A MSE alternative to a DS Nintendo

Janepig

As afew posters have already said, maybe try some good old fashioned puzzle books. There's a number of "junior" puzzle books to be had in WH Smith and the like, although when I was younger I used to love doing my mother's puzzle books, especially word searches, fit words (or whatever else they get called), logic problems, etc.... Basically the same as brain training but in paper form!

Jxx

mountainofdebt

thank you very much for your suggestions.....knew it wouldn't cost me a nintendo !

Caroline, these tests will be ones that tests his ability to do mental arithmetic /other similar puzzles under almost quick fire conditions (he has been told that that his heart rate and blood pressure is monitored when undertaking the tests ......not sure if the person who told him that was winding him up or was warning but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true!) so paper based puzzles won't really do the job unfortunately.

He will have gone through the mill to get to even this stage so anything we can do to help over this hurdle, will be done,lol (anyone spot the pushy mum,lol??)

*max*

mountainofdebt wrote: »

he has been told that that his heart rate and blood pressure is monitored when undertaking the tests ......not sure if the person who told him that was winding him up or was warning but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true!

:rotfl:Is he applying to MI6?? If he's a school-age kid and that's for real, I'll eat my beret!

rachel6188

theres a game in the xbox arcade called brain challenge xx

shykins

if u are after one for medical reasons (not trying to pry) u could make an application to the family fund who help out families with children with problems and u could certainly ask for a DS for your son#

google familyfund and u will find all the info

loupee

Had a wee look at some of your older post.... Is this for the armed forces?
If so they don't measure your heart rate/blood pressure.
They should also provide a booklet with practice questions, IIRC they get 30mins to complete as many as they can, however not completing them all does not necessarily mean a fail.
To what level, if any, has he already done maths?
If i'm completely on the wrong topic, please ignore.
My OH went through this last year, found it relatively simple despite having never passed a maths exam at school and being 28! Although he is now doing a numeracy course on base

mountainofdebt

Loupee

Wow - think some of us MSErs should work for MI5/6 - we'd save the government a fortune :rotfl::rotfl:

Yes it is to do with his application to join the armed forces - as I said I didn't know if he was being wound up or not but the guy who told him that should know, iykwim. He was told last year that video games were the way to go but I told him to pull the other one......

He's doing A level maths so maths per se shouldn't be a problem
(;)) but I think its more speed / accuracy that is measured - and the tests to a large extent determine what he can apply for (defence cuts permitting )

I think he's talked to one of his mates and they are going to lend him a DS and a couple of the relevant games he needs for the short period of time he's actually going to need it so that with the suggestions we've had should see him through it!

Tropez

Caroline_a wrote: »

Can I ask what sort of vocational tests? i seem to remember that there was some research released fairly recently that said that these so-called brain training toys had no effect whatsoever!

It isn't that the Brain Training series on Nintendo has no effect, but that it has no greater effect than other forms of brain exercise that have been available for centuries, and in some cases, more traditional methods are still vastly superior in improving cognitive function than the Brain Training series. For this reason, there has been a lot of criticism from the scientific community over the way this is advertised, with more traditional pursuits such as sudoko and games such as Scrabble having an equal or greater effect on cognitive behaviour. Furthermore, the old Nintendo favourite, Tetris, has been shown in studies to have just as good an impact on cognitive behaviour.

There has also been no conclusive proof as yet that Brain Training can in any way improve an individual's memory, leading to some rather scathing criticism from experts about the claims made by the promoter's of Brain Training.

All of that said, the game is actually recommended as a possible tool to ward off certain illnesses and mental degradation associated with old age, although by no means can anyone truly guarantee that those who play Brain Training will not develop such conditions in later life.

Studies have shown that video games in general can have positive effects on individuals. First person shooter games have been shown to improve both hand-eye coordination and aid people who have shaky hands associated with various conditions to not shake as much. Real-time strategy games have been shown to improve people's abilities to multi-task and to think on their feet with a greater level of success, as well as improve problem solving abilities.