Magic: the Gathering is basically writing software and teaches how to optimize randomness ― high barrier to entry, unfortunately
Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
41–50 of 88 posts
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#42Escape Rooms. As in the real life variety. Best played with good friends.
Each one is a unique experience, so YMMV.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#43Go. Rules are much simpler than chess, but it took computers much longer to beat humans.
Absolutely right answer. And plenty of places to play with others like https://online-go.com/
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#44Hades will help train you to be persistent and care for yourself in the face of adversity. And it’s a bloody computer game! Cheaper than (though not a replacement for) therapy.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#45Check out HackTheBox.eu
Gamified hacking challenges that will teach you real life scenarios. There's a lot of web based challenges, but others include databases, root escalation, etc.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#46I thought the idea that games can improve thinking and reasoning was debunked? Dedicating your life to chess doesn't mean they can put you in the general's chair and you'll be a military genius, just means you'll be good at chess.
exactly right. the only thing you get better at by playing a game is that game.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#47Good examples on this thread. I'll add another one: Baba is you
This comment undersells quite possibly the best puzzle game ever made. Released in 2019, it's a block-pusher with a twist - the blocks themselves change the rules of the game.
$15, 12,000 reviews on Steam, Overwhelmingly positive (>95%). I got about 100 hours of gameplay out of it including all the secret levels. Here's a video of the game "outsmarting a professional engineer": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE8zkSGl4q8
Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#48Chess, you can play for free at open source lichess.org.
Splitgate(free to download and play) if you want some action. You may not be the best or most accurate shooter, but using portals and thinking can bring you up the leaderboard more quickly than just beeing good at aiming.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#49Poker and 3d-platformers & first-person shooters.
Re: Ask HN: Which games do you recommend to improve thinking and reasoning?
#50I thought the idea that games can improve thinking and reasoning was debunked? Dedicating your life to chess doesn't mean they can put you in the general's chair and you'll be a military genius, just means you'll be good at chess.
I don't think it's so black and white. Past a certain point playing chess isn't going to help you with anything besides chess. But I think games can serve as an introductory tool - for example a game isn't going to teach you to be a SWE, but it can provide a more approachable way to gain some initial familiarity with programming ideas.
Is a game the best way to learn or stay mentally sharp? Not when taken at face value, but after a long day of work most people can't sustain something like taking an online course. Playing games can be a good way to stay mentally active when the likely alternative is watching TV or browsing Reddit every night. You'll find studies on cognitive effects of gaming are highly dependent on the games used and the control conditions they were being compared to.