The best brain training apps and games 2020

(Pocket-lint) – Given the amount of time that many of us are now spending glued to a screen all day, every day, it can feel like our brains might not be loving all the activity. It’s easy to get a bit tired and fuzzy as days go on and to worry that you’re losing your edge.

Enter brain training – just because you’re not at school any more, doesn’t mean you can’t keep yourself sharp. There are loads of apps and games out there that can help you to keep some skills and mental processes you might have long since abandoned sharper and quicker. In fact, you could spin yourself up into a better version of yourself, given enough time. 

We’ve rounded up some of the very best available so that if you’re looking for a way to tune up your brain, check these out. 

The best brain training games to try today

Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training

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While it wasn’t the first by any means, the Nintendo DS iteration of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training exploded brain training into the mainstream, and after a long hiatus it’s returned with this new Switch version.

Like before, it’ll give you a series of challenges to complete each day, tracking your performance in them to work out how you’re doing over time. They’re fun little games that don’t feel too taxing but will still likely force you to do mental acrobatics you’re not used to in your everyday life. If you have a Switch, this could be the one for you.

Lumosity

Lumosity has also been around for some years, a smartphone app that, like most brain trainers, presents you with a few themed games each day, monitoring how you cope with them so that it can report progress to you over time. 

Its premium monthly subscription gives you a personalised plan to really take advantage of, but it’s a little pricey at $11.99 a month, which is a slight shame. Still, it’s a slick entryway to brain training.

Elevate

A more recent success, Elevate has emerged to become one of the two main apps in this space, along with Lumosity, and has earned legions of devoted users as part of that rise. 

It has over 35 games forming its lineup and tracks five different types of development so that you can see how you’re doing both overall and in particular areas. 

Peak

Peak scores points on the design front, with nicely laid out games and tasks and a tone that’s not too overbearing in its demands to be used every day. Many of its games feel even more… game-y than other apps, too, making it easy to integrate into your daily routine without feeling like a chore. 

You’ll have to take out a subscription for access to all of Peak’s games, too. There are some nice little added features, too, like Apple Watch integration if you’ve got one. 

Sudoku

We’re going old-school for our final pick, which is a reminder that you don’t necessarily need fancy graphics and swish apps to keep your brain sharp – Sudoku is as popular as ever, and there are frankly countless apps you could pick to give you a near-limitless supply of puzzles to do.

Even if you decide to go down the physical, pen-and-paper route, you’ll get the same benefit of a little brain training, a little distraction, and a measure of satisfaction whenever you finish a puzzle correctly. It’s a no-brainer. 

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.