INTRODUCTION

    What happens to us as we move on through our lives after we graduate? What happens to all that knowledge we’ve gained through our days in school? Everyday we are confronted with some of the simplest tasks and many of us struggle because we’ve forgotten the basics. Brain School is a program for Windows Mobile that just may help bring us a little closer to being able to answer quick math and puzzle questions that haunt us all the time. Read on to see if Brain School can help excersize your brain!

SPECIFICATIONS/VERSION HISTORY

    This is program is at version 1.0 – technically as I write this, it’s in final beta. Up to this point, the program has seen about 2 months just in the private beta and I’m guessing many more in development.

AT A GLANCE

Brain School spans 4 years and includes twenty different mini-games designed to be both great fun and an excellent brain sharpening tool.

    It’s funny how a game can be both beneficial for your mind and still a lot of fun to play. As you pass each mini-game they get harder. Not every game are you going to be able to breeze through on the first try – and I’d be willing to bet even if you get past the first level with ease, the next level is going to give you a stumble.

Brings back a lot of memories of kindergarten where we had to play with blocks, figure out which blocks were to heavy to put on top of the stack, and maybe (if you had a really mean teacher) figure out how many blocks we had.

It’s not all about the basics though …

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. As you progress the games definitely get harder. But didn’t I also mention that learning can be fun?

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THE DRAWING BOARD

    As this is fresh out of beta I’m sure there’s going to be bugs. I’ve worked hard (as have many other folks) to catch as many as possible through the beta process, but in all honesty I know we haven’t seen them all. Brain School also has few places where you can expect to see improvement over the next revisions – things like adjusted difficulties, added or removed timers, and things of that nature. Personally – I wish they would simply remove Plastic Puzzle…but alas I’ve been told that just isn’t going to happen. Seems recently I’ve come to find out that I’m puzzle impaired!

PURCHASING

    Right now the only place to get the game is direct from Mastersoft Mobile Solutions. Expect over the coming months to be able to get it from Handango, PocketGear and the pocketnow.com store. Pricing has been set at $19.95.

PROS

• Rapid speed games
• Slow speed thinking games
• Long term playability
• Twenty mini-games included

CONS

• A bit pricey for a simple program
• Truly difficult – you won’t see this one on your eight year old’s favorites list
• Requires that you actually use your brain (although for some folks (like me) that might be a Pro).

Value
Ease of Use
Features
Overall

What
do these ratings mean?

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OVERALL IMPRESSION

    Ultimately there’s a lot of options on the market right now for you to look at when it comes to brain fitness. The problem with a lot of those games is they forgot that it is in fact a game and that games were supposed to be fun. I’ve spent a lot of time with Brain School and it really does bring back that early elementary (kindergarten – 3rd grade) fun while learning feeling. The included mini-games are a LOT of fun, they are a great learning tool, and overall I can’t help but recommend Brain School. You’ll noticed the difference!