I’ll admit: I love video games. From my “first love” Space Invaders, to various Nintendo games in my formative years, to spending hours with my husband playing Civilization on our network, I’m a gamer through and through.

There’s a downside to playing too many games, of course- they’re notorious time-suckers, and if you don’t watch out, can kill your work productivity. But some types of games can help you develop certain skills- and I present them to you here. Also, keep in mind that all these games will improve your problem-solving skills. Ready?

Plants vs Zombies
What it is: Defend your home from hordes of Zombies by placing plants in outside areas of your house.
What it improves: Based on the classic “defend the tower” game formula, PVZ (which is what addicts like me refer to it as) requires developing strategies to ensure the security of your home. When you work with code and programming, security is always an issue- and applying basic security methods learned from the game can help.

Cooking Dash
What it is: Help Flo cook dishes and run several restaurant kitchens against the clock.
What it improves: Cooking Dash is a time management game, so that’s what it should help you with: prioritizing what’s most important, and scheduling your to-do list properly so that you get the most productivity. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Fairway Solitaire
What it is: It’s solitaire with a twist: you’re playing on various golf courses, with wild-shot cards and “clubs” you collect.
What it improves: Most card games help you develop your mathematics skills, and Fairway Solitaire is no different. Trying to figure out how to count how many of which cards are left covered, and which cards to play, can really work your analytical skills.

The Sims 3
What it is: A life simulation game, where you create and develop characters, control them, and develop relationships.
What it improves: This awesomely addicting game is great for improving your micromanagement skills- and, because a lot of the game deals with developing relationships with Sims who aren’t necessarily friendly, it can help you improve your interpersonal skills.

World of Goo
What it is: Use “goo balls” to construct things like bridges and towers, defy gravity, and get to the pipe in the sky.
What it improves: That this game is all about physics becomes obvious within the first few minutes of playing it. Because it has you building across chasms and cliffs, it’s also good for improving structural planning.

What are your favorite problem-solving games?