Honestly, it’s a bit weird how we all collectively decided that "brain training" games died with the original Nintendo DS. We had the Dr. Kawashima era, everyone obsessed over their "brain age" for six months, and then we just... stopped. But then Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain dropped on the Nintendo Switch in late 2021, and it quietly became one of the best multiplayer values on the system. It didn't have the marketing budget of Mario Odyssey, but it hits a specific spot for families and competitive friends that most other titles miss.
It's cheap. That is usually the first thing people notice. In an era where Nintendo rarely budges from the $60 price point, seeing this launch at $30 was a shock. But don't let the budget price fool you. There is a specific kind of polish here that feels distinctly Nintendo—that bouncy, tactile response when you get an answer right, and the crushing "thud" sound when you mess up a simple math problem in front of your younger sibling.
What Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain Actually Is
If you’ve never played a title in this series, it’s basically a collection of high-speed micro-games. You aren't doing long-form logic puzzles or writing essays. You’re counting cubes, identifying silhouettes, and popping balloons in numerical order. It’s twitch-reflex gaming disguised as education.
The game splits its "tests" into five main categories: Visualize, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Identify. Each one targets a slightly different part of your prefrontal cortex, or at least that’s the marketing pitch. In reality, it targets your ability to not panic when a timer is ticking down.
The Multiplayer Magic (and the "Kid Mode" Secret)
The absolute best thing about Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain on the Switch is the way it handles difficulty. Most competitive games are a nightmare to play with kids or non-gamers because someone always gets stomped. Nintendo solved this with the "Class Level" system.
In a four-player local match, a 6-year-old can play on "Sprout" class while a trivia-obsessed adult plays on "Super Elite." This isn't just a point handicap. The game actually gives the child easier versions of the same puzzle. While the adult is trying to count 40 moving cubes in a transparent box, the kid is just identifying which animal is a giraffe. It levels the playing field in a way that feels fair rather than patronizing.
I've seen intense 1v1 matches between roommates that get louder than a Mario Kart session. There is something uniquely humiliating about losing a "Compute" round because you forgot that 7 plus 8 is 15 for a split second. Your brain just fizzes out. It’s hilarious.
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Why the "Brain Age" Comparison is Wrong
People often lump this in with Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training. They shouldn't. Dr. Kawashima’s games are clinical, gray, and feel like a doctor's appointment. They’re great for what they are, but they aren't "fun" in the traditional sense.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a party game. It’s colorful. It has a weird little mascot named Dr. Lobe who looks like a floating brain in a graduation cap. It has unlockable costumes for your avatar—you can literally play as a person dressed like a piece of sushi or a dinosaur. It’s goofy.
The Switch version also leans heavily into the touch screen. If you’re playing in handheld mode, you can play 1v1 with the console sitting flat on a table between you. It turns the Switch into a digital board game. Using your fingers is almost always faster than the Joy-Con sticks, which adds another layer of strategy (or cheating, depending on who you ask).
Ghost Clash: The Mode for People Who Hate People
If you don't have friends over, the "Ghost Clash" mode is where you'll spend 90% of your time. This is "asynchronous" multiplayer. You aren't playing against a live person; you're playing against their data.
You can download the "ghost" of a friend or a random person from Japan or Brazil and race them. It feels live. You see their avatar's progress bar moving alongside yours. It takes the pressure off of real-time interaction while keeping the competitive drive alive. Plus, you get to see how you rank globally. Turns out, there are some people out there who can solve math equations faster than a calculator, and seeing their "ghost" fly through a round is both terrifying and inspiring.
The Depth Nobody Talks About
A lot of reviewers dismissed this game as "too simple." I think they just didn't play it long enough to hit the higher difficulty tiers. When you reach "Elite" or "Super Elite" in the Practice mode, the puzzles become genuinely devious.
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Take the "Reverse Vision" puzzle. It sounds easy: just pick the image that matches the silhouette. But then the game starts rotating the images, flipping them, and making them move. Your brain has to perform a mental rotation while a clock is screaming at you. It’s a legitimate workout.
There is a subtle psychological element here too. The game rewards speed over perfect accuracy, but one wrong answer resets your current multiplier. Do you go fast and risk a mistake? Or do you slow down and guarantee the points? It’s a classic risk-reward loop that keeps you coming back for "just one more round."
A Few Things That Kind of Suck
Look, it’s not perfect. The "Identify" category is significantly easier than "Compute" for most people, which can make certain rounds feel unbalanced if the RNG (random number generation) picks too many Identify games.
The total number of mini-games is also relatively low—around 20. If you play for four hours straight, you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. It relies heavily on you wanting to beat your own high score or climb the world rankings. If you’re the type of player who needs a "story mode" or a long progression system, you won't find it here. You unlock clothes for your avatar, and that’s about it.
Also, the Joy-Con controls in docked mode are... fine? They use the pointer functionality, similar to a Wii Remote. It’s accurate enough, but it’ll never be as fast as the touch screen. If you're serious about your Big Brain Brawn score, you’re playing in handheld mode.
Is It Actually Good for Your Brain?
Scientists have been arguing about this for decades. Most studies, like the famous one from the University of Cambridge, suggest that brain-training games make you better at those specific games rather than increasing your general intelligence (G-factor).
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But honestly? Who cares.
Even if it’s just "brain maintenance," it’s better than doom-scrolling on social media. It forces a level of focus and mental agility that we don't often use in our day-to-day lives. There is a tangible satisfaction in watching your "Brain Brawn" score go from 1200 to 1800 over a week of practice. It feels like sharpening a knife.
How to Get the Most Out of Big Brain Academy on Switch
If you’ve just picked this up or are thinking about it, don't just jump into the tests. Start with the Practice mode. Each game has a "Gold" and "Platinum" medal threshold. Don't move on until you've hit at least Gold on everything. It forces you to learn the patterns and the "tricks" to each puzzle.
For example, in the "Cube Count" game, you shouldn't count every individual cube. You should learn to see them in groups of four or five. It’s a pattern recognition skill, not a counting skill. Once you see the "clusters," your speed will double.
Actionable Next Steps for New Players
If you want to actually "rank" in the world standings or just stop losing to your kids, try these specific tactics:
- Switch to Touch Controls Immediately: If you’re playing solo, never use the sticks. The millisecond delay in moving a cursor is the difference between a Gold and a Platinum medal.
- Focus on the "Analyze" Category First: This is usually where people struggle. Mastering the "Heavyweight" (scales) and "Pathfinder" games will give you a massive edge in Ghost Clash because most people mess those up under pressure.
- Don't Overthink the "Memorize" Rounds: Your short-term memory is better than you think. Try to "photograph" the screen in your mind rather than repeating the numbers out loud.
- Play the Daily Test: Use the "Test" mode once a day. It tracks your progress over time and gives you a nice graph of your strengths and weaknesses. It’s the best way to see if you’re actually getting faster.
- Check the Rankings: Look at the top players in the world. You can actually see their ghosts. Watch how they move and how they solve things. It’s eye-opening to see how they skip unnecessary steps.
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is one of those rare games that costs as much as a takeout pizza but provides dozens of hours of genuine, high-energy engagement. It’s not a deep RPG, and it won't make you a literal genius, but it’s a brilliant way to spend 15 minutes a day keeping your mind sharp and your competitive ego in check.