Lumosity: Brain Training Games

I started out playing the games on BrainHQ because I learned from the esteemed Dr. Mike Roizen that, in randomized studies, speed-of-processing games reduce the odds of getting Alzheimer’s by more than 40% after 18 hours of practice over 10 years (less than 2 hours/year). I didn’t enjoy the games of BrainHQ but made myself do them because the benefit could be so huge. Later, I told my cousin what I’d learned about speed-of-processing games because Alzheimer’s runs in our family. She told me she’d been been doing the games on Lumosity, so I gave them a try, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I started out doing the free daily exercises but very soon paid the $15 monthly fee so I could do all the exercises I want every day, and I like them so much that now I practice them all day long, even though 2 hours a year is all that’s needed. The animation on all the games is colorful and entertaining. Some games are just beautiful, others very funny or cute, and the sound effects are out of this world. I really like almost all the games. A few seem impossibly hard and a couple, way too easy, but most have a level that feels appropriately challenging, and all of them let you advance to higher and higher levels. There are a few, like Pet Detective (one of my favorites as far as the sound effects) that I find maddeningly difficult but, unlike most of them, don’t show you afterward what the correct answer would’ve been. It drives me nuts! Another game, Skyrise, kind of insults you by comparing your correct answers to the height or depth of famous landmarks, like Kilimanjaro or the Grand Canyon, which is absurdly irrelevant. Things like that make me feel babied, but, overall, playing the games is a great experience. It reduces my anxiety and improves my mood, even when I’m not thinking about the likely benefit to my brain. Highly recommended.

When I first opened the app, I was prompted to play the train game. It was slightly challenging the first several levels, but I rather enjoyed the test of my attention span. After the first two days, I got stuck on a levels 10-11 and out of frustration I deleted the app knowing I wouldn’t pay for the subscription. I settled for leaving the game at that level. However, the next day I found myself bored and wondered if perhaps I could surpass to the next level. My trial was not over so I redownloaded the app and was able to get to level 12. Then suddenly I was back where I started, but just one level higher. I convinced myself to just be rid of the taunting app as I began to believe I would need to be engineered like a computer to beat level 12. When I was bored once more the next day, I did it all over again: redownloaded, moved up a level, could not beat the newest level, the. deleted the app. Today was the third time I did this obsessive dance within the last week. I have been stuck on level 13 out of 14 for the last two days and my trial is up. I refuse to pay for the subscription as I wholly believe I am addicted to this dreadful train game. I must walk away, or else it will consume my every waking moment. Good bye train game. Oh, how I wish I made it to the very end but alas I am only a human and cannot operate like a computer. *weeps loudly

I have been a Lumosity paid member for several years. Like many of the other reviewers, I noticed a positive change in my brain power after using it for a little while. I was better at balancing my checkbook without a calculator, paying attention to different things at once, and so on. However, over the years I have reached the top level in 3/4 of the games and I stop using the app for months at a time because it makes me feel stupid. Fuse Clues is one of the most frustrating— how the hell are you supposed to figure out very arbitrary number patterns with so many holes? Word Snatchers is stressful and many of the definitions don’t make sense until after you’ve given up and used five hints. Taking Root has mistakes, as does Editor’s Choice. Pet Detective is impossible at the higher levels— I just guess and sometimes I luck out. How does this make my brain work better? They should really provide insights for how the game evolves as the levels go up— what kinds of strategies will work for Fuse Clues and Pet Detective? And I advise everyone DO NOT READ their analyses of your progress. I have never felt stupider in my life. Plus, I have read articles that say Lumosity only trains your brain for the specific games they offer and that very little of the benefit is applicable to your normal life. Beyond what I mentioned above. I think the app is a good idea and I continue to pay for it, but I’d like to see more helpful suggestions from them about making progress in the games besides “don’t be so stupid.”