As I set up for 4/5 grade small group, I hear muffled giggles at the door. “Is she there?” a small voice stage whispers, clearly the elected spokesman for the group. I go to my classroom door, my hands full of exactly what I know they want. I carry into view the desired objects that these dyslexic kids arrived early to get. They crave – Brain Games. I invite the early arrivals in, and they claim the games from me, quickly divide themselves into groups for playing, and set to work training their brains – loving every minute of it!

Tenzi and Blink currently reign as top favorites among our brain game possibilities.  These games have no words, only symbols, and are played with astounding concentration at top speed. Both games center around almost instantaneous pattern recognition, and the player’s correct, quick action based on that pattern recognition.  Sounds, well, like reading, doesn’t it?

Don’t tell the kids, but these brain games are building the centers of their brains where symbols are interpreted and appropriately acted upon. Yup, playing these games will improve reading speed.

A name like Tenzi stirs up images of a game steeped in ancient cultural richness, perhaps originating in Morocco, or Tibet. I imagine ancient, white clad men in turbans squatting in the dust to play. But no, it was invented by two friends named Steve and Kevin right here in the USA. What it lacks in historical pedigree, it makes up for in adrenaline rush and brain neurons multiplying like dust on a Moroccan roadside.

Tenzi is played with sets of ten brightly colored dice. Players roll their 10 dice, continuing to roll the ones that don’t match until all dice show the selected number. No polite conventions like taking turns when playing Tenzi. Everyone goes at the same time, with the victor shouting “Tenzi!” and beaming at his pile of matching dice. I bought two sets of 40 dice from Amazon, allowing for an epic, eight player Tenzi game if we want to go there, or more quiet games of two or three players scattered through the classroom.  

Blink is a two player card game. My sets came from Target and cost about $5.00 each.  The game has 80 cards with symbols in one of three colors, patterns or numbers. All the cards divided between two players fly as players race to sort his or her cards first. On a quiet day, I am sure I hear their brains growing as they speed to interpret the meaning of each card and act on that information – the faster the better!

The great thing about brain games is that there are no losers, only winners.  Winners with really great brains.