6 Best Card Games for Brain Health ()

Updated • By The Editors

Note: This article is for general interest and entertainment. It does not provide medical advice.

If you like games that feel like a workout for attention and planning, these picks tend to reward pattern recognition, short-term memory, and decision-making under uncertainty.

1. Yukon Solitaire

Yukon forces you to constantly re-evaluate the board. Because you can move face-up groups freely, it becomes a planning and sequencing exercise.

Look for moves that uncover face-down cards without collapsing your mobility.

Play Yukon Solitaire

2. Russian Solitaire

Russian adds a constraint (same-suit building) that turns each decision into a tighter puzzle and increases the value of careful sequencing.

Same suit only: plan 3–5 moves ahead before you commit.

Play Russian Solitaire

3. Forty Thieves

Two decks plus one-card moves means you’re constantly managing the cost of "wasting" a move. It’s a patience-and-foresight game.

Small optimizations compound over a long session.

Play Forty Thieves Solitaire

4. Aces & Kings

This bidirectional build forces you to track multiple sequences at once and decide which direction matters most at any moment.

Meet in the middle by balancing upward and downward foundations.

Play Aces & Kings Solitaire

5. Accordion Patience

Accordion is a fast pattern game. The rules are simple, but reading the line and spotting future compression opportunities takes practice.

Watch for suit/rank matches one-left and three-left.

Play Accordion Patience Solitaire

6. Classic Klondike (Turn 3)

Turn 3 is a great planning exercise: limited access to the stock forces you to prioritize, sequence moves, and avoid locking up key cards.

A classic way to practice planning and decision-making under constraints.

Play Klondike Solitaire Turn 3