Einstein Brain Trainer could be considered a puzzle game, but these aren't the sorts of puzzles that you can play at a leisurely pace. Each of these puzzles are very much mini-games, requiring you to figure out your answer in a limited amount of time. The graphics aren't very elaborate, with focus on colors, shapes, numbers and symbols. Many of the games hinge on being able to tell items apart and, to that end, the graphics in Einstein Brain Trainer are simple, iconic and a bit cartoony. This generally works in your favor, making it easy to tell that items are the same or different. However, as the difficulty ramps up, you'll find that it's easy to accidentally pair up an orange square with an orange diamond or confuse two ice cream cones, even though they are obviously different color scoops of ice cream.

Throughout the game, you will have two characters accompanying you: a 3D modeled cartoon representation of Einstein and a hovering robotic companion. This unlikely pair "hosts" the game, helping you around the interface, introducing new puzzle types and helping to evaluate your results for you.

Sound is an interesting aspect of Einstein Brain Trainer. The music is sort of sing-song... something that sounds a little like something that might go on in the background when determining your answer - well, question - on a Final Jeopardy answer. I find I can think a bit clearer without the music and, instead, I generally test with white noise in the background so ambient noises don't distract me. However, the sound effects in the puzzles can help reinforce events occurring on screen. For example, in one puzzle, items are thrown into a basket and sometimes bounce out and you have to keep track of how many items are in the basket when the time is up. The sound effect of the items being thrown into the basket or falling out of the basket help to give the event more significance, possibly helping you mentally reinforce the current state. Or not - it may merely be distracting to you. Luckily, Einstein Brain Trainer has three settings you can cycle through - music and sound effects, sound effects only or muted. This button is ever-present in the bottom right of the screen, so you're all set, even if you want the sound muted for certain types of puzzles but want it back on for the next puzzle.

The main game mode in Einstein Brain Trainer is the personal training / single player, consisting of Workouts and Daily Tests. As the name indicates, Daily Tests are available once per day. Completing a Daily Test creates a data point on the Calendar, allowing you to track your progress. If you're looking to give your brain a workout outside of the Daily Tests, there's the descriptively named Workout Mode. This mode is similar to a Daily Test, throwing four exercises at you - one from each category: Logic, Memory, Calculation and Vision - one after the other. If you want to address a particular mental strength category, you can choose individual exercises from the Category selections. Each category has six different exercises available for you to practice with in the Categories section, but don't expect to be able to practice all of the puzzle types in this section. Certain puzzles only appear in the Daily Tests. This helps to gauge your ability for a certain type of mental skill, rather than how much you've practiced at a certain puzzle type.

There is also a Multiplayer Mode, which can be played by 2, 3 or 4 players. This mode only requires one iPad and one copy of the game, and is handled by passing the iPad, "hot potato" style, each player taking their turn in the "Hot Seat." This could, potentially, have been a more game-like mode, offering a competitive aspect to the gameplay, but sadly, there are a couple of shortcomings that greatly hamper the Multiplayer gameplay. First, if you're playing a Multiplayer game and simply typing in the players' names, there's the chance that one or more of the players are unfamiliar with the puzzles. Rather than offering to show the description of how to play, however, the game just assumes that the player knows how to play that type of puzzle if the person on the account has ever played that type before. Secondly, the dynamic difficulty level is persistent across all players. If players are unevenly matched, one player will increase the difficulty that the next starts at, then that player will decrease the difficulty for the next player, each one getting poorer scores, since the level isn't properly adjusted. It would have been better to simply start at the easiest level each time, rather than to use one player's difficulty for the next player. By all appearances, the Multiplayer Mode was simply "tacked" in to add a feature. If this feature weren't present, I would have rated this game at a 98%. However, with the Multiplayer Mode being so broken, the score suffered.

There is no adjustable difficulty in Einstein Brain Trainer. Don't worry, though, it adjusts automatically for you. As you do well in a given type of puzzle, the subsequent puzzles will increase in difficulty. As you start to fumble, the difficulty of the next puzzle will be a little less challenging. This is handled quite well in Einstein Brain Trainer, rapidly adjusting to a challenging level and edging you forward, keeping you on the edge of your abilities.

I find that I often feel it when the game adjusts, either by finding myself a bit overwhelmed when it ramps up on me or by feeling a little disheartened, shamed and annoyed when I miss a couple (that I totally should have gotten) in a row and find myself bumped down a level or two in difficulty. It's okay, though - everyone has off days and some of the puzzles seem to be set up such that players will take certain things for granted and get a bit complacent, only to find things get a bit more complex when the difficulty level advances a bit.

I found that a lot of the tasks I was asked to undertake were either beyond what I'd expected to be asked to do or things I hadn't been asked to do before. One puzzle uses the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, but then, rather than simply wanting you to win, asks you to either "lose to the loser", "win against no one" or "play the same as the winner"... that sort of thing. So now, rather you have to evaluate what the question is asking you to do, determine how it relates to the winning / losing condition of the players, determine the winner / loser and select the appropriate response. Quick, now... you're being timed.

Another puzzle has you using iconic landmarks to keep track of a "path home" and then asks a specific question about a leg of the journey at random. One landmark is a pyramid (as in Egyptian). So, as I watched the path, I would vocalize the directions to help reinforce them in my mind, such as, "Left at the pyramid." A couple of puzzles later, when the difficulty increased, I had a single route that took me past an Egyptian pyramid and then some Aztec pyramid, throwing a bit of confusion into the mix. These sort of unexpected twists are to be anticipated as you progress through the game. The good news? These only happen when the difficulty increases, so if you're getting thrown off by these sorts of things, then you've been doing well and advancing. Good job.

On most games, the category that is most important is Gameplay; the look, sound, and difficulty are secondary to the gameplay experience - if the gameplay isn't good... why would you play the game?

Einstein Brain Trainer is fun, sort of, but you don't necessarily play this game to have a great time. The part that offered the most "game-like" potential, the Multiplayer Mode, was so haphazardly added as to be best ignored. However, you really should play this game to expand your mental capabilities, not to have fun.

With practice, most gamers will become more skilled at the games they play. If this skill is in playing Pac-Man or Tetris, you won't get much real-life use out of those skills unless you get really hungry in a haunted house or need to pack a lot of stuff in a small compartment. Okay, now that I think about it, baggers at grocery stores should probably be required to have a certain minimum score in Tetris...

Playing Einstein Brain Trainer, on the other hand, exercises different parts of your brain, challenging your brain in ways you may not have previously been challenged. Much like working out your muscles will improve your ability to do heavy lifting in the real world, regardless of what the object you're lifting is, working out your brain will help improve your abilities in Memory, Logic, Calculation and Vision and these skills will work on various aspects of your life, not just in playing Einstein Brain Trainer.

It's interesting to feel the "stretch" of pushing your abilities a little bit more. For many adults who are out of school and in the work force, it may have been quite some time since their brains have encountered anything truly new and challenging. And, if you want more information about exactly what parts of the brain a given exercise is addressing, simply tap on Einstein and let him know you want Scientific Info. He'll point out what's being targeted on a map of the human brain and give a little scientific background to the exercise.

There are games that I never want to see again after writing my review, games I would love to play again but never find the time, and games that I play often. Einstein Brain Trainer goes beyond this; I don't see it as a "game," per se, but as part of my morning regimen, like showering and brushing my teeth. Much like my trusty Striiv, which I carry with me daily, I find Einstein Brain Trainer to be an essential tool in honing my personal fitness.