There’s nothing wrong with taking the summer off to unwind and forget everything you learned in calculus, but sooner than you think it’ll be the first day of school once again. While you make the most of your final days of freedom, play some games that will not only satisfy your boredom but also sharpen your mind.

1. Risk

This is my all-time favorite board game. Although, you could easily play three games of Monopoly in the time it takes to play one game of Risk, it's definitely worth it. It's a game of strategy, some chance, and hopefully, total world domination.

2. Scrabble

Refine your literary skills with a friendly game of Scrabble. My family really gets into it on game nights. Words are challenged, points are counted, dictionaries are consulted. But if there's no one at home to play with, you can always use Words With Friends, a wonderful Scrabble-esque app.

3. Alibi

Who killed Brenda? When? Where? Why? How? The answer's always different in each game of Alibi. Use the procession of elimination and deduction to figure out the motive, weapon, location, and murderer. There's nothing like a lighthearted card game before sitting down to a nice, family dinner.

4. Baffle Gab

Baffle Gab is an entertaining game that will really challenge your mind if you play it with the right people. You get five words and sixty seconds to create a story using nothing but your imagination and your words. If your opponents are quick and witty, you'll be crying of laughter by the end of it.

5. Suspicion

Suspicion is a colorful game that will exercise your ever-dropping attention span and fine-tune the strategic side of you. You are one of ten jewel thieves at a masquerade, and you must steal as many jewels as you can and try to expose the other thieves without blowing your own cover. It's more challenging and much more fun with each added player.

You could use the last few days of summer to sleep in and lounge around, but if you try some of these games, you're sure to have a blast and whip your brain into shape.