Brain Games

Brain Games is a 1978 puzzle video game programmed by Larry Kaplan and published by Atari for the Atari 2600. It is a compilation of six memory games in which the player is tasked with outwitting an opponent, controlled either by another player or artificial intelligence, in sound and picture puzzles. The game is played using a 12 button keypad, as opposed to the 2600’s traditional CX40 joystick controller. Brain Games was suggested in the 1984 book Clinical Management of Memory Problems as an effective clinical device for memory retraining exercises. Noted for having a variety of useful games, patients would be faced with auditory and visual cues that may improve spatial reasoning.