Games That Strengthen Working Memory
Working memory is a critical cognitive skill that can directly impact your ability to function in daily life. Imagine what it would be like if you took in information and immediately lost it. Or imagine being in the middle of a task and completely forgetting what you’re supposed to be doing.
And maybe you don’t have to imagine because you have weak working memory, too!
For kids who struggle in school, weak working memory is an extremely common root cause. ADHD, disengagement, reading struggles, poor comprehension, and trouble taking tests are all real-life ways this weakness can present itself.
Click here to learn more about how weak working memory causes learning struggles.
Games to Strengthen Working Memory at Home
Working memory is a skill you need in order to function efficiently in the world. Constantly repeating yourself, needing to re-read something multiple times to comprehend it, feeling distracted or unfocused, and losing your train of thought may be “normal” for struggling students—but it is impacting them. And it will continue to impact them into adulthood if it is not strengthened.
Playing games as a family is a great way to build some brain skills! These are fun, interactive games that may or may not already be in your home. But each of them requires working memory—and like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets!
Battleship
Have a child who needs instructions repeated ten times before they take action? Do a challenge round of battleship where each person can only say the position once—no repeating themselves! This game also builds strategy and attention skills, too.
Blink
In this fast-paced card game, players have to remember the cards in their hand and quickly identify ways that they match the cards on the table (whether by shape, color, or number).
Puzzles
Jigsaw puzzles, 3-D puzzles, or other visual processes are great exercises for working memory (along with other important cognitive skills!)
Rook
More complex games like Rook require you to keep lots of information in mind at a time and build working memory as you get more confident with the rules. It can also help with divided attention (multitasking) and sustained attention, too!
Sequence
Sequence is an all-time favorite for its strategy, attention, and reasoning skill-building, but working memory is also at play here.
Set
Set requires you to keep in mind what makes a “set” out of a group of cards. For kids who get distracted easily, lose their place in a task, or struggle to develop a strategy, Set would be a great choice. This fun game can be collaborative or competitive, depending on skill levels.
Stare!
One of the best games for building visual memory and short-term recall skills, Stare! gets players to look at a picture for 20 seconds and then answer a series of questions about it by memory.
Stratego
This game is not too complex but it is great for building working memory, attention, and reasoning skills in the whole family!
Uno
Even simple games like Uno build working memory because of the need to hold multiple things in your mind at once and apply information immediately. You need to remember the rules. You need to watch what other players are doing, as well as what’s in your own hand. This is a great one to even introduce to your younger family members!
Strengthen Working Memory for Real-Life Results
We say it often: brain skills often function like muscle groups. If one area is weak, your whole brain is going to suffer. Often kids who come across as “slow,” “distracted,” “behind,” or “hyperactive” really have a couple strong cognitive skill weaknesses that result in these behaviors and struggles in classroom settings.
Strengthening working memory is an essential place to start to help kids (and adults!) of all ages and abilities be able to learn more easily and keep up with the world around them.
Brain training targets weak skills in order to strengthen them, with amazing results!
