Scottish Education Minister backs Brain Training games - they help children learn...

The education secretary said: "We need to embrace new technologies and tap in to all the resources available to us to ensure that our young people develop successfully in a modern society, within which computers are so important."

Give Your Mind A Mental Work Out With Puzzle Video Game Brainiversity 2

3 Blokes Studios, one of Australia’s leading casual and social games companies today announced that their new brain training game, Brainiversity 2, is available for Windows computers for USD $19.95.

Brainiversity 2 is a brain-training game designed to stimulate your brain and keep the mind active with 24 different games covering Language, Math, Memory and Analysis.

“Fans of the original Brainiversity, as well as new players, will love the sequel,” said John Passfield, Chief Creative Bloke of 3 Blokes Studios. “We’ve created a bunch of brand new games that will give people a mental workout in a fun and engaging way.”

Brainiversity 2 also includes numerous trophies to earn, a fun avatar system and a Daily Exam mode that records your daily workouts – the results of which are viewable on a monthly chart.

Your host, Edison, will keep you informed of your progress, make jokes, give you fun facts and let you know if someone famous was born on the day you are playing.

A Mac and iPhone version will be released soon.

For more information on Brainiversity 2 visit: www.brainiversity.com

Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima game comes to iPhone and iPod touch

World-famous brain training guru Dr. Kawashima lands in the App Store

Fans of Apple's iconic iPhone and iPod touch are finally able to use their favourite gadgets to mentally roll back the years thanks to Namco Bandai Networks Europe. The mobile gaming leader has today launched Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima, founding father of the brain training gaming genre.

The game, which is published by Namco Networks America Inc, is specifically developed to to take full advantage of the iPhone/iPod touch platform, is available to download from the App Store immediately and introduces a range of challenging games, scientifically proven to test and enhance the performance of different areas of the brain.

Barry O'Neill, President, Namco Bandai Networks Europe commented, "It's not often that Apple aficionados have to play catch-up but the 27 million users of Dr Kawashima's various brain training platforms are testament to the rise of this genre of casual gaming. We look forward to seeing how iPhone and iPod touch users rank against others who are already using Dr. Kawashima's approved brain training games on the move."

Namco Bandai has also simplified the process allowing Apple users to get their brain training fix. iPhone/iPod touch users can upload their brain age to the Global leaderboard and compete with the best brains in the world. They can also compare test scores with friends on Facebook, tracking their progress against the people who really matter. The Facebook application also offers a free "light" version of the game to let Facebook addicts test their mental muscle before embarking on their mobile training programme.

The puzzles and games featured in Brain Exercise have all been supervised by Dr. Kawashima at Japan's distinguished Tohoku University to certify their brain-enhancing credentials. Users can test their brain age and track the progress of their daily training regime through a calendar. Over time, gamers can enhance brain age and unlock new games as rewards for completing different stages. A full Sudoku game with bonus levels has also been included to help raise a mental sweat.
Brain Exercise has also ensured that brain training is no longer a solo sport. A new challenge mode allows up to four players to pit their neurons against each other by playing on one device.

To see the game in action, check out the videos attached! To see Brain Exercise and more Namco Bandai Apps Store games click here Check out Brain Exercise on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Bebo

UK: £3.49 Europe: €4.99
US: $5.99

'Kenken: Train Your Brain!' released on Apple's iPhone

The next generation puzzle craze has made its way to the iPhone. Popularized by famed puzzle master Will Shortz and created by Tetsuya Miyamoto, KENKEN is a simple concept that’s entertaining, engaging and addictive.

• Puzzles serialized in top U.S. dailies including The New York Times.
• The evolution of sudoku.
• Puzzles designed by creator Tetsuya Miyamoto’s puzzle team.
• Varying complexities of puzzles.
• Interactive tutorial to help new players with the basics.
• Stunning graphics to capture the players’ imaginations.
• Over 250 different puzzles.

Acclaimed 'Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima' coming to PC users with 'Games for Laptop' and PC Release

Namco Bandai Games Europe S.A.S today announced the forthcoming launch of Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima, the latest game from the popular brain training series supervised by prominent Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Kawashima. Filled with all-time favourites intended to stimulate different parts of the brain and keep minds active, Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima will be available on PC DVD-rom and ‘Games For Laptop’ mini-DVD at retailers in Europe and PAL regions from 29 May 2009, and will also be available for digital download at the Atari store by visiting www.atari-store.eu.

