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  • $19.99
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Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Nintendo DS)

common sense media says

Get sharp with this fun, smart game for families.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this educational game asks players to do math problems, read out loud, count syllables in passages, and memorize numbers and their location on the screen. Since math calculations are tested, kids need to know their multiplication and division facts before playing. Some of the mental games rely on voice and handwriting recognition technology, which don't always work correctly. This software appeals to both kids and adults, making it a fun way for families to play together.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: Because this software appeals to both kids and adults, it's a fun way for families to play together.
Violence & scariness: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.

More on Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about whether playing mental games makes your brain smarter. Are you learning to use your mind better or simply mastering the games presented? Also, families may want to discuss Professor Kawashima's theory that doing short mental exercises every day keeps brains sharp. Is this game something you need to do every day?

What's the story?

What's the story?
BRAIN AGE challenges players with a variety of Mini games that provide a mental workout. Some of the activities include doing math problems, reading out loud, counting syllables in passages, and memorizing numbers and their location on the screen. The game keeps score of each Mini game and uses that data to show players whether their "brain age" is improving. The software keeps track of whether players play every day, slowly reveals its content over days of playing, and rewards each day's playing with a sticker on a calendar.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Family members, or up to 16 friends, can wirelessly compete in a game of 30 math calculations to see who can solve them the fastest. This competition requires additional Nintendo DS units but only one software cartridge. Players write their answers on the DS's touch screen. Our testers found that the handwriting recognition software was good but not great.

Brain Age makes mental workouts easy because it takes just a few minutes a day. And having Sudoku puzzles to play during down times is extra motivation to stick your Nintendo DS into your backpack, purse, or briefcase every day. Overall, this software appeals to both kids and adults, making it a fun way for families to play together.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Nintendo DS
Not available online
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Nintendo
Released on: April 23, 2006
Price: 19.99
ESRB Rating: E

This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
 
 

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What parents & educators say

4

Most useful reviews by all members

MikaylaaMadisonn
teen, 16 years old
 
This game is soooo cool! I love this game! I play it all the time!

xffanatic
teen, 16 years old
 
S'okay
Its fun at first but once u unlock everything its boring. I like sudoku.

pinkkittyninja
kid, 13 years old
 
Fun at first but you'll slowly lose interest... :L
This is an ok game. It's fun at first, but you'll slowly lose interest. After two months of continuesly playing it, i started to get bored of doing the same things over and over and over and over again. It's just too repetitive, where you do the same excercises every single day. I would only recommend this game if you're somebody who doesn't mind doing repetitive things and likes to perfect something.Otherwise I don't think you should buy this...:L Overall, I rate it 4 out of 5.

zhp7654
teen, 15 years old
 
It's a good game
It gets people smarter. I can read at 9.8 syllables per second. Under 6 is not age appropriate because THEY'LL GET MOST THINGS WRONG!!!! Give it for people 7 and over. I also have poor "Counting Heads" skills, but I'm 12 years, 8 months and 28 days old, so that makes me in ADOLESCENCE, and I am no longer a child, but not yet an adult. Sorry for going off the topic, but It's a good game. My "Least to Greatest" skills are getting better.

puddy
teen, 14 years old
 
A good way to keep your kids brains sharper and smarter

 
Pros and Cons
I haven't read any of the other reviews yet, so I may end up repeating... Overall, the game is just so-so to me. Worth the $20 I suppose but I did expect more. Pros: Ability to save up to four personal data files so the whole family can track their progress. It also remembers things like birthdays and responds to things such as time of day or time of year ("Good morning, the days sure are getting hotter aren't they?"). The challenges themselves are fairly entertaining. And while occasionally it won't recognize things I write, 99% of the time it does. When it doesn't, it is because I was rushing or being sloppy. Cons: Not enough to do! New activities are "unlocked" very infrequently, and from what I can tell, there aren't that many to unlock anyway. So you are basically stuck with the same 5 or so activities every day. And it will only actually record your results for each activity once per day. You can practice as many times as you want, but it doesn't count for anything except practice. Also, my 8 year old daughter has a somewhat hard time with some of the math and other challenges. Another con is that the tips and tricks and other phrases that are shown to you are repeated very often. I wish there were more variety all around.

 
Brain tests are educational and fun
Sexual Content (Not an Issue): None. Violence (Not an Issue): None. Language (Not an Issue): None. Social Behavior (On): Professor Kawashima keeps giving encouragement, even if your scores aren't that great. Commercialism (Not an Issue): None. Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco (Not an Issue): None. Educational Value (On): The game is all about keeping your brain young and healthy.

kittykaters12
kid, 13 years old
 
Good Game
This game isn't my favorite but I really enjoy the suduko and overall it helped me get better at math, which I'm terrible at.

screen
adult
 
Read the book carefully.
Machine needs work on voice recongition. It has trouble with the workd " BLUE ".

cutie7681
teen, 16 years old
 
brain age:train your brain in minutes a day is great!!
brain age:train your brain in minutes a day is great because kids my age can learn things in about 15 minutes! it is also great because there is no bad things in it(like bad words and other things i will never talk about). kids should learn like this all the time at least that is what i think. you should tell ur family members and your friends about this web site because they can write a review and you can read it!

death
teen, 17 years old
 
Brain Age Is Great
Brain age is a fun game that teachs you a lot of important stuff. Yes i know it's crazy to say that learning is fun but in this game it really is

 
A great tool!
You can't call Brain Age a "game". It's more of a tool to help you train you brain (thus the tag title: train your brain in minutes a day). The training only takes about 15 minutes a day. It's fun to have other family members make accounts on the game because you can compare progress. Also, Sudoku is a nice added bonus!

jaxmom1998
parent of 9 and 13 year old
 

nadin
teen, 15 years old
 
i never red a book
i like to tell joks cous i think its the best gift you can give . make pepoel laght and forget there problems

tweedledee621
parent of 9 , 10 , and 13 , 13 year old
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age