Common Sense Media Review
By Christy Matte
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun, subscription-based games pricey but engaging.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Peak - Brain Training
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
PEAK - BRAIN TRAINING seeks to keep the mind nimble and fresh by providing a range of games that focus on different areas of brain function. There are seven key areas: language, problem-solving, memory, focus, mental agility, emotion, and coordination. Most of the games are timed. Roughly half of these games are available for users of the free app, but only via the canned daily workout, which varies each day. To help facilitate your practice, it offers a selection of "workouts," which are selections of games grouped together as a theme. Pro users also have access to three calming activities to help relax the mind. Above and beyond the games, there are "advanced training" add-ons, which focus on helping increase some of the core skill areas.
When you start, you'll be asked to provide your name, email, birth date, level of education, profession, and skills you want to work on. Only those types of games appear in daily workouts. The personal settings also allow users to note if they have colorblindness or dyslexia, or if the app isn't available in their native language. As players progress, they can earn badges in a variety of areas and compare scores with others.
Is It Any Good?
Making exercise entertaining, regardless of what you're exercising, is a useful way to keep people coming back, and this app makes use of this idea to engage users and keep them wanting more. This is what makes the free version of Peak - Brain Training so frustrating. Once you play through a game, you may want to try again to increase your score, especially early on as you're just learning how each game works. Free users can play the games in their daily training only one time each, without access to the other games. So, while some people may not mind the limited free access, others will find it frustrating. If these sort of brain games are your thing, the subscription may be worth your while, as these are both high quality and varied. One thing that users will likely agree on is that some of the instructions aren't clear, making it difficult to do well on your first playthrough. These tidbits are doled out in tips at the end, which will be especially irritating to free users who don't have the option to replay with their newfound info. It's hard to say whether Peak - Brain Training really does anything for the health of your brain, but you can be sure that your time spent with it won't be mindless. That's more than a lot of apps can offer!
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about brain health. Why are skills like problem-solving and focus so important? Does Peak - Brain Training seem to address the skills you want to build? What are other things you can do to keep your brain healthy?
Discuss in-app purchases and how/if kids can request purchases from an adult. What are the family rules?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects : Language & Reading : vocabulary , Math : grouping , patterns , shapes
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : logic , memorization , spatial reasoning , Self-Direction : identifying strengths and weaknesses , personal growth , Emotional Development : identifying emotions
- Pricing structure : Free to try ($4.99/month, $24.99/6 month, $34.99/year)
- Release date : April 3, 2018
- Genre : Educational Games
- Publisher : Brainbow Limited
- Version : 4.14
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 10.0 or later; Android 4.1 and up
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
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