After a summer of rest and relaxation (for some of you I imagine…), it’s time to get that brain of yours whipped back into shape. And Nintendo’s newly shipping Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day on the DS should do just the trick with its 15 new mind-melding mini-game tests and 100 new sudoku puzzles. Best of all, it’ll only set you back $19.99, unless you decide to pick it up in the new Crimson/Onyx Nintendo DS Lite bundle for $149.99.
“The point of the original Brain Age was to jolt users’ brains out of complacency by challenging them with a variety of fun activities,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day expands the benefit and gives you mental tests you’ve never tried before.”
15 new activities include:
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Speak the symbol that beats the one on the screen, but be careful. Players may be asked to lose as well as win.
High Number: Locate the number with the highest numerical value and touch it with the stylus.
Serial Subtraction: Quickly subtract a small number from a larger one over and over again.
Number Memory: Memorize a set of 25 numbers, then write down as many as you can remember in two minutes.
Symbol Match: Examine a key, then write symbols that correspond to numbers as they appear.
Piano Player: Play notes on a keyboard as the cursor scrolls over the sheet music.
Memory Sprint: Follow the progress of a runner as he competes in a frantic race, then write down the place in which he finished.
Math Recall: Math meets memory in this fun challenge. Solve a math problem, then remember the scribbled-out number and use it to solve the next problem.
Sign Finder: Fill in the mathematical symbol that correctly completes the equation.
Clock Spin: Examine clocks that are sideways, upside down or inverted, and write down the correct time.
Word Scramble: Unscramble letters and write down the word they spell.
Word Blend: Listen to overlapping words that come from the DS speakers, then write down the words on the touch screen.
Change Maker: Touch coins and bills with the stylus to make correct change.
Block Count: Watch blocks that fall into columns, then write down the height of one of the columns.
Calendar Count: Solve problems based on the calendar, such as “What day was it three days before yesterday?”