Lost Mind of Dr. Brain, The

$34.95, Windows CD-ROM, Mac CD-ROM

Teaches: logic, language, spatial reasoning, music, memory

CTR Review

Nine cleverly designed puzzles stretch logical thinking skills in new ways. Dr. Brain has accidentally transferred his brain into his laboratory rat. It is only through solving puzzles that children can help retrieve it. In one activity, players steer different color marbles through a track by re-directing the angles of the joints. In another, they reconstruct a two-dimensional cube while rotating it for different views. Kids also learn about the concept of routines and subroutines in a computer programming activity, unscramble musical tunes and learn how to finger spell by racing a clock. Each puzzle has three difficulty levels, and kids sign in so that progress is saved over time. Testers loved both the playful theme and the addicting tasks required by the puzzles. The program was inspired by Howard Gardner's seven intelligence areas, as interpreted by Dee Dickinson, an educational consultant to Sierra. Testers loved the program. One mom nicely sums up the program strengths. "It was a fun way to learn about your own learning. The tasks are challenging, fun and do-able."