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Planning ahead

Thinking three moves out.

Final Fantasy makes you decide how many potions to carry before you know what is in the dungeon. Fire Emblem makes you plan a whole turn before anyone moves. Get it wrong and you pay for it an hour later.

Strategy and role-playing games are the long game in miniature, and there is some evidence they line up with better problem solving over time.

Train it on purpose

  1. Before a dungeon, write down what you expect to need. Compare after.
  2. Play one strategy map with no undo and no reloading. Live with your plan.
  3. Set a budget in an RPG, say no more than half your gold on gear, and see if it holds.

Off the couch

Money, mostly. Rent, a holiday, a car. But also planning a decent night out instead of 'dunno, what do you want to do?'. Being the one who has a plan, and can change it without sulking, is rarer than it should be, and people notice.

Sources

  1. Adachi, P. J. C., & Willoughby, T. (2013). More than just fun and games: The longitudinal relationships between strategic video games, self-reported problem solving skills, and academic grades. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(7), 1041-1052. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9913-9

Games that train it

ActRaiser 2 coverActRaiser 2
Your scrolls are limited each time you drop into a land, so you've got to decide which spell is worth spending where. Blow them early and the sin waiting at the end of act two eats you.Adventures of Lolo coverAdventures of Lolo
Shots are limited and trapping yourself costs a life. The late floors make you plan five moves ahead and you'll still miss the one block that matters.Axelay coverAxelay
Before each stage you pick three weapons, one per slot, and each cleared stage adds an option. The loadout screen turns every stage into a small puzzle.Bionic Commando coverBionic Commando
Between missions you fly a helicopter across a map and pick where to land, and your communicator and equipment choices can lock you out of progress if you pick wrong.Bomberman II coverBomberman II
Find the exit under a block while keeping clear of your own blast. The password saves your bomb count and strength, so every power-up you grab is a choice that sticks.Bomberman coverBomberman
Drop a bomb, step away, boom in four directions. Clearing a crowded screen with one well-placed blast is the whole joy.Breath of Fire coverBreath of Fire
Random battles come often and bosses keep fighting after their health bar empties. Running out of healing halfway into a dungeon hurts.Castlevania II: Simon's Quest coverCastlevania II: Simon's Quest
Time passes: night brings tougher monsters but more hearts. The best ending is for finishing inside eight days of game time.Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse coverCastlevania III: Dracula's Curse
The path forks: across the lake to the front gate or up the cliffs beneath. Only one partner travels with Trevor, and the ending depends on who.Castlevania coverCastlevania
Pick up a new sub-weapon and the old one is gone, so choosing what to carry into a boss fight matters.Cybernator coverCybernator
Stop the Arc Nova falling, catch the shuttle, save the enemy pilot. Fail a side job and the game keeps going, but the ending changes and Jake loses Crea.Darkwing Duck coverDarkwing Duck
Choose your first stage from three, then another three, and pick up Thunder, Heavy or Arrow gas. You carry one at a time, so take the gas that suits the room.Double Dragon II: The Revenge coverDouble Dragon II: The Revenge
Locking the ending behind the hardest setting will catch out anyone who doesn't know. Pick hard mode from the start.Dr. Mario coverDr. Mario
The viruses never move, so every bottle is a fixed puzzle. The real fun is a pill that clears one line and drops its other half onto a second match.Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome coverDragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome
Only three fight at once while the rest wait in the wagon. The monster that asks to join today might be your best fighter in ten hours, if you bother to level it.Dragon Warrior II coverDragon Warrior II
Each hero carries their own eight items, so packing matters. Walk into the Cave of Rhone short on healing and you'll know about it.Dragon Warrior III coverDragon Warrior III
At level 20 anyone can change class at Dhama, starting again at level 1 with half their stats but keeping their spells. A Wizard turned Soldier who still knows magic is a plan you make hours ahead.Dragon Warrior IV coverDragon Warrior IV
Torneko's chapter hands you a shop counter, customers and a savings goal. You can earn your keep just standing there selling.Faxanadu coverFaxanadu
The Elven king hands you 1,500 gold. Grind a little, buy a better sword, push one screen further: the loop is all about spending well.Final Fantasy coverFinal Fantasy
You build a party of four from six classes and can never swap anyone out. Four mages is legal and a very bad idea.Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem coverFire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Each battle is a small puzzle about who moves where and in what order. Move one unit wrong and the enemy phase makes you pay.Friday the 13th coverFriday the 13th
Six counsellors run, jump, throw and row differently. Light the fireplaces in the big cabins for a flashlight and a torch, and keep people where Jason can't catch them alone.Gradius II coverGradius II
Before you fly you choose one of four weapon sets, each with its own missile, double and laser. You commit to a style, then live with it.Harvest Moon coverHarvest Moon
