Brainbean
By Amanda Bindel,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Varied games encourage creativity if you ignore scoring.
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Brainbean
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What’s It About?
In the fully unlocked version, kids choose from a grid of nine brainteaser-style games. They'll work creatively with words, making as many words that start with a given letter or creating as many four-letter words with given letter tiles as possible. They'll create using colored bricks or LEGO-style blocks, choose the next design in a pattern, or move puzzle pieces to create connections. They'll complete a drawing, being as creative as they want, and think critically to find another word that three given words have in common. Each game lasts 60 seconds.
Is It Any Good?
Creativity can be developed and encouraged, and brainteaser-type games such as those included in BRAINBEAN help with that. The problem is with scoring or assessing creativity, which is even trickier without the human touch, making the scores involved in these games pretty irrelevant. The iPad can't evaluate how creative a block structure or drawing is, so the score doesn't necessarily reflect creativity. Disregard the scoring and play to get creative and take risks. Remote Association, Lost Connections, and Pattern Tiles are excellent choices for developing logic, and Incomplete Drawing is great for encouraging out-of-the-box thinking.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what creativity means to them. How are they creative? What new ways can they find to create?
Use the games in the app to inspire some family-time creative play. Have one person start a drawing with a few strokes and then pass it to the next person to add to it, and then the next person adds, and so on.
App Details
- Device: iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading: vocabulary, Math: patterns, Arts: drawing
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: logic, thinking critically, Creativity: combining knowledge, developing novel solutions, imagination, innovation
- Pricing structure: Free to try, Free (Four games are available with the free download. Other games can be purchased in-app for $.99 each or $2.99 for all four remaining games.)
- Release date: June 17, 2014
- Category: Education
- Topics: High School
- Publisher: Tanner Christensen
- Version: 1.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.0 or later
- Last updated: August 16, 2016
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