Concentration is the Name of the Game

brainage

Have you found it hard to concentrate on things? Ever find yourself doing several things at once when you only set out to do one thing? Then Brain Age: Concentration Training for Nintendo 3DS is the game for you.

There’s no plot so even if I wanted to I can’t spoil anything. You’re introduced to Dr. Kawashima who is your teacher during all the training exercises.  He walks your through all of the devilish training exercises and explains the other exercises before you try them. Also, each day you train he offers hints and tips on how to improve your working memory, such as memorizing signs you’d see on public transportation during a commute.

The featured activities are called “Devilish Training” where Dr. Kawashima dons horns and reddened skin while he explains and grades you on a wide variety of activities that unlock as you rack up progress and consecutive days of training. to go along with these are several other division of activities that help you train your brain in speed and ability. Supplemental training trains the speed of your memory, giving you timed or scored activities based on how fast you can complete the objectives, and when you’re done your time is logged and matched against the scores of your other attempts or against other people. regular brain training provides challenges for your thinking such as solitaire (named Klondike in the game) and an activity called block head, among others that are unlockable by achieving awards. Dr. Kawashima takes attendance every day you.play the game so it’s close to a voluntary schooling experience and you’re given awards for attendance streaks.

Along with the devilish training are supplemental and standard brain training exercises. They’re not as tough as the devilish training and you’re not guided by Dr. Kawashima personally, but if you take them lightly you’re in for a rude awakening.  The difficulty is always increasing and that’s where you find out what you’re really made of and where you can find and then push your limits, all while still having fun.

Now I can’t speak for everyone, and who knows if Brain Age helps to create any real long standing results, but, after 14 days of this I found myself able to concentrate on things as opposed to being easily distracted by other people or another source of stimuli, and I’ve been able to find new ways to think creatively now that my thought processes are much clearer than the time before I played it.

Even though this is a  learning game there are bound to be times when you make a mistake during your training. The game and Dr. Kawashima don’t beat you down for it at all. You’re always encouraged, even if you have to restart a devilish training exercise because you lose your place, he allows you to restart and gives you kind words and hopes you can finish it this time around. With multiple days of training, you should be able to increase your concentration level, and up your brain activity to keep your brain thinking. Think of what Yoga does for the body and that’s what Brain Age: concentration training is for your brain.

Pick up Brain Age if you feel that you could use some improvements in the concentration department, or if you like to be challenged on a regular basis. Try and play a 5 minute devilish training session and it can easily turn into hours of play time, all while you better yourself mentally. In my own experience, my concentration has already improved after two weeks, I can think faster, and better, than I could before I picked up the game and overall, it doesn’t get boring when there’s still things to do for that day of training, and with new things added every day, I don’t see this getting boring anytime soon. I give Brain Age: Concentration Training an 8 out of 10.


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