Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!

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Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! is a Nintendo DS puzzle game and the sequel to Brain Age. Before you start, you take a Brain Age Check to estimate your brain age on a scale from 20 to 80. A younger brain age means your brain is more responsive. After the check, you can play three modes: Quick Play (practice minigames without scores), Daily Training (repeat a Brain Age Check and play minigames with scores, with your daily progress saved in a graph), and Sudoku (100 puzzles). All the minigames in Brain Age 2 are new, with features like Memory Sprint, and the game has improved voice recognition.

You earn stamps by completing minigames, and collecting enough stamps unlocks new games and features. The game also includes a larger Sudoku engine with 100 puzzles. It was released in Japan on December 29, 2005, in Europe on June 29, 2007, in Australia on July 5, 2007, and in North America on August 20, 2007. A Nintendo DS bundle came out in August 2007. In 2008, Nintendo announced two DSiWare versions that included Brain Age content.

Critics gave Brain Age 2 generally favorable scores (around 77–79%). Reviewers praised the improvements over the first game, though some criticized it for not always understanding written or spoken answers. It was IGN’s Reader’s Game of the Month for August 2007. In sales, the game did well in the US and Japan, and worldwide it has sold about 14.9 million copies by 2013, making it one of the DS’s best-sellers.

While some experts question how effective brain-training games are compared to traditional exercises, Brain Age 2 is sold as an entertaining way to keep the mind active. Nintendo describes Brain Age as an entertainment product inspired by Dr. Kawashima’s work, not a proven scientific test.