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Brain Warp

Brain Warp is an electronic audio game developed by Big Monster Toys, and was made by Tiger Electronics and released on June 16, 1996.[1] Players follow the spoken instructions of the game unit by choosing the correct number or color. Its catchphrase which the voice says before a game begins is: "If you don't keep up with me, you're finished!". A Star Wars version titled Death Star Escape was released by Tiger Electronics in 1997 and the games are called Challenges.[2]

The spherical unit has six colored knobs - purple, red, green, white, orange and yellow - with numbers on them, and a blue base. A second version was released in 2002 with a translucent black base. The voice calls out a color, a number, or both, depending on the game selected, and the player flips the unit so that the correct knob is facing upwards. After every four points, the game becomes faster. If the player responds incorrectly, the round is ended and the unit will make a raspberry sound. There are six games in total - three where the player has to follow the command, one memory game that uses a combination of colors and numbers, a code buster game and a game called Pass Attack where players have to make up their own pattern. When the game has finished, the electronic unit will say "This game is finished!" After a pause the game will encourage the player to play the game again by saying "Wanna warp again?" In Brain Warp, the player can select between one of the six different games.[3][4]

The Star Wars version is grey and is in the shape of the Death Star. Each knob has the same color from Brain Warp in a and has a Star Wars character which include:

  1. Luke Skywalker
  2. Princess Leia
  3. C-3PO
  4. R2D2
  5. Chewbacca
  6. Han Solo

In 2007, a follow up to Brain Warp was released by Hasbro called Hyperslide which features the Code Buster game from Brain Warp and has four discs which all have a different color.

Games

Game number Game name Game description
1 Colors The voice calls out colors and the player has to flip the unit to get the correct color to face upwards before time expires. In the Star Wars version, Challenge One is called Meltdown. The player has 30 seconds to see how many times the player can repeat the sequence. There are three rounds. Each round adds an extra Star Wars character.
2 Numbers Same as Game One, but the numbers on the unit are used. Challenge Two in the Star Wars version is called Prove Yourself. In this game, each player is given a Star Wars character, and a random player is selected to complete the sequence.
3 Combo The unit can command either colors or numbers. Same as Game One. Challenge Three in the Star Wars version is called Blow Up. It is very similar to the Code Buster in Brain Warp, but the same number of points are earned for each code that has been found. e.g.: Round 1 is worth 5 points. Player finds the 5 number code. Round 2 is for 6 points etc.
4 Memory Match The unit calls a sequences of colors and/or numbers, and the player has to do all of them in the correct order. In the Star Wars version, Challenge Four is called Chain Reaction. It is identical to the Pass Attack game in Brain Warp.
5 Code Buster Through trial and error, players have to find the secret code of 5 or more colors within 60 seconds. The unit always orally gives the first code. Challenge Five in the Star Wars Brain Warp is called Names. It is very similar to Colors in Brain Warp but there are no rounds and the player can score up to 99 points.
6 Pass Attack Players create their own sequence of colors up to a maximum of 30. Each player has to complete the entire sequence before adding a color of their choice. A mistake or failure to add a new color eliminates a player. In the Star Wars version, Challenge Six is called Names and Numbers. It is very similar to Combo in Brain Warp but there are no rounds and the player can score up to 99 points.

History

The game was the most popular in Duracell's Kids' Choice National Toy Survey in 1996.[5] During the manufacturing process, there were some units of Brain Warp that contained an earlier revision of the game. The earlier revision was able to cope with faster speeds between 36-44 points on the three reflex games, Colors, Numbers and Combo than the original revision. The revision also had some unused sound files in test mode and had a different background music compared to the newer revision. Also, there was a bug in the older revision that lead to the voice and sound effects not in the right pitch against the music. This also happened with Hasbro's Bop It Extreme and Tiger's Boogey Ball game.

Brain Shift

On September 6, 1998,[6] Tiger Electronics released a similar game to Brain Warp, a tabletop electronic audio game called Brain Shift.[7] Players move a 'stick shift' in response to voice commands to complete color and sound patterns, and the game becomes increasingly fast.[8] The game requires close attention, and teaches children to recognize and replicate patterns.[9] It came second in the 1998 Duracell Kids' Choice National Toy Survey,[10] and gained a "Seal of Approval" from the US-based National Parenting Center.[11] The hype around the release by Tiger Electronics of the Furby at the same time allowed the company to concentrate its marketing on Brain Shift.[12] This game has two different versions of introduction. It either says "Ok, listen up" or "Alright!" followed by its catchphrase, "Get your brain in gear and let's play Brain Shift." This game has six colors: red, green, yellow, blue, orange and white. The game will then say "Now choose your game". Some units of Brain Shift glitch on low batteries and cut out "your game" with a "you shift". and there are six different games: After choosing a game, the voice will then say "Now how many shifters do we have?" The number of players will be selected and then the game will give a short explanation of how the game is played and then the game will commence.[7]

