PLAYBOOKS: FOR THE NINTENDO DS

Mind Quiz

In Mind Quiz, players will be able to improve their brain’s abilities, stress degree, and age by playing a variety of mini-games. Kids will need to think quickly, complete uncomplicated puzzles, and solve simple calculations to enhance their mental skills.

Game play alone results in modest improvements in real-world executive skills. Please refer to our Playbook Tutorial, general coaching and comprehensive guides to transfer game skills to sustainable real-life behaviors.

QUICK FACTS

Game Type: Educational, Puzzle
Platform/Console: Nintendo DS
Number of Players: 1 (can be multi-player)
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
LWK Recommended Age: 5+
Buy Now From: Amazon.com

 

This Game is Good for Kids Who Need Help With:

• Varying routines (flexibility)
• Taking the time to make sure that answers are correct (response inhibition)
• Waiting until questions are completed before giving the answer (response inhibition)
• Judging how long something takes (time management)
• Starting projects on time (time management)
• Making accurate self-assessments (metacognition)

What You Need to Know About the Game:

No reading abilities are required to play this game since verbal instructions are provided along with written directions; on the other hand, score explanations are written and may be difficult to understand since they use plenty of technical terms.

According to the game publisher, Ubisoft, “Mind Quiz” was developed based on scientific research and does not judge scores according to academic ability. Unlocking various mini-games takes a great deal of time, so remember that not all of them will be available on purchase.

Solutions:

No walkthroughs for this game have been found to date.

This Game Can Help Your Kids With Flexibility:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with varying routines because they must:

• Try out new mini-games often. Although it’s not enforced, players are encouraged to play “practice games” to improve their overall brain age. There are four different categories containing a total of 16 unique mini-games and in order to make the most of their training time, players are encouraged to play all types of games each day. Trying out these new games often is good practice for flexibility skills and can help teach kids to try out new routines and activities.

Talking points: 

• How many different types of mini-games are there in “Mind Quiz”?
• How did being flexible help you to practice each of the mini-games instead of just one?
• How can trying out new mini-games help you to readily try out new activities?

Making it real:

Conduct cooking “experiments.” Make a number of varieties of chocolate chip cookies, including those with walnuts, orange rind, or other types of flavored chips. Try substituting ingredients, e.g., low-fat milk for cream in a recipe.

This Game Can Help Your Kids With Response Inhibition:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with taking time to make sure that answers are correct and waiting until questions are completed before giving the answer because they must:

• Not answer questions on impulse. Kids may be tempted to simply jot down the first answer that comes to mind, touch a random spot on the screen, or answer before the question is complete, but doing so can lead to careless mistakes and plenty of wrong answers. Answering questions wrong will lower the player’s score; and this score probably won’t reflect the player’s real problem solving abilities. In essence, sometimes it’s best to just take a moment to think about a question before answering! 

Talking points: 

• How do you know what answer to choose when the “Mind Quiz” host asks you a question?
• How did it help to wait until the host finished asking a question before you answered?
• How is waiting to hear a question before answering like taking time to make sure that your answers are correct before handing in a test or homework?

 Making it real:

• Teach counting strategies to delay actions. For example, encourage your child to count to 5 or 10 before acting on an impulse or answering questions. Get him/her to practice this routine and reward use of this strategy at home and school. Verbally model response inhibition by talking out self-control strategies. For example, state, “I’d really like to eat now, but I want to go exercise, and eating will make it more difficult for me to exercise.” Model daily strategies by stating, “Let me think about that for a minute before I answer you.”

This Game Can Help Your Kids Wtih Time Managemen/Processing Speeds:

This game is good for kids who display difficulty with judging how long something takes and starting projects on time because they must:

• Answer questions quickly and efficiently. The more correct answers a player has by the end of time limit, the better their score will be. Floundering will cause the player to lose precious time and in the end their score will reflect their hesitation. Remember, though, that while it’s important to work quickly it’s just as important to take time to answer questions correctly!

Talking points: 

• How do you know how much time you have to complete a level?
• How did managing your time help you to finish a mini-game within the time limit?
• How can needing to work quickly and efficiently help you to work well under pressure?

Making it real:

Help children develop an appropriate “sense of urgency.” For example, inform your child that there will not be time to engage in a favorite activity unless he/she completes a task within a time limit. Then keep to what you have said. It is important not to overemphasize a sense of urgency, particularly in children who are prone to being anxious or who become overly self-critical when it takes them a long time to complete a task. Having an appropriate sense of urgency can be helpful for children who delay starting tasks more than for children who appear to be working hard but take an excessively long amount of time to complete tasks. 

This Game Can Help Kids With Metacognition

Metacognition: This game is good for kids who display difficulty with making accurate self-assessments because:

• Kids can see some of their progress on the charts provided under their profile. These graphs will tell players how “stressed out” their brain was at different times and what their brain age and test scores were in the past. At length, these charts can help kids to identify and describe which areas they need more practice in and which ones they excel at. 

Talking points: 

• How do you know how well you’ve been doing in “Mind Quiz” (Where does the game keep track of your scores)?
• How did knowing your test scores help you to improve?
• How can using a scoring chart help you to accurately describe yourself, your strengths, and your interests?

Making it real:

• Develop home-based checklists that help children determine how well they have completed a chore or other activity. Use a grading system (100, 90, 80 . . .), and praise the children for accurate self-evaluation. Have them rate themselves as you rate them for the same task.