It’s time to face the facts: you live in the doomscroll era of reality. You won’t like admitting this, but a huge chunk of your spare time is taken up by scrolling mindlessly through your phone. You’re not even doing anything; reel after reel starts up, and you barely take any information in. It’s a terrible habit, so why don’t you do something else when you’re on your phone that’s slightly more beneficial?
Mobile games come in many varieties, and a few of them are perfect for you to play every day instead of mindless scrolling. It’s no secret that playing games for just 10 minutes a day can provide countless benefits – so here are three you should try:
Strategy Games
A strategy game involves using brainpower to work out how to beat the game – or an opponent. You’re presented with something, and need to call upon your skill to work through it and progress further. Mahjong is one of the great strategy games, along with chess and checkers, all of which are available for free on your mobile phone.
These games are beneficial because they make you think. You’re not mindlessly tapping away at your screen or scrolling through social media posts; you’ve actually got your thinking cap on and have to be strategic. It can translate to excellent skill development in other areas of your life, too. Many managers like playing strategy games to help them practice things like problem-solving etc.
Word Games
You can’t go too wrong with word games. Any type of word game will do, as long as it encourages you to develop your vocabulary or think a bit deeply while you’re playing. To be honest, there are loads of NY Times word games like Wordle, Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed that are worth playing for a few minutes every day. You learn new words, but you also get your brain whirring – which makes this genre of games an excellent choice on your morning commute to work!
Seriously, it’s like you’re warming your brain up for the day ahead, and the games are usually really fun too. Force yourself into the habit of going through a few word games in the morning rather than scrolling through Instagram or TikTok on your way to work.
Puzzle Games
Some people group strategy and puzzle games into the same genre, but there’s a subtle difference between the two. Strategy games often call upon your skills to outthink an opponent or the computer. Puzzle games give you a literal problem to solve – and you’re usually battling against yourself.
Obvious games that spring to mind include solitaire, Connections, or even a modern game like Monument Valley. There are oodles of fantastic puzzle games on any mobile app store, so look for one that ticks the right boxes and makes you think.
Load your phone with the right games and you’ll find yourself scrolling a lot less. The mindless drivel of social media becomes a tiny background noise as you fill your brain with useful information for once. It sounds like such a silly thing to talk about, but you genuinely feel different after playing some good games. It puts you in a better mood while also helping you develop more key skills.
