Whether you’re taking a break at your desk or simply looking for amusement during a lazy day at home, these five visual puzzles will give you the mental pick-me-up you need.
This set of puzzles, originally shared by Wake Up Your Mind, invites you to contemplate a series of letter-filled boxes containing rows upon rows of the letter J. Yet, somewhere hidden among them is a solitary letter I, and finding it, as you will see, is not always an easy task.
To test your observation skills to the max, there is an added challenge; can you solve each puzzle in under 10 seconds? Use a timer, and then scroll down to try each puzzle individually. Can you find the I in under 10 seconds? Give it a try.
The solutions to all 5 puzzles are posted at the bottom.
Starting simply with just four short rows of Js, you may find this puzzle is easy to complete in under 10 seconds. But be careful it doesn’t lull you into a false sense of security!
The puzzles get increasingly trickier from here; are you up for the challenge?
Puzzle number 2 also employs just four rows of Js, but this time, the rows are longer. See if it takes you any longer to locate the odd letter out than it did in the first puzzle.
In puzzle number 3, there are five rows of Js but still just one inconspicuous I nestled within the sea of letters. Remember to put 10 seconds on the clock before proceeding.
As the difficulty level increases, there are now five rows and even more Js than before. Do you have the eye power to find the I within the crowd? Put 10 seconds on the clock and see how your time is affected by the increased difficulty level.
The final challenge in this brain-boosting series is the hardest. If you have sailed through the puzzles so far, let’s see if we can put your observational capacities to the test once more.
How did you fare? Did you find all five hidden Is, and did you do it in under 10 seconds each time? The solutions to all five puzzles are posted below:
According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, in order to pay attention, a person needs to be able to do three things: identify and focus upon the most important item in a complex environment, sustain attention on this item while monitoring related information and ignoring distractions, access memories and stored information that are relevant to the current item, and shift attention quickly when new information is presented.
Puzzles such as these, puzzles that train the brain to focus, observe, and sustain attention on a fixed stimulus for as long as it takes to solve a problem, are perfect for fine-tuning the invaluable skill of paying attention.
Students, children, adults, the elderly, or anyone in a profession that demands their focus can benefit from brain-boosting puzzles. If you enjoyed the challenge, consider sharing these five puzzles with friends and family and enjoy increased brain power together!
