prize money:

• All qualifying Finalists will have their games judged and critiqued by industry and subject matter experts.
• All qualifying Finalists will be granted a license to use the FINALIST graphic.
• The Winning game(s) will be granted a license to use the WINNER graphic.
• The Finalist and Winning game(s) will be promoted on Jennifer Ann's Group websites and on their profile pages at game marketplaces.
• The Winning game(s) will be published by Life Love Publishing once they are ready to be published.
• All Finalists will receive critiques about their game entry from the critical thinking game contest judges.
• More details available in the Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge Rules below.

► Jennifer Ann's Group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and relies on donations, sponsorships, and grants to fund our violence prevention work. Like what we're doing? Donate online to support our innovative violence prevention work .

Judges: critical thinking games design challenge, susan bonner.

Susan Bonner (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University teaching in the Serious Games Certificate and the Games and Interactive Media program. Educational games she produced through The EPIC Project have won Serious Play and Meaningful Play Awards. She is the creator of The Road Crew Social Emotional Health Game , which aims to teach young children coping skills for anger, loneliness, and anxiety through an AR experience. Accessible, universal, and inclusive design is at the heart of her teaching, art, design, and the work she produces. Susan actively participates on panels for the National Science Foundation, specifically focusing on Small Business Innovative Research in VR, AR, AI, and Learning Cognition. Susan holds an MFA from the University of Cincinnati and a BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design. Find out more at SusanBonner.com

Dr. Nick Bowman

Nick Bowman is an Associate Professor of Emerging Media in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is a media and communication scholar with an extensive research career focused on the uses and effects of video games. He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed academic manuscripts , with recent studies focused on the functional role of video games in daily life, from video game nostalgia to use of gaming for mood management. He works with other scholars and game developers to advance the study and design of video games for prosocial purposes, including violence reduction and perspective-taking. He is the editor of the Journal of Media Psychology , and was recently the Fulbright Taiwan Wu Jing-Jyi Arts & Culture Fellow at the National Chengchi University in Taipei. He has taught courses on video games and media psychology in Belgium, Germany, Mexico, and Taiwan.

Dr. Mark Danger Chen

Mark Danger Chen is an independent games scholar and part-time professor of interaction design, qualitative research, and games studies at the University of Washington Bothell. They oversee Esoteric Gaming , an alternative publication outlet that celebrates gaming diversity through detailed accounts of arcane and marginal gaming practices. Mark also wrote Leet Noobs: The Life and Death of an Expert Player Group in World of Warcraft , an ethnographic account of how a new team learned to excel through the use of game mods and then died in a fiery meltdown catalyzed by the same mods. In a previous life, Mark was a webmaster and game designer for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Mark wants a die-cast 1st generation Soundwave for Christmas. You can reach Mark at @mcdanger .

Drew Crecente, JD

Drew Crecente (he/him) is founder and executive director of Jennifer Ann's Group , a nonprofit charity preventing teen dating violence. He also runs the Gaming Against Violence program for Jennifer Ann's Group. Drew is a teen dating violence lead at Emory's Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRCE) and a published researcher on violence prevention through video games . Drew speaks at conferences about the use of video games as a solution for violence prevention. His speaking engagements include GDC, Games for Change, Games for Health, Meaningful Play, PAX Unplugged, and Youth at Risk conferences. Drew's game production credits include ADRIFT , a consent game featured at the future-focused museum MOD in Australia; Rispek Danis , a game about healthy dating relationships designed for ni-Vanuatu youth and 2019 Games for Change Awards Finalist in the category of Most Significant Impact ; and the media literacy game Culture Overlord , a 2021 Finalist for the GEE! Learning Games Award and 2022 Games for Change Awards Finalist in the category of Best Learning Game .

