As part of the Blogger Board Game Club we have been sent Cortex Challenge, the brain party game. For 2 to 6 players from ages 8 plus this is a really quick easy to play game that is easy to learn and lots of fun
The aim of Cortex is to collect enough pieces to complete your brain. The game comes with 6 brain jigsaws (4 pieces per brain so 24 pieces in total) and 90 cards. These are made up of 74 Test Cards, 6 touch challenge cards and 10 raised touch cards.
To start the game you need to layout all 10 Raised Touch cards. All of the players get to look and feel them for about 30 seconds. After this time then these cards are placed to one side.
Shuffle the rest of test and challenge cards and place them face down in a pile in the middle of the table. The Cortex Test and Challenge cards are split into 8 categories – Multitasking, Observation, Squares, Analysis, Unique, Combination, Tracking and Touch. The symbols on the back of the card show what the challenge will be. The youngest player goes first to turn over a card. All players look at the card and when you think you know the answer you have to put your hand on the card. If the answer is correct the player keeps the card and places it in front of them. If they get the answer wrong the card is discarded and they can not give an answer in the next round. If it is a two player game the card is given to the other player.
You can have no more than 4 cards at a time. If you have more than 4 cards you must give one up. When you have two cards of the same type you can exchange them for a brain twister puzzle piece.
Tracking
The aim of this puzzle is to say which entrances lead to the middle. This could be more than one. The example below shows A, B and D.
Multitasking
On this card you need to hold the correct hand up with the number of fingers displayed whilst saying the number in the bubble out loud. The red hand is Left and the blue hand is Right. For the below I would need to hold up my Left hand displaying 4 fingers whilst saying 7 out loud.
Observation
For this challenge you need to say what colour the broken robot is. In the picture below it is green.
Unique
You need to find which object is unique in either colour or shape.
Analysis
You need to say what colour are the 4 bottle tops in a row. These could be horizontal, Vertical or Diagonal. In the example below they are blue.
Squares
You need to say how many squares are needed to fill in the blanks. In the example below it would be 12.
Combination
Which of the three shapes will complete the star with the colours in the correct order? The answer below would be number 1.
Touch Challenge
This allows the player who won the previous challenge to face the Touch Challenge. The other players choose one card from the 10 raised touch cards and hand it face down to the challenger. The player has 10 seconds to recognise the texture using only their sense of touch. If they answer correctly they get a brain piece. If they answer wrong play continues with the next card.
Cortex Challenge is a great game that is quick and easy to play. It comes in a small box which makes it great for travelling or taking to a friends house when you visit.
We would definitely recommend this game for a family who are competitive and quick thinking and who love a mental challenge.