Customer Reviews

Mindflex Game

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

If you know the premise of the toy, skip to the second paragraph. This toy takes a measure of brain activity in the left frontal lobe and, based on the amount of activity there, sends power to a fan (high power when high; low or off when low). This raises a foam ball in the air and a dial can be turned with the hands to move the ball through an obstacle course that arrange with detachable pieces.

I read the other reviews. They make some good points. This toy could get boring fast. The headset does get uncomfortable after about 10 minutes. The guy who said that all it does is measure stress is way off-base. He is right that the ear clips are used to complete a circuit, but that is not all this toy does. After playing it for awhile, I can say it responds negatively to stress (i.e., the ball lowers and the fan turns off). I'm basing that off of the fact the fan tended to turn off when I would get worried about it turning off. If it was responding to stress, the power should have increased.

So why am I recommending this toy? Because studies have shown that if you can increase frontal lobe activity through exercises like this, you can increase objective measures of concentration (e.g., amount of time engaged with a task) and decrease measures of impulsivity. And not just for the task where the skill was trained. So a child who got adept at playing this game should also pay better attention in school, likely increase their reading comprehension, do better on homework, etc.

My recommendation is that, if this is something that is interesting to you, you buy this toy for your child and that you play it with them. Set performance goals with them and give them some sort of reward for meeting and exceeding those goals. Start small. At first, get a stopwatch and see how long they can keep the ball in the air. After that, see if they can start to raise and lower the ball a couple of times, then see how many times they can pass it through one of the hoops. And take data the whole time. Chart their data in some way so they can see the progress they are making.

But get this toy!!! In labs where they do this sort of therapy, children with ADHD have shown serious improvement in functioning. Some kids are able to get off meds altogether.

If you want to do a little extra research before purchasing, go to wikipedia and search neurofeedback. There's a good synopsis there with links to some peer-reviewed research at the bottom.

Scott Herbst, Ph.D. (in behavioral psychology)

I preordered this for my autistic son's 14th birthday and was happy that it arrived before his big day. The biggest praise I can give to this game is that it actually SLOWED MY SON DOWN and kept him in place for more than 5 minutes!!! He was fascinated with it and it instantly had him in tune with his speed, concentration, etc. He says it's the best gift he's ever received, and it gave US the gift of time while he actually occupied himself with something for an extended period on his own--thrilling!! He did have a temporary dent in his forehead where the sensor lay, although we checked the headband repeatedly to make sure that it didn't feel too tight. It would be easy for the components to get lost--we'd suggest putting balls and obstacle pieces into a zip-lock bag and returning everything to its original box each time. I think that a toy that can help special needs kids tap into more awareness of their own space and rhythms is a wonderful thing.

Best use: Dynamically! Put it on your friends while they read, do math, watch tv, or try something they've never done before. You'd be surprised what makes some people think and others just space out.

Pros:
-Easy to use
-Ready out of box
-Many fun game types, even though I use "Freestyle" and set up obstacle courses myself

Cons:
-Mine didn't come with batteries
-Fan could be a little quieter but the user doesn't notice after a while
-My cat did not want to wear the headset

Definitely worth the buy. Everyone I know had to try it at least once.

I received Mindflex for my 13th birthday from my mom, I'd looked into it a few times before, and was sure to ask her about it. To start, the packaging might be a bit tricky as the items come in two smaller boxes and the console itself within the large box, stuffed behind the two smaller ones. The headband is in one of the two little boxes, while all the obstacles in the other. All the obstacles are in little bags, but are easy to open as most of them are taped. It is a bit of a pain putting it back due to all the small plastic pieces. There is also included a manual on various subjects, from how to set up the headband or how to play certain games. When I first tried on the headband, it was pretty uncomfortable, but not completely due to the two side sensors. What really bugs you, is the metallic piece or sensor that is found behind the logo on the front part of band, that digs into your bare forehead. But if you put some hair between it, along with moving it to a sweet spot, it shouldn't bother you too much. It's also kind of annoying with the two clips clamped to your ear lobes. Also be sure to make sure that you have the type of batteries needed for the game, because two different kinds are required. So if you want to get to play right away look into that. Finally, after getting used to the controls, I got around to setting up the obstacles. The pieces are made of a plastic that isn't that thick, but as long as you don't abuse them, they'll be alright. The balls are also pretty soft, so you might want to try not to sit on them (which is where the extra 3 come in). The game's pretty fun if you've got patience for that sort of thing. I can see why it might get boring to some people, as it isn't really exciting or anything(like most board games). There are a few different game modes in which you can play, the interesting part being that most of the modes can be multiplayer. But it might not be that exciting, because you're gonna have to share the headband between people, that will take some time to constantly put on and off, and will probably make the players even more impatient. Overall Mindflex is likable if you're for this type of thing, like challenging yourself. However if you're the type of person who finds strategy games not all the great, don't get this. PLUS if you want to buy this just because of the cool tech put into this game, and for no other apparent reason, then don't buy it. The tech isn't all that, and it gets dull pretty fast. It's a bit like an item you've been hyping over, and when you finally get it and the cool factor goes away you don't find it that great anymore. So put a lot of serious thought if you really REALLY want this.

