IQ Building Fun with Brain Cheeser from SmartGames

In full disclosure, I was provided with the Brain Cheeser game from SmartGames in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is also included.

Are you looking for a fun AND educational game to keep your kids entertained when traveling?

SmartGames has just the game for you! Brain Cheeser is fun logic game for kids ages 6 and up. It’s small size and magnetic puzzle pieces makes it perfect for long car rides, waiting in the airport and during plane rides. Brain Cheeser is also a great game to play in your hotel room at night or by the fire during a camping trip. Kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they are boosting brain development!

As you read in my review of IQ Twist, I am a big fan of any game or toy that involves “IQ Building Fun!” It is so important for children to enhance their cognitive skills especially when playing games. Building skills such as strategic thinking, visual discrimination and spatial organization can help children be more successful in school and in life.

How do you play Brain Cheeser?

First, clear the board of the cheese and mice. Next, choose from one of the 48 challenges ranging in difficulty from starter to master. I recommend starting from the beginning and working your way up. Once you have chosen your challenge, place the pieces on the board exactly as they are in the picture. To solve the puzzle, you must place all the cheese pieces back on the board making a full square with the mice peeking through the holes.

Sounds easy right? Well there are some rules you must follow which makes it trickier and more exciting:

• The cheese pieces cannot overlap any mice or the edge of the grid.
• You can create empty holes, but you cannot have half holes on the inside of the board.
• Half holes are only allowed on the edge of the board.
• There is only 1 solution for each challenge. (Solutions are located in the back of the booklet)

From the second we opened Brain Cheeser we were hooked. My boys had so much fun solving each challenge and were so happy when they were able to complete it successfully. My boys even worked nicely together to solve each challenge. I have to admit, that I continued to play after they went to sleep. The more difficult challenges are perfect for adults who love solving puzzles to unwind after a long day or for those who just love logic puzzles.

Like all the games that Mommy University reviews, Brain Cheeser has so many amazing brain building benefits for children (and adults). It allows for academic and cognitive growth which leads to greater success in school, work and daily life.

4 Cognitive Skills Enhanced by Playing Brain Cheeser:

Visual Discrimination

In order to decide which piece of cheese fits in each empty spot, kids much visually discriminate between each shape and open space. This involves paying attention to details and maintaining focus. They have to carefully look at each piece to identify the differences and similarities. Visual discrimination is an important skill needed for academic progress. It also leads to the use of process of elimination which is a great problem solving skill.

Visual Scanning

Kids must carefully scan the game board to decide what pieces best complete the challenge. Scanning involves visual memory as you have to remember what you saw on the top of the board by the time you get to the bottom in order to decide what pieces are needed and where they should be placed. Visual scanning is an important skill needed for reading and math growth.

Problem Solving

Brain Cheeser enhances kids’ problem solving skills as they have to use different methods to find a solution. They can be strategic or use a trial-and-error method or a combination of both. They can also use the process of elimination which is a great test taking skill. Kids have to use thinking and reasoning skills to solve each challenge.

Spatial Organization

When playing Brain Cheeser, the player must utilize spatial awareness and organizational skills in order to understand which way a piece must go or how it fits perfectly within the grid. This involves some level of mental manipulation as well which helps build spatial organizational skills.

As you can clearly see, Brain Cheeser is not only a fun game, it also offers a great educational and brain boosting experience. It’s the perfect game for kids, parents and educators. You can purchase your own Brain Cheeser for only $9.99 on amazon.com. For more information, visit the SmartGames website.