While shopping for your big and little loved ones this year, why not give the life-lasting gift of cognitive skills?

I am a big fan of games. Games bring family and friends together, use our minds, generate healthy competition and get everyone off of technology for a few minutes. Brain skill training does for the mind what physical exercise does for the body.

Here is a list of board games — parent and teacher approved. These games improve brains skills such as auditory and visual processing, memory, logic and reasoning, processing speed and attention control.

» Color Code stacks up the colors and shapes for 3-D matching fun with 100 challenges to choose from, and four levels of difficulty.

» Cranium Family Edition gives the original great game of Cranium a new way to play together as a team.

» Dabble is a fast-paced word game that will help children and adults develop vocabulary, spelling and quick thinking.

» Zip-It is a 20-second word race you can play and take anywhere.

» IQ Twist will twist your brain with logic practice.

» Perquackey will have you racing against time with this fast-paced, action-filled word game.

» The Geek Box uses reassembling to challenge memory, visual perception and strategic thinking skills.

» Lexogon is a word game that makes you think about words in a great new way.

» Show Me the Kwan is named one of Dr. Toy’s “100 Best Toys of 2013.”

» Scribblish will bring out the competition with imaginative drawings and creative interpretations.

» Pajaggle gives you a new, complex way of doing puzzles.

» Blink is a fast-moving game that will give you quick reflexes and laughter every time.

» Tridio brings images to life in three-dimensional structures.

» Kanoodle constructs two-dimensional puzzles and three-dimensional pyramids in a brain teasing game.

» WordARound is a baffling race to find the word.

» Sequence for Kids is the classic four-in-a-row but with more strategy.

» Clubs wants you to get rid of your cards using memory, logic and strategy.

Any subject, any grade: What is your question for a tutor? Email rae@leadingedgetutors.com. Ask a Tutor runs biweekly.

— Rae Largura is president of Leading Edge Tutors. The opinions expressed are her own.