This truly excellent site is a followup of a BBC series on Science and Nature. It explores the human mind in a number of provocative ways. I have given a link to their memory test in the "Improve Your Memory" section, but the whole section is worth a long look.

     Now, frankly, more research needs to be done on exactly which mind exercises are most helpful. But current thinking is that brain exercises are like body exercises: it pays to exercise different parts of your brain in different ways.

     These habits have been shown through research to raise subjects’ brains to a higher level of operation:

     At SHARPBRAINS.COM, you can find out about "the emerging field of science-based brain fitness," along with brain teasers:

And, when you click on COGNITIVE-NEUROSCIENCE you find out about the latest research:

     The AARP has, of course, the latest discoveries in keeping our minds sharp longer. After all, if we go ga-ga prematurely, we’ll let our AARP subscriptions lapse, and then where would they be? Here are AARP’s tips on Boosting Your Brainpower, click:

The AARP has more in its "Staying Sharp" section, including recent advances in brain research. Here’s the address:

     "Researchers found that older people who engaged in an intensive period of rote learning followed by an equally long rest period exhibited improved memory and verbal recall." Learn more here:

     These mental exercises were worked out by Zaldy S. Tan and George Rebok of Johns Hopkins Medical Center. They say, "The following set of questions will create a baseline that you can use to help determine whether your memory is stable or declining. Answer the questions now, then repeat the exercises in six months to compare your performance over time."

     You’ll find here, as part of a followup to the BBC series on Science & Nature, an actual, timed test of your memory, along with much information on keeping your mind and memory healthy.

     Come to MIND TOOLS to improve your memory in a methodical way: remembering short lists, remembering long lists, remembering grouped information, remembering long numbers, etc. Sign up for their free newsletter and they’ll give you many more mind tools.

     BUILD YOUR MEMORY is aimed at students, but it’s a good site for all of us who wish we could remember things better:

     George Mason University professor ANDREW CARLE has released a list of what he considers the best "brain games" available right now:

     You’ll note that most of the above games are EXPENSIVE. But keep scrolling down the page until you get to MY-BRAIN-TRAINER.COM. That one costs only $9.95 for a year’s membership.

You’ll also find many free and enjoyable brain games online, with a good sampling included in this section. For example, BRAINGLE has brain teasers and a full dozen different games you can play online.

     And my favorite game site is EONS.COM: I usually start out my working day with a game or two to get my brain in gear. Find a great free selection here:

     You’ll also find a link to CRICKLER, which says it has re-invented the crossword for the computer age.

     The NATIONAL PUZZLERS’ LEAGUE main page says, "Whatever wordplay delights you . . . palindromes, cryptograms, crossword-type puzzles, cryptic crosswords, anagrams, poetry writing, discovering the word SCHOOLED has the letters in the words SHOE and COLD perfectly interlaced . . . you'll probably find it in our monthly publication, The ENIGMA." Learn more by clicking on the home page of

     And then take a look at the ONE ACROSS crossword puzzle search engine that actually analyzes crossword puzzle clues!

     Frank Ross, a friend who loves to do the daily crossword puzzle, mentioned that he now does the latest thing in puzzles: sudokus. I’ve heard that they’re tremendously frustrating, but Frank said he’d found a tutorial on sudokus that made them much easier. He was kind enough to give the online address of the tutorial to the rest of us. It’s at:

     You’ll note that the ABOUT people have many puzzles listed in the left-hand steering column. And you can find many more sudokus, ranging from easy to "impossible," at:

     Here’s a different-looking Sudoku puzzle site:

     And PLAY SUDOKU DE lets you join an international Sudoku competition. English is not the first language of the creators of this site – what does the "de" suffix stand for? Denmark? Deutschland?

     THINKS.COM says, "The Internet's most entertaining puzzles are here." They have, among other things, math puzzles, picture puzzles, logic puzzles, chess puzzles, and sudoku puzzles.

BRAIN GYM: Don't feel bad if you flunk brain gym: these are trick questions.

     YAHOO has a whole section of its vast empire given to puzzles. Find here puzzles for many levels of ability and many interests:

     The GREY LABYRINTH is for serious puzzlers. These will give you a tremendous mental workout.

RUBIK'S CUBE SOLUTIONS: Actually, there are several solutions laid out here, and you can use any of them. You say you threw your cube away in disgust? I see an ad on the site advertising an electronic Rubik?s cube, and I'm sure Google knows where you can buy an actual, physical one.