Sabrina Culyba

Sabrina Culyba (she/her) is a Pittsburgh-based game designer and founder of Ludoliminal . Her professional work has spanned online games, VR, mobile apps, location-based entertainment, and board games across a variety of industries from healthcare to education. She is the author of The Transformational Framework (ETC Press, 2018) and has spoken on game design and the transformational power of games at a number of conferences including the Games for Change festival, Serious Play, Meaningful Play, and Dataviz+Cancer. Sabrina serves on the Board for Global Game Jam and Broke the Game . She also co-hosts the yearly XR Brain Jam at the Games for Change Festival.

Dr. Ruud Jacobs

Ruud Jacobs is an assistant professor at the Department of Communication Science of the University of Twente . His research is mediapsychological, mostly focusing on the impacts of persuasive games and the ways in which they work to change attitudes. In 2017 he defended his dissertation, titled Playing to Win Over , as part of the Persuasive Gaming in Context joint research effort. Ruud lectures in technological aspects of communication science, and talks about games whenever he can.

Dr. Krista-Lee Meghan Malone

Dr. Krista-Lee M. Malone is a faculty associate with the Department of Curriculum & Instruction’s Game Design Certificate at UW-Madison and Director of the UW Game Lab. Her past research includes studies on raiding guilds in World of Warcraft, the making of educational games in Taiwan (where she concurrently worked as a designer and consultant) and using game design to teach in the social sciences. Dr. Malone is currently working on designing engaging educational games as well as examining gender issues and educational uses of Twitch.tv and Discord. She is also a board member of MKEsports , an alliance aimed at positively growing the culture and connectivity of regional esports groups, gamers, businesses, and community partners. If you want to geek out with her, she can can be found experimenting with teaching at twitch.tv/profgameranthro and experimenting with everything else at twitch.tv/gameranthro .

Dr. Amy Mueller

Amy Mueller is an assistant professor of learning technologies at the University of Oklahoma in the Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum program . She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on educational and instructional technologies to pre-service and practicing educators. Prior to her arrival at the University of Oklahoma she taught 4K for Head Start and worked as a K-5 Technology Teacher at a dual language immersion program in a diverse, public, urban title-1 school. Her research interests include: culturally and linguistic responsive and sustaining education, Indigenous education, liberatory education, elementary education, games-based learning, maker education, STEM education, digital literacy, multiliteracies, design based research, and codesign & community action research. In her limited free time, she likes to play video games with her kids.

Dr. Brooke Morrill

Dr. Brooke Morrill serves as the Senior Director of Education at Schell Games . Morrill uses her expertise in behavioral science, psychology, and research to increase the impact of and engagement in the company’s educational and transformational games. She identifies and secures extramural project funding in both the federal and private sectors in order to create and iteratively develop innovative, interactive experiences. In addition, she collaborates with universities and research institutions for product development and evaluation. She also maintains an active Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral credential from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Morrill serves on the XR Education and Training Advisory Group for the Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR), a membership network of industry leaders that helps to enable growth, nurture talent, and develop standards while working to bring wider public awareness and understanding to virtual and augmented reality. She is also a Principal Member of grant review panels for the Institute of Education Sciences at the US Department of Education.

Dr. Andy Phelps

Bio coming soon.

Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson

Dr. Elizabeth L. Richeson is a Psychologist in El Paso, Texas , the head of the Advisory Board for Jennifer Ann's Group , and former president of the Texas Psychological Foundation. She was recognized as the 2018 Psychologist of the Year by the Texas Psychological Association; is an expert on teen dating violence; appears regularly on news and talk shows; and lectures nationwide on a variety of issues related to teenagers, young adults, and healthy relationships. She lived and worked in a variety of settings in Japan, Micronesia, South Korea, and Thailand and wrote her doctoral dissertation on Adaptation to Geographic Relocation at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her clinical and administrative positions have included Program Director of Adult Psychiatric Units, Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and University of Maryland International, and maintaining a full-time clinical practice for more than 30 years. She is considered the area authority on eating disorders for the Air Force and Army for outpatient and inpatient treatment.

Jo Sharpen is a specialist in violence against women and girls, child development and the impacts of trauma. She has a special interest in how the online space can be used to support and empower survivors of abuse. Jo is now a freelance consultant after previously being the director of policy at AVA, a national UK charity.

