Remember Rubik’s cube, one “of the most mesmerizing mind-sharpening games ever invented? It was so gripping and addictive that nothing could distract you once you started trying to restore the six sides to their original colour. Today there are other, equally interesting mind games that may turn out to be even more engrossing than Rubik’s Cube – Wood’s Kaleidoscope Classic, for instance.

Invented by Australian psychologist Mark T. Wood and mathematician Frank Dyksterhuis, this is a multi-application mind-cha’liengingttool for children 6 years and above, that has infinite problems with multiple solutions (sometimes as many as 20 billion!). All you have to do is to make a variety of shapes, ranging from a star to a dinosaur. It enhances the mental skills and creative thinking of the players. Says Ratan Khanna of Dr. Wood Challenge Centre, “For children, it improves their memory and helps them to concentrate, for professionals it helps to relax.” Psychologists say mind games sharpen the mind as they tickle the thinking process. “Games that challenge the mind to think of solutions improves focusing power, help you to relax and distress yourself,” says psychologist Sanjita Prasad. But Dr Sameer Parikh, psychiatrist with Max Healthcare, disagrees with the tall claims mind game manufacturers make. “To think that if you play a certain game, your IQ will increase, is absurd,” he says, but adds that games that set you thinking about your next move obviously make the thinking process more logic- oriented. Among the earliest mind games is old favourite, Chinese Checkers or, of course, chess.       “Chennai-based Raphael Kuriyan, Chief Executive, Funskool (India) Ltd. says, “Any strategy game that has variations in problems and solutions forces a child to think many steps ahead. Chess is a perfect example of a mind game. But it doesn’t have the fun factor and so is not so popular.”

Funskool has two games that fall in the mind game category, Mastermind and Mastermind Animal Friends, aimed at growing children.

Scrabble, a patent of Mattle Toys, is one of the oldest and most popular mind games that fall in
this category. Over 100 million sets have already been sold in 29 different languages in 121
countries, making it the world’s best selling ‘mind’ game. Says Nanette D’Sa, Vice-President of
Mattle Toys (I) Pvt. Ltd, “In some way or the other, your mind is stimulated when you play with
a mind game and you become more imaginative and creative. Your concentration power
improves. The euphoria of the ‘I have done it’ moment builds confidence. Unlike video games,
these games are non-violent.” Besides, most mind games have a lot of research behind them.