Spb Software House's Spb Brain Evolution

Brain Evolution is a Spb application for mobile devices claiming to jazzercise the mind and improve the player's ability to think quickly and solve problems logically. It consists of 10 different games of varying difficulty that, with diligent practice, trains the brain to think on its toes. The player's progress is tracked in the game so he can see his mind expand right before his eyes.

What?

Spb Brain Evolution is an application suitable for people of all ages to help maximize their brain power by playing 10 simple games regularly. The application is supported by Windows Mobile 2003 or Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC. The 10 games are called Arithmetics, Quadronica, Memorics, Sudoku, Numbers, Minesweeper, Balltracker, Guess Who, Encyclopedia, and Matches. Some are timed games designed to get the player to think quickly while others are strategy games to help him think clearly.

• Arithmetics - a very basic game in which the player solves basic mathematical equations as quickly as possible.

• Quadronica - a set of colored squares is presented to the player and he must find as many like-colored squares as possible that connect to create a larger square. The larger the square and the faster it is found, the more points are earned.

• Memorics - a group of moving colored shapes are presented to the player for a period of time (length of exposure varies by level). After the shapes disappear, he must locate them based on certain criteria such as color, shape, and/or how they were moving. As the levels increase, more criteria is required to locate the shapes.

• Sudoku & Minesweeper - most players are already familiar with these games

• The Rest - you have to discover these games for yourself!

How?

The application uses the games to encourage the player's mind to think quickly and clearly. Some games, such as Balltracker, require strategy and planning, while others, like Arithmetics, require the player to solve a problem has quickly as possible. The game begins by creating a profile of the player's name and completing a diagnostic test called a Brain Marking to determine the initial brain status, which is labeled as Child, Schoolboy, Student, Intern, etc. After the initial status is determined, the player is introduced to 4 of the 10 games, 2 of which must be played to complete a day's "Brain Training." Each game's difficulty increases with consistent play. The difficulty of each game is tracked on a bar underneath the game's name where the last and best results. As the player moves up in difficulty, the more games are unlocked to play.  As more games are unlocked, the number of games required to complete each Brain Training is increased. To judge the player's progress, he must complete another Brain Marking. Progress is tracked in the "My Diary" tab with a graph and a calendar. As the player progresses he is awarded "certificates" and "ribbons" for maxing out the difficulty of a game or completing the entire training in the application.

Figure 1:  Brain Training Menu in Spb Brain Evolution

Figure 2:  A Ribbon Awarded After Dedicated Playing

Form & Function

The application's menus are very user-friendly and easy to maneuver. The three basic sections, "Playground," "Profiles," and "My Diary," are clearly marked as tabs on the bottom of the main screen upon entering the application. The "Playground" is the main section, which is divided into two parts - "Brain Training" and "Brain Marking." Brain Training is where the list of games is located and Brain Marking is where the player's overall progress is recorded. At the bottom of the games menu the player's status is indicated by stating either "Training in progress: X of X tasks done" or "Training completed." The application also gives the player the option of completing more than one Brain Training in the same day. The new Brain Training does not replace the first one, but is recorded in the "My Dairy" section along with the original.

Figure 3:  Brain Marking Tracking

The "My Diary" section has detailed records such as Marking History and Training History for each month. The Marking History consists of a line graph indicating the results of each Brain Marking test over time. The Training History gives a detailed report of number of games played and scores of each game played for each day of the month.

Figure 4:  Calendar of Training History

Figure 5:  Daily Training Scores

In this section a "My Awards" section is also available, displaying each award earned throughout training. Another unique detail of the "My Diary" section is the "Interesting Facts" tab. After each game played, three "interesting facts" are shown to the player, and all facts shown can be found in this section. After a while, however, the application runs out of interesting facts and they no longer show up after each game.

Figure 6:  Awards Earned in Spb Brain Evolution

Figure 7:  Interesting Facts to Learn

The "Profiles" tab is where you can see, rename, delete, and create new profiles. This is helpful if the device on which the application is running is a shared device because it allows multiple accounts to exist separately. In this tab the player can switch accounts without closing and re-opening the application.

Figure 8:  Multiple Profiles are Allowed in Spb Brain Evolution

On the top bar of the application, which is visible in every tab and within every game, has a basic menu which lists various options depending on where the player is in the application. When in a tab, the menu has a sound volume bar and an option to turn off sound altogether, a backlight level bar with an option to indicate whether the backlight is always on or not, the date, time, and device battery level. Although the application gives the player the option of letting the backlight turn off during inactivity to save battery power, it is not advisable considering that in some games the player may need to pause to think and the puzzle will fade and completely throw the player off. Keeping the backlight on may save power but it can get irritating if it turns off. The device battery level is an extremely helpful addition to the menu because if the battery gets too low, the application will close by itself and may interrupt game playing. With an indicator within the application, it is easier to ensure this does not happen. When the player is in the middle of a game, the menu also has a "Stop Brain Training" button that will quit the player's current game without recording a score. This can help the player if he's having an "off game" and completely hoses up his train of thought, but if this button is abused it can take the fun out of the game.

The bar also has a pause button when the player is in a game which stops the timer in a timed game and covers up the game so the player can't figure the puzzle out while the timer isn't ticking. To begin the game again, pressing the pause button again restarts the game exactly where the player left off. The question mark button on the right side of the bar offers information on the goal of the game being played and advice. This information is also shown before any game is played for the first time. The last button on the top bar is an exit button to close the application entirely. The application does save the game exactly where it was stopped so the player does not have to redo any games or start any over.

Figure 9:  The In Game Menu

Bugs and Problems

For a version 1.5 application, Brain Evolution is very well organized and has almost no bugs. In the "Encyclopedia" game, there is a typo in one of the questions.  Also it is difficult to remember the exact location of some areas because it is a small link at the bottom of a tab of a tab, such as Training History - the player must go to "My Diary," then to "Statistics," then follow a link at the bottom of the page. Other than that, there are no real issues with the application.

Ratings:

Usability: A
Built-In Help: A+
Cost: A-
Aesthetics: A
Overall: A

Buy at the Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! store by clicking here.  The cost is $19.99 (US).  Now through July 20th you can receive a 15% discount on Spb Brain Evolution by using the coupon code CFBRAIN

Catherine Fitch
Reviewer
Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! Mobile Teens