Reaction and perception games for children: look closely, act fast

Three things above all: quickly taking in what there is to see or hear; telling precisely whether two things are the same or only similar; and blocking out distractions. Where hasty grabbing is penalized, impulse control comes in too. Games in which sometimes the color and sometimes the shape counts, such as Qwirkle, also call on cognitive flexibility. A game usually involves several of these; the skills profile in each review shows what is in the foreground.

The first games already work for young children: SET Junior and Fiddle Faddle! are recommended from age 3, and Spot it! Animals Jr., Halli Galli Circus and Socken Zocken from age 4. From age 6, classics such as Spot It! and Halli Galli follow, as does SET with its several features, and from age 8, games with several rules such as Ghost Blitz. What matters more than the number on the box is that your child is challenged but not overwhelmed.

Processing speed grows throughout childhood; adults usually react faster. Simple handicaps help, such as playing with the weaker hand or grabbing a moment later. Cooperative real-time games such as 5-Minute Mystery are a good alternative: in them, everyone plays together against the clock rather than against each other.

A US study gives an indication: children aged seven to nine played games that required quick recognition and rapid reactions, on screen and at the table, for one hour twice a week for eight weeks. Afterwards, they did considerably better in a standard test of processing speed, but not in logical reasoning; for children who played reasoning games, it was the other way round. This is a single study, and it says nothing about school results.