Post Description

Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition for the DS is the latest instalment in the Brain Trainer series. Focussing on Maths it’s aimed at 7 – 11 year olds and is intended to help them get a little more nimble and flexible in the mental maths department. Does it work? Find out with our Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition review.

Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition has been released by Avanquest with the aim of delivering mental puzzles and maths in a friendly but educational manner. As with previous Brain Trainer games you need to gain points, by successfully completing challenges, in order to unlock further games and challenges.

How to create the perfect Maths quiz for kids

Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition includes a number of different games, Mystery Number, where your child needs to fill in the missing number to complete the sum, True or False, which is a pretty quick-fire game of mental arithmetic, Mirror, which forces the player to draw symmetrical shapes using the stylus, while Dominoes is an onscreen version of the game that forces you to match the corresponding numbers.

In Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition there are three different difficulty levels and there is a nice narrative to the game based around the captured inhabitants of Rodentown. You get to play Newton, a rat who didn’t get caught who must help the others escape from the mad scientist Count Ratatrax’s lab. In order to do this you need to get your Maths up to scratch. That’s right, there are 15 puzzles and games that need to be played before you can hope to beat the mad scientist.

So much for the background, what’s Junior Brain Trainer Maths Edition actually like the play? The games are a mix, with Domino and Mystery Number being slightly harder than the others but the pay-off here is that they’re the most fun to play. I asked my daughter, who is much more the target audience what she felt and her favourite was True or False, as the countdown and urge to beat your last school is most evident.

You child can set the difficulty to match their age but once they get to grips with the game there is no reason why they shouldn’t try stretching themselves and opting for a higher setting. The graphics aren’t the most exciting around but the cartoony style suits the game well. That said, you do get the feeling it’s aimed more at younger users than 11 year olds.

Verdict: 15 decent games that will test and, in some cases, vex your child but all for the greater good. We found it an enjoyable way to add Maths to a car journey without the dreaded word ‘homework’ being mentioned.