So, I see lots of articles and stories (and ads!) advocating that various games will help with memory and brain health. MOST of those are word type games.... crosswords, word search, etc. Also some number games like Suduko.

I wonder about card games, like solitaire or spider or freecell? Do they help as well?

I can see why crosswords might be the best out there, especially for memory retention and practice. Making connections, hints, pulling up past experience.

BUT, games like spider (card games with some strategy) seems like they should be good as well, but perhaps different parts of the brain? If the "strategy" element of Sudoku is good, i would think the strategy part of freecell or spider would be too...

So ... in part the driver for this is my mother and mother-in-law ... trying to help them as older age sets in to find ways to keep their minds sharp. The CARD games on tablets often have LARGER elements to work with, (cards rather than letter tiles), and larger fonts. So they are Easier to do. BUT at the same time, "EASIER" is not really the point of this, any more than it's easier to drive a mile than run a mile when you are trying to be healthy.

Just wondering ...