The development of Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima was supervised by Dr. Kawashima, the renowned Japanese neuroscientist whose revolutionary brain training technique was made popular through the acclaimed Brain Training series on Nintendo DS and mobile phones. Dr. Kawashima’s belief is that our brains, just like our bodies, need regular exercise to stay active and healthy.

In today’s busy society, it is important to spare a few moments every day to give our brains a workout and fight against the natural decline of their abilities. Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima for PC and ‘Games for Laptop’ lets busy people who spend the majority of their day in front of computers enjoy a mental workout when travelling, during a break at work or on the sofa at home. Now there is no excuse for not keeping our minds in great shape!

Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima consists of 36 quick mini exercises divided into three colour-coded categories to train the three main lobes of the brain – frontal, parietal and temporal – through simple arithmetic, memory games and puzzles. The highly intuitive games are played using the mouse to point and click or simple keystrokes. Progress can easily be tracked by viewing the results charts, and can be shared on the official website at www.brainexercise.eu for worldwide ranking.

Dr. Kawashima, the ‘brains’ behind the best-selling and influential Brain Training series on Nintendo DS and mobile phones, oversaw the development of Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima. NAMCO BANDAI Games now broadens the appeal of the acclaimed series by bringing Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima to anyone who spends time in front of a computer with the new ‘Games for Laptop’ mini-DVD format ideal for laptop use on the move. Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima will be available on PC DVD-Rom and ‘Games for Laptop’ mini-DVD at retailers in Europe and PAL regions from 29 May 2009, and for digital download by visiting the Atari store at www.atari-store.eu.

Brain Training for Dummies PC video game

Boost your brain power with Brain Training For Dummies for the PC. Sharpen your intellect with brain-building games that are fun and challenging. These games aim to help increase your reaction time and improve your memory. You can also track your progress with the interactive Brain Gauge that shows how smart you've become!

Key features

• More than 350 puzzles to play.
  
• 15 interactive games to strengthen your brain power.
  
• Test for 6 skill sets: Math, Language, Spatial, Logic, Reflexes & Memory.
  
• Interactive lessons for each game allow you to play while you learn.
  
• Play and progress at your own pace with practive and play modes.
  
• Progress through muliple difficulty levels.
  

Namco Bandai invites Facebook users to compete in Brain Olympiad

Leading mobile game publisher, Namco Bandai Networks Europe, has today offered mobile users both young and old a new, fun and competitive way of improving their mental agility. More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima, introduces a whole new range of challenging games officially tested by Dr. Kawashima, and proven to stimulate different parts of the brain (temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and frontal lobe) to keep the mind awake and active. In a move which promises to inject the genre with a new competitive streak, users of the game can also upload their More Brain Exercise™ scores to an online ranking system and compare their results with other brain training addicts around the world. Facebook users can also track their ranking and represent their country in the Facebook Brain Olympiad, also announced today.

More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima features fifteen new brain training games, five of which are used to measure brain age, as well as bonus games and additional functionality. Users can choose to evaluate their brain age, follow the daily brain training programme, or play additional games from the brain training selection. Up to three different profiles can be stored in the game so users can challenge their friends to compete using the same handset.

As a bonus feature, More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima features a selection of Sudoku puzzles for players to enjoy on the move.

Users of the game can track their progress by regularly re-testing their brain age and the game will also rank them as anything from a cell to the universe (the larger the object, the better), passing by dog, human, giraffe and dinosaur to name just a few in between. Full profile information is recorded on the handset, including the user’s highest rank and statistics showing frontal, temporal and parietal lobe performance over days and weeks of training.

To celebrate the launch of More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima for the mobile platform, Namco Bandai has also developed a More Brain Exercise web site, viral game and Facebook application. The online More Brain Exercise brings a selection of four brain training games to internet users, allowing them to compare their scores with others and undertake a limited brain training programme. For those who are bitten by the training bug, links from the online game will allow users to purchase and download the full mobile version of the game* direct to their handset. More details can be found at www.morebrainexercise.com.

“It’s around this time of year that many of us start to make resolutions to improve our health and wellbeing,” commented Barry O’Neill, President of Namco Bandai Networks Europe. “Many people will sign up for a gym membership but neglect their brains. This game will allow users to raise a mental sweat to truly get in shape for 2009.”

