If you’re someone who enjoys gaming, then you’ve definitely heard of solitaire. This very popular card game is well known for having countless versions, all with their own unique rules and regulations. However, a not-so-common fact is the mental benefits associated with playing this game regularly.

Solitaire games like Ace of Hearts are excellent for relaxation due to its calming effect on your brain, especially when you’re stressed out. Some of the other psychological benefits of playing this game are highlighted below:

1. It relaxes your mind

Solitaire has a similar effect to meditation because it’s such a low-risk game that you’re able to enjoy the gameplay without feeling pressured. So, if you’re someone who worries often or gets anxious frequently, then playing solitaire would be a great way to calm your mind and put you in a meditative state.

2. It helps you develop winning strategies

Despite being a relatively easy game, no one gains mastery of it in a few tries. Thus, you’re most likely to struggle to win your first few attempts but as you continue to play the game frequently, you’re bound to develop strategies to improve your chance of winning. As you become aware of the right moves to make, this, in turn, improves your strategy and decision-making prowess.

3. It keeps your mind engaged

There are several dangerous side effects of boredom, especially for your mental health. However, you’re never bored once you start playing solitaire. With the numerous variants of this game available, there’s always something to keep you busy and adequately entertained.

4. It teaches you delayed gratification

When a newbie plays solitaire, they are most likely to start moving the cards quickly without a clearly defined strategy and this usually leads to a dead end. By playing this game regularly, you start to discover the importance of being patient and how delayed gratification is important to making the right winning moves.

5. It helps improve your memory

While solitaire doesn’t exactly require you to have strong memory to play, it still involves you storing, recollecting, and processing information quickly. As you continue to play this game, you will notice improvements in your ability to memorize the numbers, colours, suits and sometimes, even the order of cards in the Stock.

6. It is a low-pressure game

There are lots of games that put a lot of mental pressure on players to win—and this high level of competitiveness can often harm your health, especially when you lose. For solitaire, it’s such a relaxing and low-pressure game that the focus is majorly on enjoying the gameplay rather than winning.