Brain games for kids: what the research really says

A child gets better at a memory game after playing it several times. What does that tell you? It tells you that the child has learned something about the game: perhaps where to look, how to remember a pattern, or when to slow down. That is a good reason to enjoy the result. It does not, by itself, tell you that the child will remember homework more easily or get higher marks at school.

That difference is the key to reading claims about brain games. Researchers call improvement on the practised task training. They call improvement on a different task transfer. Transfer to a very similar task is easier to find than transfer to a distant activity, such as reading or schoolwork. A review of brain-training products for children and teenagers found that independent studies more often reported gains on closely related tasks than lasting, broad gains (Rossignoli-Palomeque and colleagues, 2018).

Why a better game score is still real

Imagine a game that briefly shows a row of numbers. After the numbers disappear, you type them in order. At first, you might remember four. After several rounds, you might remember five. You may have learned to repeat the numbers quietly or group them into pairs. The improvement matters within that task. You can describe it exactly: “I remembered a longer row today.”

A review of studies with typically developing children found preliminary evidence that different kinds of practice can improve the executive-function tasks they target. It did not establish that those gains carry over to other tasks (Cardoso and colleagues, 2018). Executive functions are the mental processes involved in things such as keeping a goal in mind and resisting a distraction. They are not one score that a game can fully measure.

It helps to separate three questions. Did the child improve at the game? Did the child improve at a different task testing a similar process? Did anything change in ordinary life? One “yes” does not automatically answer the next question. A parent can celebrate the first without claiming the third.

What makes a study more useful?

Suppose twenty children play a game for a month and do better at the end. Some may have improved because they saw the task before. Some may have grown more comfortable with the rules. To learn what the game itself added, researchers compare players with a similar group doing another activity. They also ask whether the gains last and whether a test was chosen before the results were known.

A review of commercial brain-training research in children and adolescents found many studies without strong comparison groups. Few independent studies showed lasting improvement on distant tasks (Rossignoli-Palomeque and colleagues, 2018). That is why a confident advertisement may go beyond what its studies show. The Federal Trade Commission's 2016 case against Lumosity's maker concerned unsupported claims about school, work and health benefits, not the simple observation that people could improve at its games (FTC, 2016).

What should a family look for?

Choose a game for a clear task, not a sweeping promise. Can your child tell you what they are trying to do? A number puzzle might ask them to find a rule. An attention game might ask them to ignore surrounding arrows and choose the direction of the middle one. Those are understandable challenges. “Unlock your child's potential” is too vague to check.

Look for a fair level of difficulty. If the first problem is impossible, a score says little beyond “this was too hard.” If every problem is effortless, the child may not need to think. A useful game starts at a suitable level and lets the task become harder or easier as the player responds. A child should be able to make a mistake, understand it and try again without shame.

Keep the activity short enough that the child can stop willingly. Ask what they noticed: “Did you find a trick?” or “Which part was confusing?” You might try a round yourself. The conversation can be worthwhile even when the result is lower than yesterday's. One day's score can change with tiredness, noise or familiarity. Several plays of the same game give a better view of game progress.

A sensible way to talk about progress

Say, “Your score in this game has improved,” if the scores show it. Say, “You found a better way to remember the numbers,” if the child can explain the strategy. Avoid saying that a game has raised intelligence, fixed attention or improved school performance. Those claims need different evidence from a game score, and research on broad transfer is mixed (Rossignoli-Palomeque and colleagues, 2018; Cardoso and colleagues, 2018).

The best reason to play a brain game may be simple: a child enjoys a brief, fair challenge and can see what they learned within it. That is enough. If a family wants to support school learning too, it can spend time on the actual reading or maths skill, where the connection between practice and the goal is direct. A game can sit alongside those activities without pretending to replace them.