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[momolicious]

^^ which is better and more fun

 

[Pokeylongo]

I prefer Brain Age. The challenges are just more interesting to me and I feel like my brain gets a workout. I only played the demo of Big Brain Academy but it just didn't interest me, whereas the demo of Brain Age had me hooked.

 

[platypotamus]

I'd go with Big Brain Academy. I like both quite a bit, but Big Brain Academy feels less repetitive... probably due to the lack of the straight math questions.

 

[CreatureX3]

There both great games. Brain Age has sudoku which is a huge plus. Big Brain has a better multiplayer mode. You should get both!

 

[Bendelvio]

I enjoyed Big Brain Academy much more. I felt that Brain Age was hampered by the glass ceiling of the Brain Age score. The highest you can score is an age of 20, which isn't too difficult to attain. However, you can increase your performance but it will never be reflected in your score since you've already maxed out. Of course, you can play the 'games' individually and just get a normal score (based on time, number correct, etc.), but I still felt hampered by the once-a-day restriction. Also, there were a number of games that I just didn't find very fun. There is a game that gives you a list of words and asks you to memorize them. Then the words are removed and you are asked to write down as many as you can remember. That is probably a good exercise if you want to improve your memory, but I didn't find it very fun.

 

[papercut]

Brain Age starts to feel lonely after a while. I'd go with Big Brain Academy (which I played to death until I got ~2100).

 

[PkunkFury]

Definitely Big Brain Academy. If you like the Orbulan style Wario Ware games, Big Brain Academy is like a whole game devoted to this style of puzzles. Plus you can go back and get platinum medals on every game type, which is where I got a hell of a lot of play time out of the thing. as opposed to testing school style stuff (math, reading etc; what you'll find in Brain Age) Big Brain Academy focuses on the stuff school sort of ignores, like visual memory, mental reflexes and visualization tasks

I'd say Big Brain Academy is one of my favorite DS games. Brain Age is nice too, but I found it only average in comparison

 

[keanerie]

Big Brain's games are more numerous and more involving. They're more exciting, and involve less "training" and more "fun." The game encourages you to play the games over and over as much as you want to get new ranks and what not. Brain Age really is designed for you to play it for "minutes a day" (the game only lets you take the "Brain Age" exam once a day), and the games really aren't playable for very long anyway (aside from Sudoku). Big Brain's games can actually hold your attention for more than a few minutes, and are good for people who enjoy competing with themsleves. I like Brain Age more because I only want to be playing this kind of game for a few minutes at a time anyway and the game facilitates that, so it's really a matter of how you want to approach either game.

 

[Swordian]

Brain Age feels more polished and has an awesome Sudoku mode.

 

[PkunkFury]

Big Brain's games can actually hold your attention for more than a few minutes, and are good for people who enjoy competing with themsleves.

yeah, this is basically the key. If you are a high score chaser (like me) than you will love BBA

 

[evilromero]

BBA is brilliant if you think you'd do multiplayer. But BA excels in the single player arena. Both are good but BBA will last you a long time if you plan to play with friends. BA kept me going for several weeks but I lost steam after a while.

 

[Forgotten Ancient]

yeah, this is basically the key. If you are a high score chaser (like me) than you will love BBA

Yup. I only ever did hit about 1750, though

I'm terrible at the coin challenge.

 

[Jiggy]

BBA is better for multiplayer, high scores, more variety in its games, and the ability to be played for hours on end. Brain Age has Sudoku and lasts a greater number of days (though, again, on any one of those days you'd be spending less time playing it than you would BBA).

 

[professor_t]

It seems like BBA might be the better choice for the average gamer, but what about for an 11 year-old girl?

I need to get one of these for my little sister, but I'm not sure which is a better bet. She probably wouldn't play Sudoku at all, if that helps.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

It seems like BBA might be the better choice for the average gamer, but what about for an 11 year-old girl?

I need to get one of these for my little sister, but I'm not sure which is a better bet. She probably wouldn't play Sudoku at all, if that helps.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

From the more playful design, to greater emphasis on visual/sound games, to the non-emphasis on speed-reading Arthur Conan Doyle, BBA definitely skews a bit younger.

 

[santouras]

I found Brain Acadamy to be harder then Brain Training, but if you really want a workout, some of the new games in More Brain Training are pretty evil!

 

[Miguga64]

Brain Age is more for non-gamers...

 

[Juwanna Peezadis]

From the more playful design, to greater emphasis on visual/sound games, to the non-emphasis on speed-reading Arthur Conan Doyle, BBA definitely skews a bit younger.

Speed reading was probably the worst exercise in Brain Age because you could completely cheat on it. They should have at least had a few random questions at the end of each piece to test your reading comprehension which is more important than being able to read fast.

 

[Jiggy]

I'd say Big Brain Academy is even more of a better choice for an 11-year-old girl than it already is a better choice for a standard adult gamer.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

They should have at least had a few random questions at the end of each piece to test your reading comprehension which is more important than being able to read fast.

Ohoho! You say yes, but your prefrontal cortex says no!

 

[professor_t]

Thanks for the responses. I'll go with Big Brain Academy, with a side order of Mario Kart.

 

[jgkspsx]

I hated how "cheap shareware" BBA felt, and didn't think I'd play it for long, but it did hook me. The score challenge was a lot of fun. I still hated about 1/3 of the games. I got it two months ago and am still playing it in short bursts a few times a week. I really wish they'd had a full minigame of the tangram knockoff, those are really fun.

I unreservedly loved Brain Age, though. Sure, the reading-out-loud sucked, but everything else was great. Triangle math was my favorite, though the clock math one was great too. I can't wait for Brain Age 2.

 

[Luigison]

I preferred Brain Age on the DS. The daily exercises and Sudoku make it more appealing as a hand held title to me. Some of the different exercises in BBA may have been better, but I liked the overall BA package and played it a lot more.

Porting BBA to the Wii was a good move though. It's much better adapted for a multi player TV game. BA has a better single player feel.

 

[Haunted]

The presentation and actual tasks in Brain Age were much more appealing to me. I consider Big Brain Academy another version of Brain Age that is supposed to appeal to a younger audience (and nothing wrong with that).