Video Games : Brainbenders (Nintendo DS)

Rating: - Fantastic
This game is fantastic. It arrived and I just could not put it down. I have a lot of others like brain training, brain challenge etc but this is my favourite.
Would reccomend to anyone who likes puzzles and brain teasers.

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Rating: - Better than Brain Training!
I thought I would wait a couple of weeks after purchasing this to give it a fair review, and it must be said - this game rocks! It has a wide enough variety of games to keep you involved, with bonus levels and hidden games to keep your interest levels up. Plus it doesn't moan at you for not playing every day like Dr Kawashima! The games stand up well to be played over and over due to the the fact that they are different every time you play, plus there is a random game option for a bit of variety. Definitely a worthy successor (and maybe superior?) to the Brain Training series.

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Rating: - Reiner Conquers the World!
Dr Reiner Knizia is one of the world's foremost boardgame designers, with more than 400 published titles: see Ingenious, Modern Art and Lord of the Rings also available from Amazon. Brainbenders is his first game design specifically for the Nintendo DS.

Brainbenders consists of a variety of sixteen games/puzzles devised by Dr Knizia, and linked by way of a world travel theme. You accompany the good doctor around the world, playing more games as you go. Each of them consists of a basic training level, going up to five levels of difficulty. Every game is located in a city on a world map; initially four cities, and hence four games, can be visited and played. It is through gaining high scores that opens up travel to other cities and their games. Four cities are, to begin with, hidden from play and can only be accessed once a sufficient number of high-score medals have been won.

The twelve starting cities/games are as follows. London: Operators - Balance the accounts at the Bank of England by quick responses to arithmetical puzzles. Paris: Alarm - Set the electronic alarms at the Louvre by turning all the switches to green. Berlin: Enigma - Deduce the correct code combination to activate the Enigma machine. Knossos: Labyrinth - use your dexterity to guide Dr Knizia through the labyrinth, collecting ancient artefacts as you go. Moscow: Match - devised by the Secret Service, your memory skills are put to the test as you try to match cards. Mumbai: Train Spotting. Using security cameras (many of them on the blink), try to keep track of goods train shipments. Greenland: Ice cap. Search for hidden equipment buried beneath the ice. Las Vegas: Royal Flush. Reiner has devised a new style of poker - all you have to do is lay out cards in winning combinations. Rio de Janeiro: Carnival - The famous carnival floats need dancers allocating - better combinations give higher scores. Cape Town: Sea Life - New sonar equipment helps monitor ocean creatures, but you need to count them fast. Beijing: Mosaic. Help restore the ancient mosaics of the Hidden City to their full glory. Sydney: Orchestra - A musical memory challenge.

It is possible to `bank' puzzles so that you can return to them later. There is also a random play mode, which gives you a number of different puzzles at one level, for you to challenge yourself over a longer period of time. And finally there is DS Download play, that lets you pit your wits against another player (no need to purchase a second copy of the game).

Most of the puzzles and games here are designed to be different each time you play - there is no one single solution, and so revisiting a level will remain a challenge for some time. The mix of games means that you are likely to do well on some rather than others - but the real test is to improve on those areas where you are weakest.

Brainbenders is suitable for ages ten or higher (my nine year old niece has few problems on any of the games - but then her brain is more agile than mine). It will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to give their brain a quick workout, and have fun whilst doing so.