The global rankings and Facebook application will also add a new dimension to the brain training genre. “We are calling on gamers’ competitive spirits and aim to make brain training a community and social activity,” added O’Neill. Users of the game can invite friends to try the online or full mobile game and sign up to compete in the Facebook Brain Olympiad. “Brain training has captured the public’s imagination, bringing mobile gaming to a much wider audience than hardcore games could ever reach,” concluded O’Neill. “With the Olympiad, we are simply taking this training one step further and recognising those mental ‘athletes’ who have gone for gold.”

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Brain Exercise game for your mobile...

Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced the availability of Brain Exercise across US national carriers. This game is scientifically proven to stimulate the brain and challenges players with a seemingly endless supply of fun and addictive puzzlers.

“Namco Networks is all about delivering fun, quality games,” said Scott Rubin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Namco Networks. “Brain Exercise makes training your brain fun. It tracks players’ daily and monthly progress, which makes it hard to put down.”

Namco’s Brain Exercise, which has been a top seller in Europe and Japan, is officially tested by Dr. Kawashima, the man behind the original brain training game on the Nintendo DS. With 10 fun, cranium-crunching categories involving memory, logic, calculations, visual and spatial perception, this is one exercise regime players will want to stick to. Brain Exercise’s categories are:

• Memory – Flashes a sequence of lights and asks the player to press the corresponding keys to match the sequence
• Arithmetic – Delivers simple arithmetic questions
• Rock, Paper, Scissors – The player is instructed to win, lose or draw against an opponent
• Inverted Numbers – Asks the player to input the numbers on the screen
• Predominant Numbers – Has the player identify which number appears the most in a crowded screen of numbers
• Red Minus Blue – Tests the player’s ability to calculate a sum based on blue negative numbers and red positive numbers
• Shape Construction – Challenges the user to create the target shape out of combining others shapes
• Answer the Question – Displays a target colored shape and ask the player to count the number of shapes matching the displayed target
• Rolling Shapes – As a shape rolls, the player determines the final orientation of the shape
• Follow the Pencil – Has the player predict which goals the pencils will reach

Brain Exercise keeps players’ minds awake and active with a personal coach who keeps you focused and on track as you compete in one of three modes—Brain Training, Brain Age and Practice. In Brain Training Mode, players participate in a daily training regime with three mini-games to stimulate different regions of the brain: the temporal, parietal and frontal lobes. Brain Age Mode tracks the player’s progress with in-depth stat tracking as they work their way towards a younger and sharper brain. During Practice Mode, players can play as many mini-games as desired without the results counting towards your daily training.

Cranking up your cranium with Brain Exercise has wide appeal and is perfect for the casual mobile audience with simple and intuitive controls. It offers a whole-brain workout packed in a mobile phone for instant training anywhere. Brain Exercise offers both a quick exercise break and hours and hours of fun with randomly generated puzzles.

For more information on Brain Exercise or other mobile games by Namco, please visit www.namcogames.com.

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Brain training improves kids maths

Playing a daily computer game has helped a class of primary school children improve their maths and concentration, a study says.

The children played the game every day for 10 weeks with "dramatic" results.

A class from the Dundee school took part in the project to show how computer games can enhance and build on classroom learning.

It is now hoped the resource can be used more widely across schools in the Scottish city.

The 30 children from St Columba's primary school - all aged nine and 10 played Dr Kawashima's More Brain Training game on a Nintendo DS console every morning before lessons for about 15 minutes.

More from the BBC

Brain Age 2: Training in Minutes a Day! Nintendo DS

Get ready for a totally new way to enjoy your free time.

Give your brain the workout it needs
Exercise is the key to good health both for body and mind - and now, with the Brain Age games, there's a way to make mental exercise fun, even competitive. Just minutes a day, that's all it takes to challenge your mind and, with Nintendo DS portability, you can play Brain Age at work, on vacation, or anywhere your day takes you.

Fun pick-up-and-play activities
Brain Age's intuitive gameplay makes brain training easy for everyone. Train across fifteen activities. Solve simple math problems, recite piano songs, play a challenging version of rock, paper, scissors, and test your memory skills in the classic game, Concentration. You'll love your mental workout!

Play Sudoku!
When you're done with training for the day, try your hand solving 100 Sudoku puzzles! The Nintendo DS's Touch Screen makes writing the numbers a snap.

Visit the Brain Age website