by Jessica Capelle

Created on: May 07, 2008   Last Updated: May 11, 2008

I was skeptical as to whether I would enjoy Brain Train. The graphics and text are geared more to kids and it appeared to be too basic to hold my interest. But I actually found the game to be fairly challenging and pretty darn fun.

Three modes allow you to customize your game play: Quest, Test, or Practice. Of these, Quest Mode is the most fun. In Quest Mode, you travel between "destinations" where animals charge you with various quests. On the way to completing your quests, you play "mini-games" to earn points that translate into "fuel" for the train to move around the board. The more "fuel" you earn, the farther you can travel. If you play well, you may even unlock a trophy, which is displayed in a special room.

Each game (15 in the full version) tackles one of five types of reasoning: planning, spatial, numbers, search, and memory. Quest Mode is heavy on plot and written dialog with the animals between games. Practice Mode allows you to practice on or off the clock. Test Mode takes you through one timed mini-game for each of the 5 categories. Upon completing your test, you're told how many miles your brain power took the train. Mine was from Vancouver to Montreal, which wasn't as good as I had hoped!

The games are fun and challenging, although too difficult for young children. All the games tend to move pretty quickly, and you have either 60 or 90 seconds to complete each game. Each game incorporates animals and/or a character called Professor Fizzwizzle, who looks like the typical nutty professor. To test memory, you may have to view constellation patterns and then recreate them from memory. Planning skills are testing by fitting puzzle pieces with animals on them into a spaceship. While all of the games were creative, well-thought out, and test on valuable reasoning skills, the games with monkeys are the best ones. My favorite was a fast-paced game where monkeys ran in and out of bushes and you had to remember how many were hanging around. Not so easy with three bushes to keep track of!

I would rate this game a 4. It's a good way to practice reasoning problems for standardized tests or to exercise your brain. The graphics and plot are cute for younger players, although spoken dialog would have been nice. While it is a fun diversion, the limited number of games gives this a lower grade. I don't think I would stay interested and challenged playing longer term.

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