Why logic puzzles are good for you (and what the science really says)

We make puzzle games, so you’d expect us to shout that puzzles make you smarter. It isn’t quite that simple, and that’s exactly what makes it interesting. Here’s what researchers have actually found.

People who puzzle a lot do better on thinking tasks

In a large online study of more than 19,000 people in the UK aged 50 to 93, researchers from the University of Exeter and King’s College London looked at how often people did number puzzles such as sudoku. The more often people puzzled, the better they scored on all fourteen measures tested, from reasoning and attention to working memory. Those who puzzled every day did better than every other group on ten of them.

One important caveat: this is a link, not proof that puzzling is the cause. It could also be that people with sharp minds simply enjoy puzzles.

A month of puzzling is no miracle cure

A German study put that difference nicely to the test. A hundred healthy people over 50 were randomly assigned to either a month of doing a jigsaw puzzle for at least an hour a day, or to sessions about a healthy lifestyle only. After a month, the puzzlers had mostly become better at… jigsaw puzzles. Their spatial thinking in general showed no difference.

But the same study also found that people who had done a lot of jigsaws over their whole lives did score better on spatial thinking. The researchers cautiously conclude that years of puzzling probably does more than a short course.

“Brain training” is no magic formula

That fits a large review from 2016, in which psychologists examined more than 130 studies of brain-training programs. Their conclusion: you get better at exactly the tasks you practise, but there is little evidence that this carries over to very different tasks or to everyday life. So an app that promises you’ll “think ten years younger” deserves a pinch of salt.

What does count: using your mind for a lifetime

An American study followed almost three hundred older adults for years and also examined their brains after death. People who were mentally active often in later life (reading, writing, puzzles, games) declined 32 percent more slowly on average than those with average activity. Those who did little declined 48 percent faster. That link held even when the damage in the brain itself was taken into account.

The lesson: it’s less about one magic trick and more about keeping a curious, active mind for years. And that works best with something you simply enjoy.

The aha moment sticks

Our favourite study is about exactly the moment our studio is named after. Researchers showed people magic tricks and asked them how they worked. When the solution came with a sudden “aha!”, people were more likely to still remember it two weeks later: 64 percent versus 52 percent for solutions without an aha moment.

So a solution you discover yourself, with that little jolt of recognition, stays with you better. That’s why we make fair puzzles: every clue is on the table, you never have to guess, and the click is all yours.

So: should you puzzle?

Yes, for the right reason. Not because it’s a pill for your brain, but because it’s fun, keeps you curious and now and then gives you that wonderful aha moment. And if you keep that up for a lifetime, the research suggests it probably does you some good too.

Want to try it yourself? Play Petuko’s first case for free in your browser.

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Sources

• Brooker, H. et al. (2019). The relationship between the frequency of number-puzzle use and baseline cognitive function in a large online sample of adults aged 50 and over. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Read the study
• Fissler, P. et al. (2018). Jigsaw Puzzling Taps Multiple Cognitive Abilities and Is a Potential Protective Factor for Cognitive Aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Read the study
• Simons, D. J. et al. (2016). Do “Brain-Training” Programs Work? Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Summary
• Wilson, R. S. et al. (2013). Life-span cognitive activity, neuropathologic burden, and cognitive aging. Neurology. Read the study
• Danek, A. H. et al. (2013). Aha! experiences leave a mark: facilitated recall of insight solutions. Psychological Research, 77(5), 659–669. Read the study