Every day you decide what matters: rocks and stumps, crops, the cows, foraging, a festival. The day ends before your chores do.Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run coverKen Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
There's a franchise mode, and a full 162-game season unlocks the Devil Rays and the Diamondbacks. That's a long-term goal on one cartridge.Kirby's Avalanche coverKirby's Avalanche
The first chain you build on purpose, stacking a colour you know will fall into place three pops later, is the whole game.Kirby's Dream Course coverKirby's Dream Course
When only one enemy is left it turns into the hole, so you're choosing which enemy you leave last. Plan it badly and the hole lands somewhere awful.Lufia & the Fortress of Doom coverLufia & the Fortress of Doom
If two characters attack the same enemy and the first one kills it, the second swings at nothing. Every turn you plan who hits what.Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals coverLufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Because monsters only move when you move, every step in a dungeon is a chess move. Fights become part of the puzzle.Maniac Mansion coverManiac Mansion
Some puzzles can leave you in a spot where you can no longer win. Save often, and think before you use an item.Mega Man 7 coverMega Man 7
Only four stages are open at first, and bolts from enemies buy upgrades at Auto's shop between stages. What you buy shapes the rest of the run.Mega Man X2 coverMega Man X2
The X-Hunters roam between stages, so you return to cleared levels, check who's waiting and chase them down.Mega Man X3 coverMega Man X3
New chips add abilities, but X can only use one at a time. You choose, and the choice shapes the whole run.Mighty Final Fight coverMighty Final Fight
The levelling system rewards finishing enemies with style instead of mashing, and reaching level four unlocks Haggar's clothesline.Mother coverMother
Directions are vague and the map is large. You heal at hospitals and with fast food, and you save by phoning your dad.Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen coverOgre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
You build squads of up to five and send them across the map in real time while the empire tries to take towns back.R-Type III: The Third Lightning coverR-Type III: The Third Lightning
You pick the Round, Shadow or Cyclone Force before you start, and that choice shapes every stage after it. Each run needs a plan.River City Ransom coverRiver City Ransom
Beaten thugs drop cash, and you choose whether to spend it on healing, stat boosts or books like Stone Hands. Every street is a budget decision.Rock n' Roll Racing coverRock n' Roll Racing
Cash buys engines, tyres, armour and eventually a better car, and the upgrade loop between races is the bit that decides the next planet.Seiken Densetsu 3 coverSeiken Densetsu 3
You pick three heroes from six before you start, and your first pick decides the storyline and villains. Then at level 18 and 38 each one picks Light or Dark.Silver Surfer coverSilver Surfer
You choose the order of the first set of levels, a bit like Mega Man. Some orders build you up; others leave you underpowered for the hard ones.Solomon's Key 2 coverSolomon's Key 2
Later stages want 15 to 30 moves planned before you start. Make and break ice in the wrong order and the fire stays lit.Star Ocean coverStar Ocean
You control one fighter and set strategies for up to three others. Set them up badly and you end up mashing attack while the computer flounders.Super Bomberman 5 coverSuper Bomberman 5
You choose which stage to play next, and your route decides where you meet the final boss and which of the two endings you get.Super Mario Bros. 3 coverSuper Mario Bros. 3
The overworld map has bonus houses, roaming Hammer Brothers and airships, and warp whistles if you know where they are. You choose the route.Super Tennis coverSuper Tennis
The World Circuit lets you pick your way through a season, four minor and four major tournaments, chasing ranking points to number one.Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together coverTactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Ten units from an army of thirty, a grid of hills and walls, magic that charges before it casts, and if Denim dies, it's over.Tecmo Super Bowl coverTecmo Super Bowl
You can change plays in a team's playbook during a game, and run three seasons back to back, 1991 to 1993.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coverTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Only one Turtle is on screen, each weapon suits different enemies, and a lost brother gets held prisoner. Which one you risk and which you save for the boss is a real choice.Tetris 2 coverTetris 2
Planning a drop means thinking about colour and shape at once: line up three of a colour with the blocks already on the board.Tetris Attack coverTetris Attack
Set up a clear so falling panels land on a match and you get a chain. The next hundred hours are learning to build chains while the stack keeps moving.Wrecking Crew coverWrecking Crew
Mario can't jump, so smash a ladder too early and the wall above is out of reach for good. Get the order right and a chain of bombs earns a bonus.Yoshi's Cookie coverYoshi's Cookie
You slide rows and columns like a face of a Rubik's Cube, and the game is seeing two moves ahead: finish one column without spoiling the next.Zelda II: The Adventure of Link coverZelda II: The Adventure of Link
Healing fairies are rare, lives run out and a game over costs you ground. Level up generously before each palace and the game turns firm rather than cruel.