The estimated reading time for this post is 6 minutes
Fun game apps are a “must” to have handy on your phone. You can play them to entertain you and make you think when you have free time.
Keep them on your phone or tablet when you need a diversion. Whether you’re stuck in the office on a Friday afternoon or stuck in a car on a long road trip or stuck on a flight that is delayed, your time will be more tolerable if you keep yourself amused.
Having them at the ready can also help avoid the dreaded “Are We There Yet?” question from your kids during trips.
But game apps can do more than keep you amused. They can also keep you sharp and help you hone your mental skills. While you’re having fun, your brain can be solving problems, learning new words and more.
These five apps are all fun but make you think while you’re playing. Why not train your brain as you’re playing a game?
Warning: These games may be addictive! Only start playing them when you have time for fun…
1010!
If you’re a fan of Tetris, you’ll enjoy 1010! This puzzle game is a lot like Tetris without the time pressure. You’re shown a black game board with 10 spaces across and 10 spaces down.
Each round you get three shapes to place on the board. The shapes are similar to the classic Tetris shapes and are made from squares. You must place them on the boards in the free spaces.
Like Tetris, in 1010! a row or column is cleared if it is filled with squares.
You earn points when you clear rows and columns. Clearing the board is also important so you can have enough open spaces to place the shapes.
This video shows how 1010! works:
As with Tetris, you can’t really “win” at 1010! Eventually you will have a full board and not be able to fit a shape into the open space. But you can work to beat your Best Score.
[note] Want some tips and tricks to master 1010!? Check out the developer’s page: 1010! Tips, Tricks and Such [/note]
1010! is available free with an in-app purchase available to remove ads.
Monkey Wrench
Monkey Wrench is a word search game with a twist: you have to clear the board by finding words.
Each puzzle has categories of words you must find. The categories may be from history, sports, pop culture, music, food, people and more. Instead of letters being in a square, letters in Monkey Wrench are in hexagons. The first letter of each word is shaded.
Swipe your finger along the letters when you find the word. The word will be cleared from the puzzle. When you clear all of the words you have solved the puzzle.
You can choose from three levels of difficulty: easy, medium and hard. Easy shows you the words you must find. Medium gives you the first letter of the word and shows you how many letters are in each word. Hard shows you how many letters are in each word but no letters are given. You have to figure out the words yourself.
This video shows how Monkey Wrench works. The puzzle in the video is at the medium level:
Monkey Wrench starts you off with a free pack of 50 puzzles. Each day a new free puzzle is added. You can purchase additional puzzle packs or just play a free puzzle each day.
[tip] Also see, 5 Fantastic Puzzle Websites — Free Fun for Everyone! [/tip]
Sudoku
People who enjoy the number puzzle game Sudoku may enjoy it even more on the go. Having a Sudoku app on your phone means you can play this interesting game wherever you are.
With the Sudoku game you fill in numbers on a grid of nine squares that are divided into nine squares. Each row and column in the grid must have the numbers 1-9 filled in without repeats. Each large square must have the numbers 1-9 within it, again without repeats.
Some numbers are provided and it’s up to you to fill in the rest. The game can be simple on an easy level where lots of numbers are provided. Or the game can be complex with very few numbers provided.
The Sudoku app from the developer Finger Arts offers different themes so you can make your board look the way that works best for you. Choose from themes such as parchment, wood and chalkboard.
You can play at different levels from easy to expert. Try each to find the level that is the best fit for you.
A win in this app is when you fill in the grid with three mistakes or fewer.
The goal of this app is to have a string of wins. If you have four or more mistakes, you can continue playing but your string will be broken.
This app offers many different settings so you can customize features making the game more enjoyable. For example, if you want guesses to disappear when you enter a number, there’s a setting for that.
Sudoku from Finger Arts is available free for the iPhone and iPad. Sudoku + is from the same developer removes ads and is available for $4.99. If you decide to purchase the ad-free app, your string of wins will not transfer to the new app.
Many free Sudoku apps are in the app stores. Also check out Sudoku from Branium Studios:
- Branium Sudoku for iPhone and iPad
- Branium Sudoku for Android
- Branium Sudoku for Amazon Fire tablets
7 Little Words
7 Little Words is another game app from the developer of Monkey Wrench. Like Monkey Wrench, 7 Little Words is a word game. But instead of trying to find words, you have to put puzzle pieces together to figure out what words are.
To play 7 Little Words, you read clues for seven different words. The clues tell you the meanings of the words and how many letters are in each word.
Below the clues are puzzle pieces that are groups of letters. You must put together the groups of letters to form the word. Form all seven words to win the game.
Like Monkey Wrench, 7 Little Words is a free app and you’re given a puzzle pack with free puzzles. Each day a new free puzzle is added to the game. You can purchase additional puzzle packs if you can’t wait for tomorrow’s puzzle.
- 7 Little Words for iPhone and iPad
- 7 Little Words for Android
- 7 Little Words for Amazon Fire tablets
The game is also available on the 7 Little Words website and in French at 7 Petits Mots.
Sembl
Sembl is a puzzle game from the makers of Jump! Numbers. With Sembl you see a shape with colors and patterns, then you try to match it with the same shape that starts out blank.
You can add patterns and colors, spin the shape, and cut it to try to make it look the same as the one above. To make the game more challenging, you must make the changes in the proper sequence to make the shapes match.
You can play in Journey mode, which is untimed for a relaxed game, or in Challenge mode, which is timed and more intense.
This video shows how Sembl works:
The game starts out easy but gets increasingly difficult as you proceed through the levels. The app has 32 levels with 190 total puzzles.
Sembl is free for iPhone and iPad.
Your Thoughts
Have you played any of these games? Do you have any suggestions for fun apps that make you think? Do you like playing games that keep you sharp?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Voice of America Learning English
Learn English while reading about tech with my personal technology column at Voice of America Learning English. This week’s article is: Google Announces New Tech.
I love this kind of games! Puzzles are quite fun. It stimulates your mind that’s why I prefer downloading this kind of games. Nice article!
Hi Esther, That’s great you’re a fan of games. I’m so glad you enjoyed this article. I hope you find some new favorite games to work your mind as you’re having fun!
Hello Carolyn, I must appreciate for this collection. This games are looking awesome. This is the great way to make mind sharp. Mindful activities keep mind fresh active. You are an amazing writer, I love the way that you describe the things.
Hi Charles, Thank you very much for the kind words. You’re right, mindful games can help keep us sharp. These games do make us think, but they’re also fun. I hope you enjoy playing them, Charles!
I have Seven Little Words and really enjoy it. Not too hard, not too easy. Doesn’t take that long to play and there’s no score or time limit. My kind of puzzle app:)
Hi Lois, I’m so glad you’re a fan of Seven Little Words too. Good point, all of these games can be played at a leisurely pace so we can relax and focus on solving these puzzles.
You might enjoy Monkey Wrench too. That app is from the same developer and has free daily puzzles.
Very nice collection of brain stimulating games. I love to play such games.
Hello Kriti, I’m glad you like playing these types of games. I hope you enjoy these apps!
Wonderful list of brainy games. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Sofie, You’re welcome. I hope that you enjoy playing these brainy games!