The KenKen puzzle game is today’s online brain games highlight.

KenKen was invented in 2004 by a Japanese math teacher named Tetsuya Miyamoto. The game was originally intended as a learning tool to improve both the math and reasoning skills of his students.

“Ken” means wisdom in Japanese, therefore KenKen means “wisdom squared”.

The game is very similar to the layout and rules of Sudoku, but KenKen adds the requirement of solving simple math problems in order to complete the puzzle.

KenKen puzzles come in 3×3 all the way up to 9×9 grid sizes.

The rules of KenKen are simple. For a 4×4 grid puzzle the rules are as follows:

  1. Every box in the grid will contain a number 1~4
  2. Every row and column will contain the numbers 1~4 only once.
  3. The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number shown in the top corner using the mathematical operation indicated.

image thumb The KenKen Puzzle | Online Brain Games Highlight image thumb1 The KenKen Puzzle | Online Brain Games Highlight

Starting puzzle (4×4)    Solved Puzzle (4×4)

The resource links below contain a link to the official KenKen website. From there you can find out more about the history and rules of KenKen. You’ll also find free online KenKen puzzles there to play as well.

Also included in the resource link section below is a link to the New York Times KenKen online puzzle offering. They offer 6 free online puzzles per day ranging from easy to hard.

Have fun and tell me what you think about KenKen!

Resources:

http://www.kenken.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/crosswords/kenken.html

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There are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of mental exercise games available online that are touted as being brain games. Some are offered as free online brain games and others are sold as commercial brain games. The big question is, how do you know if playing any of these mental exercise games will actually improve your brain fitness? How do you know if one form of mental exercise or brain game is better for you than another? The answer to these questions depends on whether the particular mental exercise and or brain game contains the three primary characteristics Neuroscientists say are necessary.

Mental Exercise Should Contain These Primary Characteristics

Any form of mental exercise or brain game should contain the following three primary characteristics in order for it to be of maximum benefit to our brain according to Neuroscientists.

  1. Novelty
  2. Variety
  3. Challenge

These three characteristics will depend greatly of course on who we are and what we do. A mental exercise such as a crossword puzzle might be something new and challenging for one person, but not for another. The same can be said about a video game, free brain games or a commercial brain game. In addition, a particular mental exercise or brain game, over time, will lose its benefit if it loses its novelty or no longer is a challenge for you.

So when evaluating and or comparing any mental exercise or brain game, these three primary characteristics should be used as general guidelines.

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Unlike physical exercise, which is usually done off-line, brain training is something you can do online.  The web is exploding with new online brain game sites everyday. And online brain games are a great way to engage in brain training because:

  • Their fun (they’re games right), and therefore they keep you wanting to come back and play some more.
  • They can automatically change in intensity as you get better, which is important in order for the game to continue to be of benefit your brain.
  • They can be found for free all over the web (and we’ve got a ton of free online brain games and game site links located right here at The Online Brain Games Blog.
  • Their are many, many, and I mean many different types and varieties of online brain games available.

So why not check out a few of the many free online brain games available here on this site and get in some good brain training at the same time. You’ll also find a great list of  the most popular commercial brain games here too along with a brief summary of each.

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There are literally thousands of free brain games available online. In fact, The Online Brain Games Blog itself has links to hundreds of them. So why then, would anyone want to pay cold hard cash for a brain game? Well, having played both free and commercial brain games for some time now, I have some experience in this regard. As a result, I can provide you with five good reasons as to why you might want to consider purchasing a commercial brain game.

1) Neuroscience

One of the biggest differences between a free brain game and a commercial one, besides the cost of course, is that most commercial brain games are either designed, reviewed or tested by Neuroscientists. The big benefit to you in this is that you’ll know that neuroscience is being used in the game methodology and design with respect to how our brains best grow and improve. So one of the things you need to do when checking out any commercial brain game for purchase is to see the list of Neuroscientists that either designed, reviewed, advised, or tested that particular brain game.

2) Targeted Brain Training

Another major benefit of a commercial brain game over a free one is that most commercial brain games are designed to target more than one aspect of brain enhancement. For instance, areas such as memory, attention, cognitive control, and processing speed can be targeted and trained separately. The best games provide specific brain training in more than just one aspect of brain enhancement. Check the particular game you’re looking into for what areas of brain enhancement it targets.

3) Game Challenge Adaptability

In order for your brain to grow, it needs to be continually challenged. One benefit of almost all commercial brain games is that they will continually adapt to you as you get better. In other words, the better you get at a given game, the harder or more challenging it will become. This aspect of game adaptability actually provides you with some longevity with respect to how long a particular game will be of benefit to you and your brain.

4) Progress, Record Keeping and Positive Feedback

A nice feature of commercial brain games is that they keep track of your progress over time. If the game trains you in different cognitive areas, it will score and track your progress separately in each area. This provides you with positive feedback which ultimately helps you stay with the program.  It also lets you know what areas you need to spend more time training on as well.

5) Support

When you purchase a commercial brain game, you’re buying from a company dedicated to that games success. As such, you’ll have support lines with which you can call or email should you need assistance of any kind. This is something you just don’t get with a free brain game.

As a final note, you need to understand that what might be greatly beneficial for one person with respect to a particular brain game (free or commercial) might not be as beneficial to another. There is no “one size fits all”. I cover this along with how you can best choose a brain game specifically for you in a special report I send out to The Online Brain Games Blog newsletter subscribers. If you’d like to obtain this report for free, fill out the request form below and it will be sent you via email immediately.

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