Dr. Sarah Stang

Dr. Sarah Stang (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Game Studies in Brock University’s Centre for Digital Humanities . She is also the Secretary for the International Communication Association’s Game Studies Division and an At-Large Representative for the Canadian Game Studies Association . She received her PhD from the Communication & Culture program at York University and her research primarily focuses on gender representation in both digital and analog games. Her published work has analysed topics such as female monstrosity, androgyny, parenthood, interactivity, and feminist media studies, and can be found in journals such as Games and Culture , Game Studies , Critical Studies in Media Communication , Human Technology , and Loading , as well as several edited collections.

Dr. Moses Wolfenstein

Moses Wolfenstein is a professor at El Camino College in Torrance, CA where he serves as Distance Education Faculty Coordinator and is leading the development of the new Games and Playable Media Department. Moses has been working in and around game design since 2006 as a designer, research, and teacher. His doctoral research with the Games+Learning+Society research group at UW–Madison focused on the intersection of games, learning, and leadership in MMO's.

Critical Thinking Game Pitch Submission

( Note: game pitches were due by March 19, 2023 )

You are pitching an idea for a non-violent prosocial video game intended to encourage and support critical thinking and the use of critical thinking tools and strategies by the players of your game.

If you can envision a video game that will help the player use and apply critical thinking then we want to learn about your game idea. We hope you will submit your idea to the critical thinking game challenge.

An important note about the critical thinking game design challenge:

Although our organization's primary focus is on the prevention of teen dating violence, your game does not have to be about dating relationships. There are several reasons for this, but the most important reason is that we want to help all young people (ages 11-22) learn this important information in order that they are more likely to understand the value of critical thinking and are better equipped to apply critical thinking skills. The past few years have been especially challenging. This is true for nearly everybody and in many aspects. We believe some, if not all, of those challenges would have been easier to navigate were we all better equipped to use and apply critical thinking. We believe that intentionally designed video games are an ideal approach to helping young people appreciate and understand how to use critical thinking skills. Our hope is that these critical thinking games will be used by: educators in classrooms; by parents and trusted adults at home; and directly by young people themselves. If we were to limit the critical thinking game design challenge to narrowly focus on the topic of healthy dating relationships then that might limit the reach and use of these critical thinking games. With that said, you are welcome to incorporate themes about healthy relationships into your critical thinking video game should you choose to do so.

Round One: game pitches were due by March 19th, 2023

These questions were answered by those submitting a game pitch.

Critical Thinking Game Pitch Questions

• (Q1) What is the title of your critical thinking game?
• (Q2) Write a short description of your critical thinking game. After reading this description players should want to play your game. (100-150 words)
• (Q3) How will your critical thinking game use visual and auditory elements to engage and inform players about critical thinking and how best to use it? (100-150 words)
• (Q4) How will your critical thinking game effectively use game mechanics , storytelling , and/or rhetoric to engage and inform players about critical thinking and its importance? (Please realize that this means that your game does not have to be story-based; it may use other design strategies or it may be story-based, as you prefer.) (100-150 words)
• (Q5) How will your critical thinking game effectively use persuasion to engage and inform players about critical thinking and its importance? (100-150 words)
• (Q6) How will your game help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help them become better able to use critical thinking in their lives? (100-150 words)

Round Two: were due by end of June 2023

Finalists were notified by March 30, 2023 if their proposed game pitch was selected to move on to Round Two of the contest. For Round Two, Finalists were given until June 30, 2023 to design, develop, and complete their critical thinking game. The finished critical thinking games will then be reviewed and scored to determine the winner.

• No VR or AR games . We want to reach as many people as possible with these critical thinking games and we feel that VR and AR technologies are currently too limiting.
• No subscription-based services . We cannot afford to pay for recurring subscriptions.
• Ideally you will use Unity to develop your game . Due to its large user base it is easier for us to get support if needed and the majority of the games we have published in the past were developed using Unity. Also, it is generally easier for us to export Unity games to a variety of platforms. Importantly, Unity supports exporting to HTML5 . Browser-based games are often more accessible because they can be played, for example, in public libraries and at schools. We strive to publish games that are accessible.
• Some suggested game design engines: Godot , Unity , and Unreal Engine . If you are wondering about a particular engine or technology please contact us.

