:: THE QUIZ ::
Q1: Do you like to eat chocolate? Y or N
Q2: Do you resent being asked, every stinking day, how many hours you slept last night? Y or N
Q3: Do you enjoy searching for cute bears hidden underneath things? Y or N
Q4: Are you indifferent to the migratory patterns of flocks of black birds on a screen? Y or N
• • •
• • •
Q5: Are you always up for a colorful, cheerful game with lots of groovy fish that make things blow up? Y or N
Q6: Do you think that doing arithmetic problems, that fall randomly down your screen, are the real reason you have begun to have nightmares about 5th grade again? Y or N
Q7: Do you think that when you lose a game seeing the message “You’ll get it next time!” is encouraging? Y or N
Q8: Do you think that when you encounter the opportunity to make words starting with two random letters, it’s best to make a long multi-syllabled word and that it’s poor manners to scold someone for not making a short three-letter word? Y or N
• • •
• • •
Q9: Do you like to eat honey? Y or N
Q10: Do you think that any game, for which you cannot find an unauthorized website of cheats + hacks, is of dubious value because you’re not learning how to advance in the game? Y or N
Q11: Do you think that you did your time as a waitress in college and need not relive that experience by serving pretend food + beverages to cartoon people, with specific names, at a nondescript virtual beach cafe? Y or N
Q12: Do you think that you can keep your brain healthy and sharp by playing a free game; rather than challenging your cognitive abilities by playing games that have a monthly fee? Y or N
:: SCORING ::
The more you answered YES, the more you will like CANDY CRUSH SODA SAGA.
You can learn more about the game here.
• • •
Conversely, the more you answered NO, the more you will like LUMOSITY.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
Never thought about it thay way, but that is exactly right. Very insightful.
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Zen-Den, I’m just saying here…
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I used to dutifully sign into my Lumosity app and go through all of the tasks, thinking I was improving my brain and all of its capabilities. Then I read that it really wasn’t doing anything more than making my brain better at Lumosity tasks.
And so many of them felt like chores and work to me. I gave it up quite cheerfully and now I stick with things I like, such as real newspaper crossword puzzles, 7 Little Words, Four Letters, Words With Friends, and then a few goofy games like Jelly Splash and the wonderfully mindless Dots.
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nance, I agree that Lumosity seems like a chore to do. I try to want to do it, but to what end?
I’m with you in that I do other mental activities + games that keep my brain clicking. Some are tried & true, like puzzles and solitaire and Scrabble.
While others are mental challenges such as writing, editing, adding images + links, then publishing blog posts. [This post, in particular, was more tricky than usual to pull together and get out there!]
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I answered with a lot of ‘No’s. Guess I better check out Lumosity. But who has the time? Hopefully my brain is staying active with all the other tasks I put it through. Sigh.
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Carrie, in my experience Lumosity is more fun when you use it on your desktop computer. The iPad app for it has fewer games and they’re more awkward to play. Therein is my prob: I’m around my iPad more often than my desktop, so it’s inconvenient for me to train/play on Lumosity. If you can work things around so that you’re near a desktop computer, then I sense that Lumosity is fun. Z-D sure likes it a lot.
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Thanks for the info!
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Just cause it doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean that you won’t love it. 😉 Good luck.
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I hate commercial perky games that chatty and encouraging. Molly seems to be taking very seriously keeping me mentally active trying to outthink her…I suspect the cat is behind it all.
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philmouse, if I had Molly around, with her feline co-conspirator, I’d not have the energy to play either of these games! Both games have their features that are fun, but overall I prefer groovy fish to arithmetic problems! I’m sure that the fish are challenging my brain quite enough. No need to get random numbers involved.
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Sounds like eating something that’s good for you but not tasty!
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Kate, depending on your point of view you either love the educational-ness of Lumosity OR you love the wackiness of Candy Crush Soda Saga! As for which one is good for you & makes you smarter, I dunno. Everyone seems to have a different idea about which one is best.
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Agh, can’t stand the Candy Crush games… and I hadn’t heard about Lumosity before, actually!
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Lily, the Candy Crush games have more publicity than Lumosity so I’m not surprised that you haven’t heard of it before. As for which helps your brain more, I think it’s a toss up. Both have good points, both can be annoying. Ain’t it always the way?
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I get invited all the time and never play.
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Andra, you’ll have to try either one of these games and see what you think! I enjoy Candy Crush Soda Saga more than Lumosity, but admit that both of them help keep my brain clicking. A good thing, I do believe. 🙂
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I don’t play any games–perhaps I should start! However, keeping 150 teenagers engaged every day is enough of a challenge most days. 🙂
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Margaret, yes I agree! You’ve got teenagers to keep you alert. However, when the time comes for you to retire and you’re looking for something different to do, some of these little games, available on your phone or iPad, are fun. And supposedly keep one’s brain in tip top shape.
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I had a lumosity-like brain training program for my DS, I found it to be almost unimaginably boring. “Feels like games!” Ha. And please forgive my cattiness but the people in the lumosity commercials sound like they desperately need some kind of brain training. But it’s not a bad thing to practice doing math in your head. I’ve found as I’ve aged that doing math is harder than I think it should be.
Cheats and hacks? There are cheats and hacks? I have been playing several of the match 3 sorts of games, looking for one I love. I generally get to a point where the luck factor is too high. I don’t mind challenging but I don’t like it when the only way to get past a level seems to be re-playing it ad nauseam until the stars line up just right. I liked what a reviewer said about one game and how he bought something in game once in a while to support the developers. Since I have Amazon points to use, I bought a few things but it’s far too easy to rely on that. But hacks? That I could get into. I’m going to have to do some searching. Thanks for the tips!
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Zazzy, I know what you mean about those people on the Lumosity commercials. Seem dippy, not brilliant!
I don’t do math as quickly as I once did, either. But having equations, that always start with smaller numbers, fall down in front of me is not making me get any better at it. It bores me, so I just sit there and let the numbers drift by like deranged, mutant snowflakes.
Most of the King Games that I play on my iPad have unauthorized cheats + hacks websites out there that show and explain how to win each level. I’ve used the info so that I could advance when a level became impossible for me. However, I’ve not been able to find any cheats + hacks websites to help me get better at Lumosity. Bummer. Might like it better then.
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