     Find here the Internet version of a whole raft of picture puzzles - all free, all calibrated to be easy, medium, or difficult. The puzzles are meant for grownups, but older kids will like them too. And there must be about a hundred, with more coming along all the time.

     JIGZONE was recommended to us by reader Helen Jones, and our thanks go to her. Here you can play with jigsaw puzzles, which apparently improve your spatial relationships. And you can make jigsaw puzzles from your photos, or from the pictures JIGZONE supplies. I was surprised to find that their puzzle of the day ? one of many they supply ? was an actual, traditional jigsaw, rather than the straight-cut pieces I had encountered at other sites. They're put together online, though, and need to be shared online. But, let's say you took photos of a party or a weekend with friends. You could turn your photos into an online puzzle as a thank-you gift to them, assuming they're online too.

     If, on the other hand, you'd like to turn a photo into a traditional cardboard-backed puzzle, here's how:

     And to make a wooden jigsaw puzzle:

Word games are all over the Internet, but many cost - a perfectly natural thing for them to do, of course - and many are not family safe. Which unfortunately also seems to be a natural thing for them to do. But here are a couple of clean, free ones, LETTERBOX and SCRABULOUS. I haven't played LETTERBOX, but I have started playing Scrabble on SCRABULOUS. You can play against yourself, as I am doing right now, or you can play against other people. And I must say it's got my marbles rolling around in there.

And here’s a competitive scrabble search engine:

     YAHOO has dozens of word games, for many tastes and levels of expertise. (It also has a nice card games section, but, since I’m listing only family-safe sites and some of the games are played for money, I’ve left that section out.)

     YAHOO has Chinese checkers, backgammon, checkers, dominoes, go, jigsaws . . . and that’s just the beginning.

     Have you always wanted to learn chess? Or maybe you know the basics but would like to become really good at it. The means are all online. Here’s a site that gives basic instruction:

Here's is Lori from Williamsburg, VA. Her review:

My son received this for his 6th birthday, and didn't want to stop playing it the next day, even to go to his party! He had been learning some basics of Chess but was not able to really play. This game uses cards that tell you which piece to move, so even children (and adults) who have never played the game can jump right in. The moves for each piece are on the card. You have to move the piece shown if you can, but you decide which/how. It really changes the game since being in check does not apply -- even if you can threaten your opponent's piece, you can't necessarily get it on your next turn. There are also a few cards that let you move your choice of either of the last two cards shown, which is helpful if you just got in a position to strike! One side of the board shows where the pieces go and the other is a standard chess board so when your child is comfortable, he can play the 'regular' way. We love both ways! My son actually began playing 'real' Chess after only a few weeks. I think this is the best possible way to teach Chess quickly and accurately, and as an experienced player, I really enjoy the game with the cards too -- it is faster and more of a game of chance, but still fun! Definitely pick this up for anyone learning or previously intimidated by Chess.

Aunt Cynthia 51 Years old said:

I am 51 years old. This afternoon, after my 19-year-old finished a game of "real" chess with his 6-year-old cousin, Cousin's twin sister challenged me to a game. "Sorry, sweetie," I said. "I don't know how to play chess."

"But, Aunt Cynthia," she said, "It's No-Stress Chess. You don't have to know how!"

"But chess is very confusing to my poor brain, dear," I told her.

She sighed and said, very patiently, "But it is NO STRESS. I can teach you!"

Far be it from me to let down my niece! With a little bit of encouragement from my sister, the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the floor (more comfortably than I have in years!), taking instruction in No-Stress Chess.

Long story short -- I am buying this game! Within 10 minutes, I had overcome the long-ago trauma of my one and only chess lesson (35 years ago), and I was getting the hang of which pieces moved which directions and how far. My niece did win, but not by much, and not because I let her -- she's just had more practice! By the next time we visit, in a couple of weeks, I intend to be able to play her to a draw, and maybe by our birthdays this summer, I'll be able to play "real" chess! This is not a "dumbed down kids' game" -- it's a super teaching tool, and I highly recommend it!

     And another site with flash movies for beginners.

     And then you’ll find chess secrets for beginners:

     And now, some secrets for the more advanced player:

     Then a site where you can play online chess with people from all over the world! After all, a chess board speaks its own language.

     And, last of all, play chess against a computer. The site says, "When it is your (White's) turn to move, the chess board will gently pulse."