Critical Thinking Games: FAQs

About this contest.

What is the Life.Love. Game Design Challenge?

The Life.Love. Game Design Challenge is an annual game design contest focused on violence prevention. The contest is open to game designers and game developers around the world. Entries have been received from six continents. Designers and developers are invited to create their own prosocial games intended to engage, educate, and empower game players. This contest is from the award-winning Gaming Against Violence program presented by the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann's Group. The games are published, localized, and maintained by Life Love Publishing.

Why is Jennifer Ann's Group running this contest?

Violence is a public health issue and games are an effective approach at engaging young people about serious and complex issues. Jennifer Ann's Group is a non-profit organization working to prevent violence since 2006 in memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente.

Although traditional outreach programs about violence prevention are available, many schools lack the funding to implement these programs and so Jennifer Ann's Group considered how to leverage technology to reach and help young people at no cost. Given the popularity of video games -- especially among young people -- Jennifer Ann's Group launched the first annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge in 2008, challenging video game designers to create prosocial games intended to prevent dating violence. In 2023, for the 16th annual Life.Love. Game Design Challenge, the focus is on supporting the use of critical thinking skills by young people to help them be better informed and self-sufficient. These skills will lead to better outcomes for themselves and for those around them. This will help them to lead happier, healthier lives.

In the years since launching the contest it has become increasingly clear that games are fantastic tools for engaging players in uniquely compelling ways. As compared to traditional methods: players more easily understand complex, nuanced issues; they become invested and engaged in the success of the game's outcome; and they can safely explore and experience difficult situations in context.

Every year since 2008 Jennifer Ann's Group has presented an annual game design competition encouraging developers to create games about selected themes intended to help young people in the short term and benefit society in the long term. Prosocial games help engage, educate, and empower young people around the world.

What else can you tell me about the games that have come from this program?

Entry Information

How do I get started?

Game pitches for the Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge were due by March 19, 2023. However, the 2024 game design challenge is coming February 2024 with the topic of connectedness . Visit the website for the connectedness video games for the latest info.

Who is allowed to enter?

Anybody age 13+ at the time of entry is eligible to enter (except in countries or regions where prohibited). Officers, employees, and immediate family members of Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing are prohibited from entering the game design challenge.

Can I enter more than once?

Sorry, but no. Make sure and enter your best game because you only get one chance to enter each year!

What are the technical requirements?

Round One of the contest only requires submitting the text of your proposed game narrative. If you are selected as a Finalist you will receive all necessary information for Round Two, including any technical requirements for your final game entry. There are some notes in the Critical Thinking Game Pitch Submission section, including some technical suggestions and limitations. Our intention is to be as flexible and supportive of as many different formats as possible but we do need to be able to reliably judge the games and, in the event that it is a winning game, be able to: modify the game; make the game available through various channels; possibly translate the game into other languages; and also to provide support for game players. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask us.

What are the content requirements?

As with all of our game design challenges no violent content is permitted in the game entries. Games should be age-appropriate for those ages 11 and up.

How long do I have to enter?

Registration was from March 7, 2023 through March 19, 2023. The Finalists were notified by March 30, 2023 and had until June 30, 2023 to submit their finished game.

Do you accept group entries?

Yes - please just identify a primary contact person when you submit your game pitch on the Round One submission form.

Where can I learn more about critical thinking?

Visit the About Critical Thinking section for information and resources about critical thinking.

How can I keep up to date about the contest info?

Register for our newsletter to be notified about our next game design challenge. You can also follow the Critical Thinking Mastodon account at: games.ngo/@CriticalThinkingGames . Finalists will be invited to join our Discord server.

Judging and Selection Process

What criteria will be used for judging?

