Kids always on the XBox? It could be a sign of high IQ

PARENTS often fear their children are rotting their brains by playing video games.

But being good at some of them could actually be a sign of intelligence, research suggests. Those who scored highly in multi-player ‘shoot-’em-up’ games also excelled in IQ tests.

Scientists found the link when they tested 56 people who had played more than 100 games of League of Legends and Defence of the Ancients 2.

They then looked at thousands of people playing various online games, and found high IQ was still linked to skill at the games – but only for multi-player ones.

The York University team said such games require more strategic thinking and memory than single-player ones – just like chess, which has long been linked to higher IQ. Researcher Professor Alex Wade said multiplayer games ‘are complex, socially-interactive and intellectually demanding’.

The team stressed their findings, published in the journal PLOS One, do not show playing computer games makes people more intelligent, but simply show a link between skill at certain games and IQ.