India's New Brain Gym: How Competitive Gaming Is Shaping A Smarter Generation

By Shankar Agarwal

For several years, Indians have had their own traditional methods for enhancing cognitive skills, such as memory exercises and puzzles. Now, competitive mind games are the new frontier of cognitive development, and they’re becoming increasingly popular. Indians now engage in everything from chess to esports, as well as various skill-based online games. This boom is no coincidence, as these forms of competition provide more stimulating, effective, and novel ways to train the brain. 

The growth in the adoption of competitive mind sports in India is unparalleled. Just recently, the nation has emerged as one of the world’s leading chess superpowers, having 85 grandmasters in December 2024. Moreover, the phenomenon of 'online chess boom' which made chess more accessible due to the pandemic. New platforms literally became flooded with games as more and more people began playing. 

Additionally, India’s gaming market is projected to cross 66,000 crore rupees by 2028 at CAGR of 14.5%, which is astonishing. Though not all of these are considered pure mind sports, a large portion still requires high-calibre strategic thinking, fast-paced decision-making, and skilled problem-solving.

How Are Competitive Mind Games Better?

What is it about these competitive games that makes them such great brain trainers? Unlike those tedious, solo brain training apps, competitive mind games interestingly mirror the mental hurdles we encounter in the real world. They urge players to adapt to constant shifts, plan several steps ahead, and make pivotal choices while balancing scarce resources and time, all of which are essential executive functions. 

The gameplay is increasingly supported by research to have significant engagement-driven cognitive benefits. In one study, for instance, video games that required advanced strategies paired with quick thinking provided positive outcomes to cognitive abilities. Furthermore, some such studies claim that if a person gamed frequently, five or more hours a week, their cognitive functioning would, on average, be akin to someone dramatically younger than them.

Competition Drives

Not just the activity, but the competitive aspect in itself acts as a notable incentive. Specifically, the urge to emerge victoriously, advance within leaderboards, and best their competitors motivates sustained participation and cognitive stretching, unlike anything preset challenges in a basic brain training application could provide. 

Sustained participation is central for lifelong learning, experience, or damage as a neuroplastic activity, that is, a brain change, reorganising itself. Cognitive skills development has been attributed to traditional Indian games like Antakshari, Vedic Maths or Pallankuzhi. Modern competitive games, on the other hand, claim unrivalled superiority, not only for their digital replications but also their captivating, ditch designs.

The propelling importance of this sector is further emphasised by the interest being received from the Indian Government and state enterprises for skill development and the establishment of centres of excellence under the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) industry. While traditional methods of cognitive enhancement through training persist, it is the engaging, motivating, and teamwork-oriented qualities of competitive games that make them unrivalled in fostering mental development in India. With the growing competitive gaming community in India, players are engaging in far more than just games; they are honing their mental reflexes and agility.

(The author is the President of Skillhub Online Gaming Federation)

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