Brilliant … But Bouncy

Then The Maze Spun.

I am not a big fan of video games, but I am also not a big fan of dementia. So when I started losing track of words – like really, really simple words – I decided that I might need to start doing some brain work.

Since I’ve started eating better, my brain is actually responding better – but it is still not to the level I would like. So I googled “memory games” and found Luminosity.

Luminosity is tailor-made for folks like me: those of us who want to sharpen our brain skills, but don’t want to get out of our chair to do it. It offers three free games a day, each game geared toward a specific skill: attention, memory, speed, vocabulary, etc. (There is a “premium” package available if you really want to get in depth, but I prefer “free.” And three games a day is enough!)

I was playing Luminosity games when I was presented with a penguin character. The penguin needed to traverse a maze to get to a fish. It was the simplest task I’d ever been given – just push the arrow keys and guide the penguin to the fish.

There was another penguin in the maze, also trying for that fish. Whichever penguin got to the fish first could eat the fish. I couldn’t believe this was even a game; it was stupidly easy.

Then the maze spun. With the maze on its side, the arrow keys didn’t work right. Suddenly the up arrow didn’t make the penguin go up. The left arrow rammed the penguin into a wall. The down arrow made the penguin go backwards. And by the time I figured out which arrow to push, the maze spun again.

My penguin starved to death. The other penguin ate all the fish. For most of the game, my penguin was smashing his little penguin head into a wall. I absolutely could not get him to move in the correct direction.

Luminosity says this game tests and supposedly improves my “spatial orientation.” It reminded me of the pre-GPS days when I tried to read a road map to ascertain directions. I would turn the road map upside down, then tilt my head to the side, trying to figure out whether I needed to turn right or left at the next intersection.

I would stare at the map, completely baffled. Often, even after several minutes of study, I got lost anyway. Apparently I have zero spatial orientation ability. The penguin game confirmed this.

After the penguin debacle, I played a game that is akin to being an air traffic controller for trains. My job was to direct trains into their appropriate station houses by switching the train tracks as the trains chugged along.

At first, you get three station houses. The trains arrive, faster and faster, until your time is up. If you do well, you get another station house. After playing only three times, I was up to nine station houses. I rocked at the train game.

The train game supposedly tests and improves “divided attention” – the ability to simultaneously respond to multiple demands. This might be my very best thing in the whole wide world.

But I can’t make the penguin stop smashing itself into a wall.

I enjoy Luminosity; it helps me to learn about my strengths and weaknesses. And I will continue to play the penguin game when it pops up. But wow, I feel really sorry for that hungry little penguin.