On a side note: My technique for lifting the ball is by singing a song in my head. A downside that's pretty annoying is that the ball falls out of the air a number of times if you move it around too quickly, or simply because it gets unstable while floating.

I think this is more of a biofeedback machine than any sort of game. You only control how high the ball rises and lowers (the pressure of the air stream). Moving it around the ring and through the obstacles is done by turning the knob on the base. Takes a ton of batteries, makes a lot of noise, and some times seems more off in it's readings than it's on. Seems to work backwards for a friend of mine (concentrating lowers the ball instead of raising it). Interesting for about 30 minutes and you probably won't use it again. Lots of small and fragile plastic parts for the obstacle course. The different "games" aren't really all that different. Worth about $30 rather than the $80 they want for it.

I was able to try this at GenCon this year. It took about 5 seconds to learn how it works and then the rest of the 5 minute demo flew by as I was trying to just focus on the challenge. Interesting game to say the least. My only negative is that there isn't any multi-player option. (other than timing each other to see how far you can get in the course in a set time)

This game is merely that, a game. It does not truly measure your brain waves to control the air flow as the game indicates. The headset merely uses your skin surface to complete a circuit and then it controls the fan. Not sure if the headset has the preprogramed routine, or if the base does. I confirmed this function by completing the circuit with my hand (i.e. - Using one hand, I attached the two clips to two fingers and then touched the forehead sensor with a third finger). Now unless brain waves travel through your hand as well, which they don't, the fan in the base began to turn on and off as if though I had it on my head. Thus confirming that the forehead sensor and clip sensors are merely positive and negative connections, and once connected, they complete the circuit and the headset then transmits to the base.

Don't get me wrong, an educated adult will quickly see through the smoke and mirrors and loose interest. But a child won't. They will indeed believe that they are controlling the device and want to show off to their friends. I can also see the educational value for those kids who have trouble concentrating and staying focused. Since they will be in awe of the game, they will learn to concentrate and focus.

Though the game attracted me by the brain wave claim, which it didn't deliver, since I did see the educational value for kids in it, I gave the game to my nephew who was in awe of it as I thought he'd be.

OK, it sounded much cooler than it is in reality. And the picture made it look like it might be challenging and fun. But in reality it's one dimensional. I was hoping it was at least two dimensional but it's not. Let me explain. The toy makes the ball go up and down by "mind control". What exactly it uses, I can't say. Maybe GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) the amount of sweat changes skin resistance. Maybe it actually reads Alpha waves (a EEG reading indicating state of relaxation). But it still only makes the ball go up and down. Everything else is manual. All the trinkets and puzzles involved require you to manually move the ball. Once again, all the ball does is go up and down.

Lame.

The Mindflex is more of a novelty than an actual toy, but for a first generation toy, it is quite interesting. The intent of the "game" is to control a ball through a series of obstacles set up by the player. The height of the ball is controlled by the headset, which measures Theta brain waves - 30-50 Hz electromagnetic waves associated with concentration. The more you concentrate, the stronger the Theta wave signal and the higher the ball is elevated by the console fan. When trying to control the ball, there is a noticable 2-3 second lag in response time. This is most likely due to the long sampling time required to measure such a low frequency signal.
The thing that makes this toy revolutionary is the "dry" EEG sensors in the headset. EEG/EKG sensors have been around for years, but they usually require some type of conducting gel (i.e. medical goo) to ensure good electrical contact with the skin. The sensors Matel use were developed by NeuroSky. These sensors are small metal devices which connect to the ear lobes (providing an electrical reference) and a single sensor at the forehead (the control signal). While the sensors may be revolutionary, they make the headset very uncomfortable to wear. Wearing the headset more than 5-10 minutes will result in a headache as the metal sensor digs into your forehead.
All-in-all, the Mindflex will provide a few hours of entertainment, and then finds its way to the back of your shelf. Even so, the $80 list price is worth it for those who want to get their hands on the lates in toy tech.

This game is a lot of fun for about ten minutes. That's it. It is a neat conversation piece. Everyone wants to try it once, but the novelty of it wears off really fast. Also you have to snap little plastic pieces on to the track, and its is really easy to break them.