Game number Game name Game description
1 Stick Shift A melody starts playing in the background and the electronic unit announces who's turn it is to play. e.g.: "One shift." Then, the colors are called out at random. On the first course of commands, the player scores one point on the two shift pattern. Afterwards, they earn one point on every deep voice. The background music speed increases once a round is completed. The music continues to get faster until the speed of the game becomes impossible for the player. The game can be played up to 13 Shifts before it become slightly impossible to get more. It becomes so fast that the player has to shift to the correct color whilst the sound file is playing. Some colors like green, yellow, red and blue have the shortest hesitation time. The most Shifts achieved in this game is 17 Shifts.
2 Memory Shift This is similar to Memory Match in Brain Warp but only 2-4 players can play. In this game, only the deep voice is used to call out the colors. The game starts off with three colors and increases on completing the round. If all players crash, the round is repeated.
3 Who Shift's It? Similar to Memory Shift, but a random player is selected.
4 Ear Shift This game is for 1-4 players. The unit gives a random sequence of vehicle sounds. The player has to shift all six sounds in order to win the game.
5 Secret Shift Through trial and error, players have to find the secret code of 5 or more colors within 60 seconds. The unit always orally gives the first code. It is very similar to Code Buster in Brain Warp but at the end of the game, the shift pattern is revealed.
6 Shift Around This game is for 2-4 players. create their own sequence of colors up to a maximum of 20 Shifts. Each player has to complete the entire sequence before adding a color of their choice. A mistake or failure to add a new color eliminates a player. Like other multiplayer games in Brain Shift, if all players are out, the round is repeated.

Some units of Brain Shift had a 'Tiger recommends Duracell' sticker attached to where the batteries are inserted. All sealed units had the stickers on the back of the packaging. This was because at that time, Tiger was allowed to promote Duracell batteries on their games. If the user press 'on' and 'pause' buttons on the front of the device and inserts one of the top right, bottom left and bottom right battery whilst there are three batteries in the unit, the game will enter test mode and play Happy Birthday To You using the sound that plays the melody during the game. Each color on the test mode will test different functions of the game. If the 'pause' button is pressed whilst in test mode, the user will be able to test the stick shift and the game will say the number followed by the colour.

Brain Bash

The first game from the Brain Family was released in 1994 by Tiger called Brain Bash. The game has four purple buttons and four yellow buttons. The game has five games that play in order. They all involve math. The main game is called Touch Command. The electronic voice issues voice commands to the players such as "One touch one." Player one touches the yellow one button and then press purple one button.[13]

Catchphrases

Each Tiger Electronics brain game has several catchphrases including:

Standard Brain Warp

  • "Get ready to play Brain Warp. Select game."
  • "Follow my commands."
  • "If you don't keep up with me, you're finished!"
  • "This game is finished!"
  • "Wanna warp again?"
  • "Player N wins with N points." (and variants thereof)
  • "You broke the code!" (upon successfully completing a round of "Code Buster")

Star Wars Version

  • "If your ready to be tested by the Death Star, select your challenge."
  • "You must be paced with my commands."
  • "You have survived and destroyed the Death Star. You win!"
  • "One of you will be chosen to prove yourself."
  • "May the force be with you."
  • "Challenger N wins with N points."
  • "This battle is done."

Brain Shift

  • "Alright! Get your brain in gear and let's play Brain Shift!"
  • "Ok, listen up. Get your brain in gear and let's play Brain Shift!"
  • "Now chose your game."
  • "Now how many shifters do we have?"
  • "Sorry Player N you're out!"
  • "Sorry Player N should've been (color)."
  • "You all crashed. Ok. Repeat that round again."
  • "You shift what I call."
  • "Remember the pattern, then shift it."
  • "Find the secret shift pattern. You have sixty seconds to shift it or you crash."
  • "Remember the location of the six sounds. Shift all six and win."
  • "Sorry player one, you crash. You have N shifts."
  • "You completed N shifts in N seconds."
  • "Now find the pattern of N shifts. Start on (color)!"
  • "This game is over."

Brain Bash

  • "Let's Player Brain Bash."
  • "Player N is winning with N points.:
  • "Nice going player N."
  • "Player N is last with, N points."
  • "You goofed player N!"
  • "Come on player N."
  • "Let's play next game."

References

  1. ↑ "BRAIN WARP Trademark of Tiger Electronics, Inc. - Registration Number 2050002 - Serial Number 75037158 :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com.
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rlc_c1-JkM YouTube Demonstration Video of Death Star Escape
  3. ↑ "Some toys score well with kid testers". The Ledger. 1 November 1996. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2boSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_PwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6070,151327. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 
  4. ↑ Brain Warp | Board Game. BoardGameGeek. Retrieved on 2013-09-27.
  5. ↑ Schultz, Paul (24 November 1996). "Toys that have staying power - which games and crafts are best? Ask the experts - kids". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/lifestyle/1996/11/24/1996-11-24_toys_that_have_staying_power.html. Retrieved 2009-09-20. [dead link]
  6. ↑ "BRAIN SHIFT Trademark - Registration Number 2237722 - Serial Number 75338959 :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Brain Shift Instruction Manual, Hasbro" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "Kids Decide Which Toys Are Most Fun". Lakeland Ledger. 16 December 1998. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19981216&id=RL0wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=z_wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6490,5698695. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
  9. ↑ "Gift Guide; Take a turn at learning". Boston Herald. 29 November 1998. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/36252234.html?dids=36252234:36252234&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+29%2C+1998&author=&pub=Boston+Herald&desc=Gift+Guide%3B+Take+a+turn+at+learning&pqatl=google. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Putting the Hot Toys to the Test Kids Tell Us What They Like". Selling to Kids. 11 November 1998. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FVE/is_23_3/ai_53211146/pg_3/. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Brain Shift". The National Parenting Center. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Barrett, Lucy (29 October 1998). "Furby toy hype leads to cutback in TV ads". Marketing Magazine. http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/64676/Furby-toy-hype-leads-cutback-TV-ads?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH. Retrieved 12 June 2010. 
  13. ↑ http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/92869E30-D56F-E112-4D20786BCBDABFED.pdf Tiger Brain Bash Instructions

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