Online gaming is all very well, and hours can certainly pass by playing versions of Bejewelled or Angry Birds, but sometimes you want to give your brain more of a workout. Keeping the grey matter in top condition means treating it like any other muscle - training it regularly! A lot of our entertainment these days is in the form of passively staring at a screen, whether that’s your TV, tablet or a cinema screen, which is why online games like Scrabble, Words With Friends and Brain Training games have never lost their popularity.

We used to be stuck with Microsoft’s Mah Jong and the rather simplistic games of Patience that are available by default on Windows, but these days we have countless options to give our brain a bit of a workout.

Games, apps and websites that claim to help you increase concentration, verbal reasoning skills and mental dexterity are huge business these days. According to Lumosity, a company that ha devised many brain training games and exercises for the internet, just a few minutes of these games every day can make you ‘smarter, sharper and brighter’.

Developers including Nintendo, Cognifit and Jungle Memory have come up with a huge range of different puzzle apps and games over the last few years to fulfil the need customers have to sharpen their mental skills - but still have fun. Lumosity’s mobile app is downloaded around 50,000 times every single day and it has made more than £16 million.

In America, brain training games are even used in schools and all of this despite there being no scientific proof that brain training has any particular effect on your intelligence at all. But it certainly can be fun and it’s clear that these apps and games appeal to millions and millions of people.

We’ve had a think about some apps and online games that could keep you on your toes if you fancy giving your brain a workout and gathered a few choice ones here. See what you think - they’re not all based on Mensa style spatial awareness tests, we’ve actually found some that offer some fun and will definitely get your brain working.

Lumosity.com
As described above, Lumosity promises to improve your brain health and performance by enhancing your memory and attention using an online personalised ‘training’ programme. You log in and create a profile and then track your brain performance and improvement.

Memory Trainer app by Urbian
This Android app is designed to improve your memory by working on your spatial and working memory, as well as your concentration skills and is highly rated by users. Its games are designed to be a fun way of working out the brain.

Online casinos
It’s another great way to give your brain a workout, while enjoying the kinds of games you like to play. Online casinos allow you to play everything from Texas Hold ‘Em to Roulette, all the while making sure you learn how to improve. There is nothing like a game of poker for a financial reward to sharpen your mental skills, after all! Online gaming sites such as Intertops Online Slots are a great way to train your brain whilst also having some fun.

Words With Friends Facebook app
What’s better to give your brain a mental shake up then a good old-fashioned game of scrabble? WWF lets you play online through Facebook and on your phone, and means you can play against your friends or random partners from anywhere. It’s based on traditional scrabble and means you are constantly working out ways to beat your friends and get those words in the right places to score maximum points. It’s a game of skill - not luck.