University professors from New York and California designed and developed three digital games – available online and in the iOS and Google Play app stores – to help its users’ brains work more efficiently. While some digital games falsely claim to improve cognitive skills, these three games have actually proven to. Evidenced through a series of research studies, these games can help users boost memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility.

“Can games actually have positive effects on players? We believe they can, and we designed three games to support learners in developing cognitive skills that researchers have identified as essential for success in daily life, executive functions,“ said Jan L. Plass, Paulette Goddard Professor of Digital Media and Learning Sciences at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture Education and Human Development and co-creator of the games.

Plass – along with his colleagues Bruce D. Homer of the Graduate Center, City University of New York and Richard E. Mayer of University of California, Santa Barbara – developed the games as a result of a 4-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The goal of the research was to design targeted computer games that improve cognitive skills – specifically, executive functions like memory and inhibitory control. Upon discovering that the games successfully improved executive functions after as little play as two hours, the scholars wanted to make them available to the general public for free.

“While some children have access to the best schools and resources, this is not the case for many families from less affluent communities across the nation. We hope these games can help close the gap that this lack of opportunity has created,” continued Plass.

The Games and How They Work

The researchers developed three online games: Gwakkamolé, CrushStations and All You Can ET. Each of these brain training games support a different executive function.