Brain Quest: Grades 5 & 6

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Over 6,000 unique questions
• Brain Mode allows kids to jump right in, immersing themselves in fast-paced quiz games, as they answer questions on their favorite subjects - English, history, math, science, and geography
• Quest Mode takes kids through a light, fun story world where they will play quiz games to solve problems
• Kids of all ages can get in on the action and enjoy the brain-twisting fun with Hot Swap Multiplayer quiz games featuring both versus and cooperative games
• The game also features Sudoku specially tailored to kids of all ages, with 4x4, 6x6 and 9x9 puzzles

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001AZ7RHI
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5 x 0.8 inches ; 1 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 22, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,924 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #11 in Video Games > Nintendo DS > Board Games
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Product InformationStaying true to the curriculum-based card deck series Brain Quest: Grades 5& 6 is loaded with over 6000 unique questions developed specifically forfifth/sixth grade levels and can keep kids entertained whether in the car athome or while waiting for the school bus.Kids can win achievements to unlock collectibles and redeem points to obtainthem. These collectibles are then used to customize up to six cool scenesProduct Features Over 6000 unique questions Brain Mode allows kids to jump right in immersing themselves in fast-paced quiz games as they answer questions on their favorite subjects - English history math science and geography Quest Mode takes kids through a light fun story world where they will play quiz games to solve problems Kids of all ages can get in on the action and enjoy the brain-twisting fun with Hot Swap Multiplayer quiz games featuring both versus and cooperative games The game also features Sudoku specially tailored to kids of all ages with 4x4 6x6 and 9x9 puzzles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great if you are NOT smarter than a 5th grader., November 26, 2008

By 

kindred spirit (God's Country) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brain Quest: Grades 5 & 6 (Video Game)

I got this game was on a special deal. Decided I had nothing to loose. It is great and I am sad to say I cannot just snap thru it. I do mostly brain games and have a desire to challenge my brain.

Well this does just that. I'm 53 and I do not get all the answers right. What they learn in 6th grade now is like what I learned in 12th grade. If you get a chance to add it for a few bucks you will not be disappointed.

It is fun in presentation and the questions are complicated. It's not babyish by any means. I am enjoying it. Once I master a game then I sell it back and let someone else enjoy it and I can get another challenge.

Great for 5th grade and up...up to 99. LOL

Have fun.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for College Students + Adults, December 12, 2008

By 

PlusOne "Eschew obfuscation" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Brain Quest: Grades 5 & 6 (Video Game)

Great game, I liked the music better in the Grade 3,4 one. I use this like brain coffee, to get my mind going. It's a great Quiz game that has English, Math, Science, Geography,History, and a "Grab-bag" or pot luck category.

I play in Brain mode, which allows me to select one category and the number of rounds I want to play. Each round is 5 questions. Really nice, for quick & easy playing, say, if I'm waiting for class to start, or at the drive thru at McD's during lunch.

Game play is simple (they just ask you questions in Brain Mode, but it also has a "Quest" mode which is like a story) and not "themed" like the Are You Smarter than a 5th grader series.

Best thing about this product is it has a great depth of questions. I've played the 3,4 and the 5,6 many many times and have yet to get duplicate questions. This game has a question bank that is about twice the size of the Are you smarter than a 5th grader game.

Again, the questions are challenging, getting 5/5 right isn't as easy as you think! --I'm hoping they'll come out with a highschool edition!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brain Quest - Grades 5 and 6 - An Interesting Mix of Brain and Puzzle Games, November 23, 2008

By 

Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Brain Quest: Grades 5 & 6 (Video Game)

Brain Quest: For Grades 5 & 6 appealed to me as a gift idea for the army of little people in my family. The title can be somewhat misleading, and I kind of mistook this game as a take on the familiar game-show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" I think the types of questions they ask in that game show and on the DS game based on it tend to range from a little harder to much harder. This program was apparently really designed as a learning aid for younger kids. It's still a great gift for kids, and here's why.

Other than Spelling Challenges and More, this is one of few such brain games for the DS that is really designed for kids. So if you can trick your kids into doing some school work through this game, then great. For somebody like me, who enjoys playing some of these games with my cousins, nieces and nephews, my attention span waned somewhat due to the types of questions. This is great for kids to play with each other but may be less fun for parents looking for something to play with their kids.

However, there's two sides to that. The multi-player mode includes both versus and cooperative options. The versus games really only makes sense between kids, but the cooperative game may be the perfect chance for you to help your younger buddies through some of the tougher challenges. So in a way, some aspects of this game are very well designed for tutoring.

When I recently picked up Brain Quest 5 & 6, I didn't really have any background with the game series or the educational materials it was based on. I am not a professional educator. So from that stand-point, I can't speak to the curriculum, i.e. whether or not this is really material suited for 5th and 6th graders. What I can say is that testing this out myself and using multi-player (wireless mode) the question difficulty has a wide range. They seem to start off too easy and then harder questions start to get peppered in.

During most of the "quiz" type games, some of these questions seemed too easy. The quest mode is story-driven, and reminded me somewhat of light version Professor Layton and the Curious Village. A quick test of that mode showed that question difficulty can accelerate somewhat quickly. Yet this is not nearly as *fun* of a game. Some of the introductory scenes and story elements seem drawn out to me, but they may be perfectly designed for kids.

I didn't work through the game far enough myself for achievements, but it's cool that they put some in here. Not too many DS games have them. Similarly, I can't really speak to the advertised "6,000 question game database." But over time, if I find a lot of repetition I will update this review.

One of my favorite things about this game is that it can be a great way to teach your kids Sudoku. In fact, this is one aspect even adults might be able to play. For those who find Sudoku grids hard to finish, starting on the 4X4 and 6X6 grids lets you work your way up. Ironically, it seems more like an "extra" in this game. But it's one of the things I enjoyed the most.

Pros:
+ Great idea for a game, making it a no brainer gift for kids 13 and under
+ Nice study aid, covering staples like English, math and science
+ Decent mix of modes and game-play options
+ Quest Mode is like "Professor Layton - Lite" with quiz games and puzzles to advance
+ Cooperative game is great for tutoring
+ The Sudoku game gives you various grids for different difficulty levels, including 4x4, 6x6 and 9x9 grids
+ Supposedly large question base (6,000), but only more time will tell
+ Achievements are included to make long-term play more interesting

Cons:
- Somewhat long intro sequences for the quest mode
- Brain mode has questions which seem to start off too easy, IMO

CONCLUSION

This is a great game to give to your young one, and you may be able to help them through some of the problems via the cooperative mode. As for whether they will pick this game up on their own, it will really depend on their personality. The brain mode is not as fun as Big Brain Academy and the quest mode is not as fun as Professor Layton. So this game is probably light on the *fun* aspect, but you would guess stronger on the learning side.

Like most DS games, the design of this game is well suited for "15 minutes a day" type of play. So give them an incentive and they may very well get hooked on it. And even if they don't like the quest mode, getting the simpler Sudoku grids is a great way to have them build up to the larger standard 9X9 grid.

Enjoy.