Best Games to Make You Smarter (What Actually Helps)

6 min read · IQ Tester

The best games to make you smarter are strategy games like chess, puzzle games like Portal 2 and Baba Is You, and word games like Codenames, but with one big catch: games mostly make you better at that game and at closely related skills. They're great for training specific abilities like planning, pattern spotting and verbal flexibility. They're not a magic IQ boost, and anyone promising that is selling something.

If you want to stop guessing which skill to train, IQ Tester finds your weakest reasoning area first, so you can pick games that target it: Find my weak spots.

Can games really make you smarter?

This is the question every "games to make you smarter" Reddit thread ends up fighting about. Here's the short, honest version.

What the research says

• Near transfer is real. Practice a skill and you get better at it and at very similar tasks. Get good at chess tactics and you get faster at spotting chess tactics.
• Far transfer is weak. The idea that a game improves totally different abilities (like your grades or general intelligence) has not held up well. A large 2016 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Simons and colleagues) found little evidence that commercial brain-training programs improve everyday cognitive performance beyond the trained tasks.
• Chess is the same story. Meta-analyses by researchers Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet have found that chess training shows little evidence of improving general academic or cognitive skills once you account for study quality.
• Action video games are a partial exception. Research led by Daphne Bavelier and colleagues has linked action video game play with better visual attention on lab tasks. That's interesting, but it's about specific attention skills, not "getting smarter" in general.

So why play at all?

Because specific skills are still worth having. Planning ahead, spotting patterns, reading other people's thinking, staying calm under time pressure: games give you thousands of reps of those. Just pick games for the skill, not for a promise.

Strategy games

Strategy games train planning, thinking a few steps ahead, and adapting when your plan breaks.

Why these work: every turn forces a decision with consequences. You learn to ask, "What will they do next?" That habit shows up in group projects, debates and even arguing in the group chat.

Puzzle games

Puzzle games are the most direct answer to "what kind of games make you smarter?" They train problem solving where you have to try, fail, and rethink.

Portal 2

Physics puzzles with portals. The co-op mode is one of the best "think together" experiences in gaming, because you have to explain your plan out loud.

Baba Is You

You change the rules of each level by pushing words around ("WALL IS STOP" becomes "WALL IS WIN"). It trains flexible thinking better than almost anything else on this list.

The Witness

An island full of line puzzles where you figure out the rules yourself, with no tutorial. Great for pattern recognition and patience.

Tetris

Simple, but it trains fast spatial decisions. It's also a game psychologists have used in lab studies.

For more puzzle picks you can play on your phone, see our list of the best logic puzzle apps for adults.

Word and trivia games

Word games train vocabulary, verbal reasoning and making connections between ideas, the skills behind analogy questions on tests.

• Codenames: one-word clues that link several words. Trains verbal flexibility and theory of mind (guessing what someone else is thinking).
• Connections (NYT): sort 16 words into 4 hidden groups. A daily, free verbal pattern puzzle.
• Wordle: small, but it trains systematic elimination.
• Scrabble or Bananagrams: vocabulary plus spatial planning.
• Trivia games: fun, and good for general knowledge, but they mostly test what you already know rather than how you reason.

Fun games that make you smarter with friends

Codenames and Decrypto are the winners here. You practice explaining your thinking, which is basically a study skill disguised as a party game. Our guide to the best brain games for teens has more group picks.

Video games that train useful skills

Here are the best video games that make you smarter in a specific, honest way:

1. Portal 2: spatial problem solving and cooperation.
2. Factorio: systems thinking, planning and debugging (you will build a conveyor belt mess, then fix it).
3. Kerbal Space Program: real-ish orbital physics through trial and error.
4. Minecraft (redstone builds): logic circuits and engineering thinking.
5. Action games (shooters, racers): fast visual attention, per the research above, but only if you actually enjoy them.

Notice the theme: games that make you build, test and fix things teach the most transferable habits, even if the "IQ" part is overhyped.

Here's the hard part: games feel productive, but you can't tell from inside the game which of your reasoning skills is actually weakest. Most people just keep playing what they're already good at. IQ Tester checks number series, verbal analogy, logic and pattern with 20 untimed questions, then shows your category strengths so you know where to aim your practice. Find my weak spots

Mobile games worth it

The best mobile games to make you smarter are short, ad-light and actually hard:

• Lichess: free chess puzzles, no ads.
• Monument Valley: visual and spatial puzzles, short and beautiful.
• Euclidea: geometry constructions that feel like magic tricks.
• Simon Tatham's puzzles (ports): free classic logic puzzles.
• LinkedIn daily games (Queens, Tango): one quick logic puzzle a day.

Skip apps that tell you your "brain age" after one game and then ask for a subscription. In 2016 the US Federal Trade Commission settled with the maker of Lumosity over ads it said overstated the benefits of brain training. A good rule: if a game promises to raise your IQ, be skeptical.

Games vs targeted practice

Games are a fun way to get reps. Targeted practice is faster if you want to improve a specific skill.

The smart move is both: play games you love, and spend 10 minutes a day on the exact skill that's lagging. That's how you turn the best games to make you smarter into actual progress.

Get your weak spot and a daily drill in the next minute

Instead of guessing which game will help, start with your weakest reasoning area. IQ Tester signs you in with Google or Apple, asks 20 untimed questions, and shows your band and three of your four category strengths for free. Then the guides give you one short drill a day.

Find my weak spots

FAQ

What games make you smarter?

Strategy games like chess, puzzle games like Portal 2 and Baba Is You, and word games like Codenames train real skills such as planning, flexible thinking and verbal reasoning. The research says they mostly improve the skills they practice, not general intelligence.

Do brain games actually work?

They make you better at the games and similar tasks. A large 2016 scientific review found little evidence that brain-training programs improve everyday cognition beyond what was trained, so enjoy them but don't expect an IQ jump.

What are the best free games to make you smarter?

Lichess, NYT Connections, Wordle, Simon Tatham's puzzle collection and LinkedIn's daily games are free. Many board games, like Codenames, also have free online versions.

What are the best video games that make you smarter?

Portal 2, Factorio, Kerbal Space Program and redstone builds in Minecraft are great picks because they make you plan, test and fix things. Those habits are useful far beyond gaming.

What do Reddit users say about games to make you smarter?

Threads on games to make you smarter on Reddit usually recommend chess, Factorio, Portal and strategy games, and often point out that "smarter" really means better at specific skills. That matches what the research says.