Big Brain Academy
© 2006 Nintendo of America
Second in the Nintendo Brain series (the first was Brain Age), this multi-player Nintendo DS title is a series of logic puzzles that require focused concentration. The better you do, the more your brain "weighs" (a tougue-in-cheek measurement of IQ). You start with a pretest which gives you a letter grade and a brain weight, detailing your abilities, and comparing your brain with a famous person. The program then designs a workout regime. This may seem like a tedious, school-like activity, but it proves to be completely addictive. There are five categories of activities and three activities in each category. Each activity starts off easily and then escalates to a frantic race to perform some simple stylus-based action. For example, in "Get in Shape" the goal is to tap the stylus on the shapes on the bottom screen that make up the silhouette. The silhouettes start off simple (squares and circles), but escalate to complex shapes such as a discus thrower. First time players are helped by the blob-like "Dr. Lobe" who tells you what to do with the stylus. The movements are always simple and intuitive, and the activities actually do train your brain, providing a fun, unique experience for all ages. In the multiplayer mode, up to eight people can play to see who has the “biggest” brain, and the results will be displayed for all to see. A demo test can also be sent to another DS. Sample activities include Heavyweight (choose which object weighs more), Sound Bites (listen to people and animals as they make noise, then try to touch them in the correct order), Memo-Random (examine the panels on the top row, then touch the correct one when the panel is replaced by a question mark), Missing Link (look at the red line in the picture on the top screen and draw it into the picture on the touch screen. Watch out! Some pictures will be inverted.) Coin-parison (choose the panel with the greater amount of money), Written Math (read the problems in word form, then solve them by tapping the number pad on the Touch Screen) and Shadow Shift (tap the images on the Touch Screen that match the spinning shadows on the top screen). See also Big Brain Academy Wii Degree, for the Wii, released June 2007.
$20, Nintendo DS
Teaches: "mental training" (logic, math, spatial thinking, memorization)
CTR Rating: 96%