Do you consider yourself something of a mastermind? Perhaps you’re regularly outsmarting your friends and colleagues, often bored with menial tasks, or simply too intellectually advanced to find conversations with ‘normal’ folk stimulating. We’re sure that’s not the case, but in any case, if you believe you’re a little more intelligent than the average person then we’ve got some games that you might find stimulating. It’s nice to give your brain a challenge once in a while and these titles could help you with that.
Chess
When it comes to games that it takes brains to win, most people will immediately think of chess. This game has been testing the logic skills of people for centuries now and it is still as popular as ever. Receiving the title of Grandmaster is something that many chess enthusiasts dream of, but very few ever achieve. Chess is one of the rare games that is known as a game of complete information. This means that both players can see every piece on the board, every piece in the other player’s possession and therefore, nobody is at an advantage when it comes to knowledge of the current game. However, this also means that one mistake could cost you heavily. If you don’t notice something that the other player does then they’ll take full advantage of that weak spot. For this reason, only those who have good memories and can think logically under intense pressure perform well at chess.
Poker
Poker has long been a game that great minds have performed well at. Indeed, some of the best poker players in the world are incredibly clever, television’s well-known brainiac Victoria Coren-Mitchell has several big poker tournament wins under her belt for example. If you feel that you could take her on then the best way to start is by getting to grips with the basics of Texas Holdem. This is the most widely played variation of poker and PokerStars has created a helpful guide on how to get started. You’ll need to stretch all kinds of skills but particularly your memory and focus. Memorizing hand rankings is essential if you’re going to become good at the game, plus keeping your focus under intense pressure will be an essential skill as you progress through the ranks. Poker is a great game to choose as it progresses with you. The more you learn, the more you’ll realize you’ve got left to discover.
Golf
Oftentimes people will immediately assume that a game for intelligent people has to be a ‘sit-down’ affair, like chess and poker that we’ve just mentioned, but actually, there are some physical games that require quite the degree of intelligence too. Golf is one of them. Although anybody can wield a gold club and even total beginners to golf can usually remain on par for a few holes, it takes some real knowledge to make it to the higher levels. There’s a lot to learn about swing mechanics if you want to become a great golfer, which requires not only a knowledge of human anatomy, but also a good grasp of physics. Not only that, but taking into account factors such as wind speed and undulation in the ground all require a calculating mind, capable of tackling complex problems on the spot. So, the next time you head to the pitch and putt, put on your thinking cap and you might surprise yourself at what you can achieve.
Scrabble
There are many different kinds of intelligence and a strong vocabulary is a good indicator of one of them, linguistic intelligence. In terms of word games, without a doubt the most widely known is Scrabble. There are tournaments all over the world to determine who the Scrabble champion is and although that title doesn’t come with quite the same prestige as being a chess Grandmaster does, it might be no less difficult. Scrabble obviously requires a great understanding of language, but it requires logic and mathematics too. Working out the optimum squares to place your pieces on without leaving the board open for others is essential if you want to win this word game.
