It seems as though my post on memory techniques for studying prompted a few questions about ways to improve your long term memory. Personally, I like a challenge, and I don’t particularly like working on things like this, so I like to turn to games to help memory, particularly for long term memory help.
There are simple card games to help memory you can play, like the game “memory,” in which you shuffle cards, lay them out and then attempt to make matches by remembering where certain cards are located. This is a very basic game that I think that almost everyone has played at some point or another.
Games to Help Memory – Crosswords
Crossword puzzles are a very good way to improve long-term memory. Instead of trying to play them in the newspaper everyday, it’s often a much better idea to get a collection of old crossword puzzles. These will not change in difficulty if you buy an “Easy” edition, which is nice since newspaper crosswords are easy on Monday, and then get progressively harder each day. Sunday crosswords are nearly impossible to do.
Crosswords are nice for games to help improve long term memory since they require you to remember old actors or movies, historical situations, figure out roman numerals, vocabulary, common (or uncommon) phrases, and book authors. These are also really good ways for you to improve your analytical abilities (those darned things are always harder than they seem, even on easy).
Games to Help Memory – Too Hard?
Sometimes people get upset with crosswords as a game to help memory because they are very difficult, and sometimes the clues are very obtuse. If you do get a book, like I recommend, then you will always have the answers right there for you to check and use in case you get stuck. Filling out a single long clue can often give you the help you need to fill in others. Don’t get mad at them, use them for what they are, and remember that if you’re struggling with them, that’s when they’re helping you the most.
If you need more games to help memory, check out a local game store like Toys R Us or something similar. Any kind of trivia game will suffice, as will a handheld game like Bop It.