Heraldry

Game Description

The emergence of heraldry occurred across western Europe almost simultaneously. Originally, heraldic style was very similar from country to country. Over time, there developed distinct differences between the heraldic traditions of different countries. In this exercise you have to memorize and find the various elements in a coat of arms, with more or less complex shapes, colors and patterns. In addition, a distracting intermediary task intervenes to disturb the memorization process and make it even harder. Let's see if you can distinguish the various shields, tinctures, ordinaries, crests and charges.

Cognitive Function Exercised

This exercise helps strengthen visual memory, spatial memory and visual concentration. Visual memory is a part of memory preserving some characteristics of our senses pertaining to visual experience. We are able to place in memory information that resembles objects, places, animals or people in sort of a mental image. Spatial memory can be considered a subcategory of visual memory because it relies on a cognitive map.

Benefits to Daily Life

We rely on visual memory to remember the details of everything we see. Remembering city landmarks, recalling the logos on grocery products or bringing to mind the shapes of various traffic signs all entail use of this function. Spatial memory, by contrast, entails recalling objects in relation to one another; for example, locations on a map or the positions of stores in a shopping mall. Concentration is involved in both functions since the abilities to store visual and spatial information in memory depends on the capacity to hold a visual display in mind long enough to process and record the details of what we are seeing and experiencing. Concentration is fundamental for a good memory.