Round One of the contest will be judged based on the creativity of your proposed game pitch and the potential for that idea to be developed into a compelling video game which will help players: be more aware of the importance of critical thinking; be better informed about critical thinking skills; have strategies to strengthen skills associated with critical thinking; and as a result, be generally better at making informed decisions and become more self sufficient.

Judging details and scoring rubric for Round Two were distributed to all Finalists at the time that they were notified of their Finalist status.

Information about the judges, including their bios, will be added to the contest website June 2023.

Critical Thinking Games: Official Rules

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. Entry in this contest constitutes your acceptance of these official rules.

The 2023 Life.Love. Game Design Challenge (the " Contest ") is designed to encourage participants (" Entrant(s) " or " You ") to use their creativity to create their own video game that helps players of the game: be more aware of the importance of critical thinking; be better informed about skills supporting the use of critical thinking; have strategies to strengthen skills associated with critical thinking; and feel more empowered through the use of critical thinking, especially for those players in the approximate age range of 11 - 22 years of age (the " Target Age Group "). Life Love Publishing and/or its representatives will select Finalists (" Finalists ") from those eligible entries submitted in Round One. Finalists will be eligible to participate in Round Two and will submit completed games. Judges will choose the winning entries from the Round Two eligible Finalist submissions and prizes will be awarded in accordance with these Official Rules (these " Rules ").

