Puzzles work eight cognitive abilities at once, not just one
A 2018 Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience study: puzzle-solving simultaneously engages perception, mental rotation, working memory and more.
Solving puzzles does not exercise a single mental “muscle” — it engages many at once.
A 2018 study in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience showed that puzzle-solving simultaneously recruits eight distinct cognitive abilities, including perception, mental rotation, working memory, reasoning, speed and flexibility. The researchers describe it as a potential protective factor against cognitive aging.
In other words, a good puzzle is combined training rather than a one-dimensional drill — especially the kind that pushes spatial and logical thinking together.
Heatmap.Chess’s heatmap mechanic does exactly that: reading squares, mentally rotating each piece’s range, and planning the right placement.
Source: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2018 — frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2018.00299/full