Challenge logic and thinking skills with these apps
Looking to give students — or your colleagues — a way to hone their thinking and problem-solving skills while having fun? These free puzzles and games might do the trick.
The website APPitic.com [1], an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, offers a number of apps to help build student thinking skills.
Here, we’ve gathered a handful of those apps, and you can access more on the APPitic site. All apps were originally curated by Apple Distinguished Educators.
Animal Sudoku [2]
This twist on the classic Sudoku puzzles assigns an animal to each number, ramping up the concentration required to solve each puzzle.
Chess With Friends [3]
Multiplayer chess game lets users play against each other or find random opponents. However, it requires a Facebook or Games With Friends login.
Next page: Creative puzzles for all ages
Tangram XL [4]
Simple version of the popular Tangram puzzles designed with kids in mind. It is designed to avoid unnecessary decoration to keep kids’ attention on geometric concepts.
Finger Physics (web [5]and Android [6])
Fit together different and moving shapes to solve puzzles. The free version features around 100 levels with various objectives and difficulty levels.
Flow Free [7]
Connect matching colors with pipe to create a flow. Pair all colors, and cover the entire board to solve each puzzle. But watch out, pipes will break if they cross or overlap.
Genius Brain [8]
Using clues, players must identify in which column a given icon is located on a large board in this version of Einstein’s puzzle. It is aimed at improving your visual memory, ordering your thinking, helping form cause-effect relations, and more.
Monorail [9]
Draw lines to connect “stations” and create a working monorail system in this game that challenges visual/spacial/geometric skills. According to the developers, Kindergartners can solve the beginner levels. Mathematicians from MIT have struggled to solve the most difficult ones.