Best Time-Wasting Games to Energize Your Brain During Waits

Waiting. It’s an annoying and unavoidable part of life. In the US alone, it’s estimated that people spend about 37 billion hours waiting in lines every year. Thankfully, humans were smart enough to know that we need games to entertain ourselves. This article will discuss some of the most entertaining and stimulating ways to pass the time whenever you’re stuck waiting for something to happen.

Don’t just waste time. Make use of it.

Games aren’t just good for passing the time, they can also help your brain. Playing a game is like a regular workout for the brain as it challenges your mind, tests your memory, and keeps you operating at your best. Here’s a look at some of the ways that games are beneficial.

Active waiting

You may have heard the phrase, "a watched pot never boils.". The same principle applies to passing time. When you concentrate only on something, it’s going to feel much slower. Playing games is an effective way to make the time go much faster, and you’ll be done waiting before you know it.

Mental health benefits

Playing games is also useful as a way to decompress when your brain needs to recharge. Studies have shown that taking a break to play games can benefit the efficiency of your work. Think of playing games like a mental pit stop that revitalizes your focus and attention for whatever the day will throw at you.

Increased brain benefits

Many different games, including brain-training apps like Lumosity, have been found to help people increase their focus, concentration, and memory. A study from Cambridge University found that adults who engaged in memory-based games like checkers and jigsaw puzzles had significantly reduced chances of developing dementia.

Plus, many games like The Witness or card games that require both logic and visual comprehension can engage both sides of the brain and hone one’s ability to solve problems.

Best time wasting games

You’ve learned about all the positive benefits of gaming, but you still need to hear about all your choices. Here are some great games to help you pass the time, exercise your brain, and give you that energy boost you need.

Free brain games

Trivia Crack - This online multiplayer trivia game for IOS and Android pits you against people around the world in subjects like geography, entertainment, and sports

247Solitaire - Our intuitive, browser-based free Solitaire platform allows you to play nine different versions of the popular game and a number of seasonal variations. Plus, it automatically tracks your progress and records.

Oh h1 - This grid-based Sudoku-esque puzzle game on IOS and Android offers great bite-sized logic problems that are more difficult than they seem. Mix and match colors to fill different-sized grids while following rules based on proximity and number of colors.

2048 - This deceptively simple IOS and Android sliding-tiles game tasks you with combining tiles to make them add up to 2048. Just make sure you don’t run out of room.

Brain games with a fee

Gorogoa - This clever puzzle game asks you to manipulate the contents of multiple pictures to unravel a narrative. ($4.99)

Mini Metro - Become a transit expert in this deceptively simple puzzle game. You’ll need quick thinking as you try to efficiently route a series of train stations so that they don’t become overcrowded. ($.99)

The Room - This series of lightly creepy games has the player fiddle with dozens of bespoke machines to find out the secrets of the titular space. ($.99)

Free mindless games

Vampire Survivors - Fight vampires, mummies, and goblins in this eye-popping roguelike game that feels as much like a slot machine as an action game.

Crossy Road - There’s a chicken and they need to get across the road. Don’t get hit in this addictive take on the classic Frogger arcade game.

Jetpack Joyride - Avoid enemies, grab power-ups, and ride your jetpack for as long as you can on this continuous scroller.

Idle Frontier - The Gold Rush is here and you’re running the first Wild West town in this colorful clicker.

Mindless games with a fee

Downwell - This slick retro throwback has the player shoot monsters and grab powerups as they fall down a cavernous well. ($2.99)

Golf on Mars - Classic golf game but updated with crazy space physics. ($2.99)

Alto’s Adventure - This addictive endless runner follows a snowboarder down an infinite mountain as he does backflips, grinds on roofs, and slides through the snow. ($4.99)

Play games for fun and exercise

The next time you’re stuck waiting around, try one of these games! It’s guaranteed to make the time go by faster, and you might even find a new favorite that tests your mind and your reflexes in the process. Your time is precious after all, and you want to waste it the right way.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.