• BINDING AGREEMENT : In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to the Rules. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules and that you may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you, Jennifer Ann's Group, and Life Love Publishing with respect to the Contest.
• ELIGIBILITY : To be eligible to enter the Contest, an Entrant must: (a) be 13 years of age (or older) at time of entry; and (b) have obtained a parent's or legal guardian's prior permission if under the age of majority (" Minors ") in their jurisdiction. Minors who enter must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to receive any prizes, as described in Section 8 of these Rules. Contest is void where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Jennifer Ann's Group, Life Love Publishing, and any affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (" Contest Entities ") are ineligible to participate in this Contest.
• SPONSOR : The Contest is sponsored by the Jennifer Ann Crecente Memorial Group, Inc. d/b/a Jennifer Ann's Group(" Jennifer Ann's Group " or " Sponsor "), a Georgia non-profit corporation (501 c(3)) with principal place of business at 2554 Drew Valley Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30319, USA. (EIN: 20-4618499) .
• CONTEST PERIOD : The contest period is from March 7, 2023 through August, 2023. Round One of the Contest begins on March 7, 2023 and ends on March 19, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern Time (ET) Zone (GMT-4) (" Round One Contest Period "). Round Two of the Contest begins on March 30, 2023 and ends on June 30, 2023 at 11:59pm Eastern Time (ET) Zone (GMT-4) (" Round Two Contest Period "). All dates are subject to change. Winning Games will be announced in August or September, 2023.
• HOW TO ENTER : NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter the Contest, visit the Contest website located at https://CriticalThinker.games (" Contest Site ") during the Contest Period and follow the instructions that appear in the "Critical Thinking Game Submission" section. You will be requested to complete an official entry form (" Entry Form ") with all requested information, including your responses, or "game pitch", to the questions about your proposed critical thinking game (" Game Narrative "). Entry Forms can only be submitted by Entrants. Those Entrants notified by Jennifer Ann's Group that they have been selected to proceed to Round Two of the Contest (" Finalists ") shall participate in Round Two of the Contest by submitting their completed game entry (" Completed Game "). LIMIT ONE (1) GAME NARRATIVE PER ENTRANT IN ROUND ONE. Subsequent entries will replace, and be treated as, the initial entry. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant submitted at the time of entry. LIMIT ONE (1) COMPLETED GAME PER FINALIST IN ROUND TWO. Subsequent entries will replace, and be treated as, the initial entry. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant submitted at the time of entry.
• They must not contain any depictions of violence.
• They must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libellous or contain any content that is tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
• They must be unique creations that have not been previously published and will remain unpublished until after the contest has ended.
• They must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of, or contrary to, any applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations including the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where the entry is created.
• They must not contain any content, material, or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party or commercial entity. For Round Two Finalists, text acknowledgements are acceptable in the Completed Game entries; additionally, Jennifer Ann's Group will supply a graphic image identifying Jennifer Ann's Group as the game's sponsor; the image will be placed at an appropriate location as part of the Finalist's Completed Game entry.
• They must only contain text, graphics, audio, designs, and game mechanics that entrants have proper rights to use (e.g. works in the public domain; original creations by the entrant; third-party works with rights granted by rights owner).
• They cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party's publicity, privacy, or intellectual property rights.
• During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Judges will be evaluating the Entries to ensure they meet the Entry Requirements. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant who submits an entry that does not meet the Entry Requirements. Incomplete entries or entries not complying with these Rules are subject to disqualification.
• potential educational value of the proposed game to discuss, demonstrate, or otherwise engage players about critical thinking and its importance, especially for those in the Target Age Group
• potential entertainment or otherwise compelling value of the proposed game
• potential of the proposed game to increase awareness about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to encourage discourse about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to persuade game players about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the proposed game to help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help the player become more adept at using critical thinking
• game elements of the proposed game
• adherence to the Game Narrative , Entry Requirements , and these Rules .
• educational value of the game to discuss, demonstrate, or otherwise engage players about critical thinking and its importance, especially for those players in the Target Age Group
• entertainment or otherwise compelling value of the game
• potential of the game to increase awareness about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to encourage discourse about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to persuade game players about critical thinking and its importance
• potential of the game to help players identify critical thinking skills and learn how to strengthen those skills in order to help the player become more adept at using critical thinking
• game elements
• adherence to the Game , Entry Requirements , and these Rules .
• Round One Finalists Finalists will be notified on or before March 30, 2023 by email.
• Potential Winners Potential winners will be notified August 2023 by email.
• Decisions of the judges are final and binding. In the event there are not enough eligible entries, not all prizes will be awarded. If a potential winner is unable for whatever reason to accept their prize, then Life Love Publishing reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant.
• Notification of Potential Finalists / Winning Game(s) : Becoming a Finalist / Winning Game is subject to validation and verification of eligibility and compliance with all the terms and conditions set forth in these Rules. If a potential Finalist is disqualified for any reason, a replacement Game Narrative Entry entrant might be chosen as a potential Finalist. If a potential Winning Game is disqualified for any reason, the Completed Game that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential Winning Game. The potential Finalist(s) / Winning Game(s) will be selected and notified by email.
• If a potential Finalist does not respond to the notification attempt within three (3) days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Finalist may be disqualified and an alternate potential Finalist might be selected from among all eligible Game Narrative entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• If the Entrant of a potential Winning Game does not respond to the notification attempt within three (3) days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Winning Game may be disqualified and an alternate potential Winning Game will be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• Except where prohibited by law, all Prize Winners will be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor. If required, Prize Winners must return all such required documents via fax (or as otherwise instructed) within forty-eight (48) hours following attempted notification or such potential Prize Winners will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential Prize Winner may be selected based on the judging Criteria described herein.
