These Fun Brain Teasers Will Test Your Skills (Or Totally Humble You)
Lots of people use brain teasers and similar games to exercise their noodle, but the jury is still out on whether these types of activities actually help stave off cognitive decline or if they're simply a fun way to pass the time. Some studies report that these types of games improve the "executive functions, working memory, and processing speed" of young people, and others, like this one from Medical News Today, tout the benefits of brainteasers for helping to protect cognitive health in seniors. On the other hand, another study monitored the brain activity, cognitive skills, and decision-making abilities of young people who played cognitive games, and concluded that they don't actually boost cognition. But that doesn't mean you should hang up your puzzler entirely.
Researchers at Duke University monitored participants' brain activity while they completed simple math problems and found that solving them feels like a reward, which can help combat negative feelings. So at the very least, playing these types of games can lower stress and anxiety, as well as boost happy endorphins in general. Whether you're a fan of Sudoku, visual puzzles like finding Prince George in this collage, crosswords, or even video games or apps, play away. Start with the viral brainteasers below, and see how many you can crack.
1) What Is Risk?
This brain teaser from Braingle will take you back to your school days, or at least make you think about the stumpers that can happen in the classroom. And once you understand the solution, you'll feel like you aced a quiz.
2) Find the Bunny
Artist Gergerly Dudas creates visually beautiful and challenging brain teasers that trick your mind into hiding patterns. In this whimsical drawing, each of the bunnies has a pair, except for one. Can you find it?
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3) Word Play
Wordsmiths may find this brain teaser from Braingle easier than the rest of us. Sometimes, when solving riddles like this one, it can help to write it out on scratch paper first so you can play around with the letters. The solution will pop right out, once you get the pattern.
4) Spot the Mouse
This forest of mushrooms created by Gergely Dudas hides a sneaky little mouse. Look closely to find the critter among the fungus. Give up? Dudas has the solution for you.
5) The Man With the Axe
Think outside the box when you go to solve this rhyming riddle. Here's a free hint for you: While it does make use of a certain president's name, the solution has nothing to do with politics.
6) Find the Penguin
At first glance, this dizzying illustration by Gergely Dudas looks like a forest of penguins. But he swears there's just one penguin among them – the rest are toucans. Can you find the penguin? It's not totally black and white.
7) Grandmas and Trolls
Grab a snack before you start this Braingle brain teaser, because it's likely to make you hungry. And after you figure out the solution, it might even inspire you to call your grandmother (or your grandchildren!)
8) What Song?
This one is a great example of a riddle that has a simple answer that seems so obvious when it's revealed. You'll get the solution to this puzzler from Braingle stuck in your head, once you figure it out. Don't say we didn't warn you.
9) Can you do this math Sudoku?
In case you were starting to feel confident, this one was meant for third graders in Vietnam. The answer is 66, but we don't blame you for scratching your head about how they got there.
10) There's something wrong here
Get out the magnifying glass for this puzzle from Playbuzz that proves things aren't always as they seem. Give up? Find the answer here.
11) How fast do the lily pads grow?
A patch of lily pads float in a lake. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?
It's tempting to say 24 ... but you'd be wrong! Find out why here.
12) Do you have the right moves?
For this puzzle, each item is a separate piece — 1, 2, 3 and T. The objective is to move the T to the lower right-hand corner in five moves. If you just can't get there, find the solution on math whiz Alex Bellos' blog.
The worst part? Many of these head-scratchers were intended for school kids.
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