Board Games Mindflex

I initially bought this for my stepdaughter because she had been telling me about the "Mindflex" she saw on tv. When I happened across the Dual, I decided on it instead of the original simply because it was geared towards 2 players and we and the kids love playing games together. I was SO SKEPTICAL about whether anyone would actually be able to control the ball, but the game has really impressed me. I read some reviews of people saying they use it for meditation and to improve concentration for kids with ADD. My oldest daughter has Asperger's and had been having some anxiety issues. When she played this game, she was struggling to lower the ball (you are supposed to STOP thinking to drop the ball), so I told her to try pretending to sleep (close her eyes and breathe deep). It worked immediately for her. The next week, the school nurse called saying that my daughter was having a racing heartbeat and was nauseous. I spoke with her on the phone and told her "I want you to drop the ball, just like on Mindflex. Close your eyes, breath deep." Because of her Asperger's, she is a "concrete" thinker and being able to envision herself playing the game makes the difference for her. She calmed down immediately, and she now uses the "relaxation" technique for herself. This game is fun for the whole family. Our kids are 19, 13, 8 and they all love it. One night, my mom came over to hang out with the girls, and they even got her playing it. What a blast! P.S. For those reviewers who say they cannot control the ball (no predictability), that's the problem. The more you try the worse you will do. You need to be able to clear your mind, relax, and focus only and calmly on the ball. If you're angry or excitable, it is not likely to work well. It's a shame to have your Mindflex collecting dust!

This was the hit of the holidays (and at the currently reduced price, it is a STEAL!) After reading some of the negative reviews, this was studier than expected, and the game options work well for both single player and dual player fun. Be sure to check out the instructions for how to reduce the volume level. (The default volume is too loud.) It's amazing to see how different mental states can raise and lower the ball, or push the ball back and forth horizontally. And as others have said, playing with two is fantastic because not only do you need to concentrate yourself, but you can play around with ways to distract your opponent at the same time. Just too fun! It is really interesting to see how your mind can be used to play this game, and one of my kids would add that you can only play for so long because it's hard work to concentrate! GAME PLAY The game "board" is made up of a horizontal track, and along the track travels an air jet which suspends a 1" inch blue ball with a stream of forced air. You wear a headband which captures information about your mental state, and the game translates that into more or less power to the air jet to raise and lower the ball. Depending on the game mode, the air jet then travels back and forth across the board. You can attach various pieces to the game board through which you then try and maneuver the blue ball by changing height and traveling horizontally across the board. With two players, you can "push" each other back and forth with your minds. It's like mental jousting. NOTE This really does require some control over mental states and you get better with practice; the first few minutes or so can be rather confusing because you've probably not done anything like this before. The practice mode in the game really does help, or at least we found it helpful. Hope this helps with your decision making.

Ridiculous. My brothers and I had only played with it once before the machine stopped working. We'd taken it out of the box and assembled it according to the instructions on the manual. It worked fine for the first time we played with it (for about an hour) but the second time I was playing with it alone and had it on freestyle. Three or so minutes into playing, it reset itself, which it's not supposed to do. When I tried to start it up again, it said that it was 'calibrating' but would continually reset back to the main menu instead of commencing with the game. I've tried looking online for solutions and calling Mattel but have not been able to find any help. This is very disappointing as this game is a lot of fun and it's a shame that we won't get to play it just because it's cheaply made and not in the least bit durable. For fun, the game gets 5/5. However, because of the cheap production and expensive price tag, I'm giving this toy 1/5. Might consider revising my rating after I get my replacement.

Bought this for my son for Christmas. It's very cool and was fun for the whole family for a few days, but it was soon relegated to the closet and not seen again. It's not a toy that holds interest for a long time. Given it price, I don't recommend it. A good board game or video game will get a lot more use.

The game is interesting, but as mentioned by others, the music can be annoying. And that taunting voice afterwards... I carefully looked it over and it isn't nearly as tuned in to "brainwaves" or anything like that as I thought it might before buying it. The forehead sensor is, I believe, an EMG (Electromyograph), which is used to measure muscle activity. A simple sensor like this will record muscle tension: the more relaxed a muscle is, the more relaxed the person. Measuring tension in the forehead is a decades-old method of measuring overall mental tension. The earlobe sensor is a simple GSR (galvanic skin response) sensor. This measures how skin allows or impedes electricity to pass through. Don't worry, the electricity used is extremely low and the ear lobe is an ideal placement. It is just another way to measure mental tension. Both sensors are based on consumer biofeedback technology that's been around for decades (I still have a biofeedback device I bought in the 70's that uses GSR with two finger sensors). It would be great if the device really did measure various brainwaves, as do high-end biofeedback devices, but that would be very expensive. Given the low-end nature of the sensors, and the inability to mute the music/voice, I finally decided to pass it onto a family with two very young Mensan kids (I'm a Mensan) who are getting a blast using it. I rated it four stars as I did like it. Just didn't play with it as much as I thought I would. NOTE: My above statements about the nature of the sensors are not meant to be statements of undeniable fact! There's nothing in the manual about the nature of the sensors and I did not run any experimental measurements (other than just using the device) to test my ideas. That means that my opinion of the true nature of these sensors is just that, my opinion.

it is an excellent game different from others, and great to interact with kids. However the batteries required for the game are sometimes difficult to find and it is inconvenient to not have a rechargable option.

I got the Mindflex Dual, cause I was a fan of the first one. The concept is a lot of fun, gives my son another outlet for his ADHD and works great at parties. We got the first Mindflex for my son's ADHD. Now that we have a two player version, him and his friend can play, have fun and it assist with his attention issues. He has more fun with this game than the first. The social aspect really takes it to the next level. He has no shame with this toy, he thinks its pure fun and not assisting with his attention issues. Before he would lose interest after 10 mins, now because of the dual player, he stays at it much longer and doesn't loose interest. I also took it to my weekly card night. Several of my buddies have children, that have ADHD. I brought it just to show and let them know. Well lets say we stopped playing cards and had a tournament with this toy (boys will be boys). With two player version now families and friends can play against each other, and I have to say it makes for a great friendly, fun competition. We also used at family night, and my daughter who does not have ADHD wants her friends to play as well. I highly recommend this toy!

Was fun to HACK and I connect the Mindflex EEG to my Arduino to play around but did not find this to be a lasting 'toy'. My kids (10yrs +) only used it for about 20 mins before getting board since they didn't feel they actually had any real 'control'. It hasn't come out of the box after the first usage. I have since also bought a Muse EEG which has more sensor but cost much more. Once I connected to Arduino + PC - I was able to see that it did in fact show information based on some brain activity but 90% of the reading was based on muscle motion and other brain activity was limited impact on the EEG.

That was a mind blowing game. I paid $180 and got one of the last once available then.. It was sold in retail for $79 but hD to pay top $$$ because J could not find it anywhere.

Lassant au bout de la 3ème utilisation, utilisation maximum de 3 heures, convient parfaitement à des enfants de 8 à 14 ans.

Me parece un juguete más para adultos que para niños en cuanto a la complejidad de las instrucciones y aprendizaje interno… sin embargo a cualquier edad pueden hacerlo. Cambia la Concepcion del mundo cuando tienes esta habilidad… lo recomiendo.

JUNK! stay away!

Purchased for a present. We were all really excited to try it out. But unfortunately for the money spent it certainly was not worth it. Very much a fad toy.