Brain Games to Keep the Mind Sharp-Holiday Gift Ideas

Can you name the first four U.S. presidents in order? Think about it. If you can’t, know that you are not alone. A survey by the U.S. Mint revealed only 7% of Americans can. Want to change that? A new game can help. It’s called Top Trumps and it’s essentially a different twist on the classic card game War. There are two new decks–U.S. Presidents and The United States. Players face each other in a battle to win all the cards in the deck by choosing categories from their cards and racking up points for correct answers to the questions asked.  There are other deck topics, too, like dinosaurs, bugs, even custom cars.
(By the way, the answer is George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison…when I had to memorize them for a test in 8th grade I created a little song that helped me remember…still works to this day!)

If history isn’t your thing, you may love Scruble. It looks like a Rubik’s Cube, but is played like Scrabble, with opponents trying to create words with letters that hold the highest value. It is a real challenge as the letters wrap around the cube. All kinds of combinations are possible. You’ll find yourself stumped as you put your vocabulary (and spelling) to the test.  But, oh, you’ll love the pride you feel when you out-score your competitors!