Brain Challenge HD
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Brain trainer puts your mind to the test, but it's harsh.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this app.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Brain Challenge HD
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What’s It About?
Players input their personal info and select a personal coach avatar. Settings can be used to customize gameplay and, thankfully, there's an option to turn off the grating background music. Players go to Daily Test to play mini-games that include logic, math, memory, or visual games. The app then tells players what percentage of their brain they're "using." The Stress Test option includes a male avatar yelling orders and gesturing angrily when players get one wrong. The brain charts provide data on progress.
Is It Any Good?
Designed after Nintendo’s popular Brain Age games, BRAIN CHALLENGE HD for the iPad offers players more than two dozen brain exercises in Logic, Math, Memory, Visual, and Focus categories. Activities are wrapped up in a simple interface that tracks the player’s progress over time via charts and a somewhat arbitrary brain usage meter. It’s nothing fans of the genre haven’t seen before -- save perhaps the optional and not particularly fun “stress test” mode which features a mean man who berates players for their poor performance -- but it’s both competent and compelling. Of course, the actual benefits of brain training games like these are hard to nail down (do we perform better over time because we’re getting smarter or merely because we’re training ourselves in specific tasks?) but one thing is certain: Simple brain exercises can’t hurt.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Unless your kids thrive on pressure and negative feedback, a la drill sergeant, make sure they avoid the Stress Test mode.
Remind your kids that there are lots of forms of intelligence, and this app measures only a few -- and with measurements that may or may not be totally accurate.
App Details
- Device: iPad
- Subjects: Math: addition, arithmetic, division, multiplication, subtraction
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: logic, memorization, solving puzzles, thinking critically
- Release date: June 7, 2010
- Category: Puzzle Games
- Publisher: Gameloft
- Version: 1.0.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 3.2 or later
- Last updated: August 23, 2016
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Download
Our Editors Recommend
Top Puzzle Apps
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate