''Big Brain Academy'' is a series of

puzzle video games Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

developed and published by Nintendo. Similar to the

Brain Age ''Brain Age'', known as ''Dr Kawashima's Brain Training'' in PAL regions, is a series of video games developed and published by Nintendo, based on the work of Ryuta Kawashima. Video games The ''Brain Age'' games, known as ''Brain Training'' ...

series, each game features a number of activities designed to test, measure, and improve the player's mental skills. The first two games were released under the

Touch! Generations is a Nintendo brand used for the Nintendo DS and Wii showing games created to appeal to a broader audience (mainly adults and the elderly) than the traditional gamer. Nintendo retired the brand with the launch of the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, s ...

brand, which has since been discontinued. Each game features a character named Dr. Lobe, the headmaster of Big Brain Academy who acts as a guide for players.

Video games

Each game in the series asks players to complete tests in which they must answer questions or solve minigame-style puzzle activities in order to calculate and measure the "mass" and "age" of their brain. Minigames are designed to test player's memory,

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

, math, and analysis skills, with each one being able to be completed in under a minute. Some tasks that have appeared in several entries in the series include being asked to spot differences between images, ordering numbers from lowest to highest, and repeating a given order. A multiplayer component has also been available in every ''Big Brain Academy'' game, however the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

game only supports local play and not

online multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

Big Brain Academy

''Big Brain Academy'' was released in Japan for the

on June 30, 2005, and subsequently in other regions in summer 2006.

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree

''Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree'', known as ''Big Brain Academy for Wii'' in

PAL regions The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used in ...

, was released for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

on April 26, 2007, in Japan and later on June 11, 2007, in North America. The game utilises the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...

as a pointer device and takes advantage of

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...

avatars and the WiiConnect24 service for online multiplayer and score sharing.

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain

''Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain'' is the first new entry in the series in fourteen years, which released for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

on December 3, 2021. The game makes use of the system's handheld features such as the touchscreen, while also supporting docked mode for traditional play.

Reception

Games in the Big Brain Academy series have received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with the series praised for its multiplayer components and compared favourably to other Touch! Generations franchise

. The first two games have received "Double Platinum" sales award from the

Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) is a non-profit trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Ukie was originally founded as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), and the ...

(ELSPA).

Other media

''Big Brain Academy Board Game'', a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

created by University Games inspired by the original DS version of the game, was released in 2007.

References

{{Nintendo franchises Video game franchises Nintendo franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2005