• In the event the potential Prize Winner is a minor, their parent or legal guardian must sign the documents and return them as described herein. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of Judges are final and binding. All Prize Winners, including any parent representatives, agree to keep the Completed Game strictly confidential between time of submission and the Completed Game's final launch by Life Love Publishing.
• PRIZES : The entrant of the Winning Game will be eligible to receive a minimum of $3,000 (USD) prize money. An announcement about the Winning Game(s) will be displayed on Jennifer Ann's Group's game portal JAGga.me website and itch.io page for the remainder of 2023. All Non-Winning Finalists will be eligible to receive a minimum of $100 (USD) prize money upon submitting their completed game in accordance with these rules. Some Non-Winning Finalists may also have their games published on the JAGga.me website and/or itch.io page. A total of $10,000 (USD) in prize money will be distributed among all Winners and Finalists, subject to the minimum prize monies described above. Distribution of prize money will be announced when the Winning Games are announced. Additional Winning Games might be selected from among the Finalists. Further details regarding prize distribution will be provided to winners in the prize acceptance documents but will be approximately four (4) to six (6) weeks after Sponsor's receipt of prize acceptance documents from winners. All entrants receiving prize money are considered prize winners (" Prize Winners ") for purposes of these Rules.
• TAXES : Prize Winners are responsible for any federal, state, and local tax consequences and for compliance with all governmental reporting and payment requirements. Winning funds will be sent in U.S. Dollars via cashier's check through Postal Mail or via PayPal (at the option of the winners).
• GENERAL CONDITIONS : At the time of submitting a Completed Game all Round Two Finalists will also electronically provide to Life Love Publishing all source files and components necessary to re-create the Completed Game ("Source Files"). Life Love Publishing and/or Jennifer Ann's Group may use these Source Files to publish the Completed Game to marketplaces; provide language translations; update content; develop derivative works; and / or to localize such game for other countries at Life Love Publishing and/or Jennifer Ann's Group's sole discretion.
• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS : All Prize Winners give Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing the right to the Entrant's name, voice, picture, portrait, and likeness for advertising and promotion purposes without further compensation, where permitted by law. All Prize Winners also give their consent to Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing and to those whom they may authorize, to photograph, film, videotape, and/or to use a photographic / digital reproduction of their entry with or without their name, to identify them by name, and/or to quote or record statements made by them, for any editorial, promotional, marketing, or other purpose broadly related to the mission of Jennifer Ann's Group ("violence prevention"). This consent does not extend to the purposes of endorsement of product or service advertising for any unrelated third parties. As a condition of receiving their prize, Prize Winners must grant Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing the non-exclusive, royalty-free, licensable, assignable rights to all: completed, object, and source files; necessary media files; and associated intellectual property rights of their entry for purposes of publishing, promotion, marketing, research, creation of derivative works, and internal use.
• WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY : Entrants warrant that their entries are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Game Narrative / Completed Game and that they have the right to submit the Game Narrative / Completed Game to the Contest and to grant all required licenses. Each Entrant agrees not to submit any Game Narrative / Completed Game that: (a) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable international, state, federal, or local law. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Sponsor and its agents and subsidiaries at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs, and expenses resulting from any act, default, or omission of the Entrant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor and its agents and subsidiaries from and against any and all claims, actions, suits, or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from: (i) any Game Narrative / Completed Game or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent, or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) any misrepresentation made by Entrant in connection with the Contest; (iii) any non-compliance by Entrant with these Rules; (iv) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to Entrant's involvement with the Contest; (v) acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in the Contest; (vi) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant; (vii) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry or voting information in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant and in the voting process; or (viii) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering, or announcement of any prize or winners in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant.
• ELIMINATION : Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by Entrant concerning identity, mailing address, email address, ownership of right, or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entrant from the Contest.
• INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER : Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing are not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed entries due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical, or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital, or satellite malfunctions which may limit Entrant's ability to participate. Jennifer Ann's Group is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others which might prevent Entrant from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Contest. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Rules will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify Entrants who violate the rules or interfere with this Contest in any manner. If an Entrant is disqualified, Sponsor reserves the right to terminate that Entrant's eligibility to participate in the Contest.
• RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY, OR DISQUALIFY : If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Jennifer Ann's Group reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. Jennifer Ann's Group further reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site. Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Site, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Jennifer Ann's Group and Life Love Publishing reserve the right to seek damages from any such Entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.

Critical Thinking Game Design Challenge: Submit Your Pitch

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I'm looking for a videogame that will help enhance my problem-solving and critical thinking skills..

I'm just curious is there any game that can help improve your problem solving and critical thinking skills.

I've been playing FPS games for a while and as for strategy games, xcom enemy unknown is my favorite.

Can be any system or console or any generation. just looking for a game where I don't feel like I'm wasting time.

Edit: All of your suggestions have been amazing and overwhelming and I'm grateful for it. You guys are the best.