Mattel’s Mindflex game was received with both cheers and jeers when it launched a few years ago.

The original game called for the player to wear a headset that read brain activity.  An increase in brain activity increased the fans power and thus a higher floating ball.  Conversely a decrease in brain waves lessened the fan’s power and thus the opposite affect.  To complete or win the game, the user had to turn a dial and position the floating ball through a variety of hoops all the while remaining focused on maintaining brain activity.

However, the latest iteration, Mattel’s Radica Mindflex Duel game, pits you against another opponent.  Instead of a set of a hoops players battle to push the same fan power balled into their opponents “end zone”.  We’re not entirely sure how it works, but we’re assuming that the brain wave activity is linked to both the fan power and the movement of the ball.

Via: Dvice

I can neither deny or confirm the validity of this video, but according to SPIEGEL TV the Mindflex toy, which we saw and played with a few years ago at CES, is a total scam.  After testing the device themselves, which requires a human to generate brain waves in order for it to function, they strapped the Mindflex headset onto a dummy.  The result?  The ball still floats with the same, if not similar variable altitude as a human being wearing the headset.

The Mindflex from Mattel toys, promised a brand new gaming experience.  The more the gamer concentrates the greater the increase in brain acivity.  As a result the wearer of the headset is rewarded with the ability to control the fan (this effects how high the ball floats) and thus complete the game’s objective; loop the ball through the hole.

So is it a scam or a fluke?  Perhaps Mattel added this affect to make the game more challenging.  It’s also worth noting that the video seems to be a bit incomplete, but since I don’t speak German I’m having a hard time following it.

[Thanks, soulmate702000]

With little to no fanfare, the Star Wars Force Trainer mind game is now officially on sale. ThinkGeek has it for $120, which is considerably more than Mattel’s offering, the Mindflex. But unlike its closest competition you won’t have to wait until October to show off your family’s Jedi like abilities and you’ll see just how quick your kid gets bored of starring at a $120 floating ball.

My advice: save your cash and get your kid Tony Hawk’s RIDE

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Remember the Star Wars Force Trainer mind game that we saw at the beginning of the year?  Well, it looks like it’s set to ship they day before Mattel’s similar offering, the Mindflex, on September 30th, that is assuming we can trust the retailer’s info.  Pricing seems to be varied with one place selling it for about $115 and another for $140.  In any event, I wanna try both out but don’t think I’ll be dropping this kind of cash on either game which is sure to provide about 24 hours of entertainment.

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Update: Mattel has announced the Radica Mindflex Dual game.

At CES 2009 we had the opportunity to stop by the Mattel booth and checkout the hyped Mindflex game.  Jeff gave it a whirl while I grabbed video of him making funny constipated like faces, which I assure you wasn’t the problem and is further evidenced by a not so tasteful joke.  Well, Amazon is now offering the Mindflex game for $99 and it will ship October 1st.

[via i4u]

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Update: Mattel has announced the Radica Mindflex Dual game

The Mindflex from Mattel is one of those toys every adult wants to try. The included headset reads your brain waves and based on your cognitive power it either increases or decreases the built-in fan’s output. The goal of the game? Place the ball through the hoops. The knob on the front of the device controls the location of the fan. Hit the videos for a complete walk through and some solid ‘day 4 CES’ laughs (we had drank a bottle of Jack the night before and just finished an all you can eat buffet).