Do people make fun of you because you have big muscles and a tiny brain? Tired of your girlfriend cheating on you with guys named Poindexter and Einstein? Have you ever used the word “pwned”? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you need to make an appointment with Professor Ryūta Kawashima and his amazing new system, guaranteed to crank up your cranium and magnify your medulla oblongata. With Brain Age for the Nintendo DS, you can boost your brain power by playing simple games designed to work out your head in only minutes a day!
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Skeptical Consumer: “Sure, it sounds great, but how does it work?”
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Based on Professor Kawashima’s research at Tokyo University's Centre for Collaborative Research on Future Technology, Brain Age is designed to activate your prefrontal cortex: the logic and calculating part of the brain. Like any muscle, the prefrontal cortex grows stronger with regular use. There are 14 games total, but you’ll have to unlock most of them by earning stamps for playing at least one game each day.
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When you first turn on the game you’ll want to start by taking a Brain Age check. This consists of simple and fun games designed to measure how fast your brain is working. One game involves calling out the color of a word that flashes on the screen. This game is more difficult than it sounds, as some of the words spell out things that trick you. There are also games of memorization, hand/eye coordination and simple math. At the end, you’ll get a grade from 20 to 80 with 20 being the best score. Being unfamiliar with the games and how they’re played, I scored a 65 on my first few tries.
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Fitness Guru: “I’ve done almost every exercise known to man from weight training to yoga and I still can’t score higher than a 650 on my SATs. What kind of workout program can I expect from this game?”
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Now that you know how stupid you are, it’s time to hit the games and work out that brain. Some of these games are disguised math exercises; most, however, don’t bother to disguise it. For example, in one game you have to figure out the difference in time between two clocks. In another game you just answer 100 simple math problems. It’s not the most fun I’ve had with my DS, but it’s nice to watch yourself improve at something that will actually be useful in life, instead of learning how to step on flashing arrows like I normally do.
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To keep you on your toes, the game will occasionally present you with surprise challenges, like drawing things from memory or writing down what you ate for dinner last week. If more than one person has a file on your game, you can even compare your answers to theirs. You can also compare your progress in each game on graphs. It makes for interesting conversations, which the game tells me is also good for my brain.
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After a hard day of working out the ol’ noggin, you’ll want to relax. And what better way to relax than stepping into the hot tub and melting away into a stimulating game of sudoku.
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If you’re not familiar, sudoku is like a crossword puzzle with numbers. It’s surprisingly simple and easy to pick up, but can be as addictive as Tetris. There are over 100 sudoku puzzles programmed into the game for you to have fun with when not exercising. It’s the most fun thing to do in this game and makes it worth bringing along on trips longer than 10 minutes.
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Everything about this game is unusual, from its purpose to how it’s played. Not only do you have to speak and write in answers, but you hold the DS sideways while doing it. The complete reliance on this kind of control makes the game accessible to anyone, especially those who don’t otherwise play games. That doesn’t mean it’s without its difficulties. Several glitches may cause you to get frustrated with the games, especially when your doing good for the first time at the Stroop Test, only to get stuck because the game can’t recognize you saying “blue” without using a Belgian accent.
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Super Intelligent Gorilla: “Astounding! I used to spend my days running around the jungle throwing my own feces. Little did I know that training my brain would be so simple, even I could do it. Cheerio, Dr. Kawashima!”
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So, bottom line, does Brain Age make you smarter? Well, after playing it daily for over a month now, the game’s graphs show that I have improved in nearly every game. I’ve also noticed a distinct improvement in my mental awareness. I can’t levitate rocks with my mind yet, but I’m sure that will come with time.
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It’s important to note that results came after I played daily for a month. To actually get something out of Brain Age, you have to use it every day, unlike the treadmill that’s collecting dust in your basement. This can be problematic for some, because Brain Age was designed with function before form and thus the games aren’t really a draw on their own. It’s best to think of Brain Age as a purchase of a piece of exercise equipment and not a toy. Still, it’s certainly more entertaining and universally accessible than any other piece of equipment on the market today. And, at the price of $20, you would be remiss to pass this title up. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m about to break my personal record and bench press 100 quadratic equations.
