I must admit that I want games to make people smarter, but I have to concede that the data is not quite clear.
Good news everyone! A new study provides more support for the claim that the n-back task will improve fluid intelligence in some people, not all. Are you one of them?
N-back involves being subjected a series of stimuli (sounds, words, colors), and then pressing a button whenever the new sound/word/letter is the same as was shown, say, 3 steps before.
OK, but is it that great a game? Here is an online version. I find n-back to be grueling and dull, but then perhaps I am not one of the people whose intelligence is improved by it.
(Via Ars Technica.)