Need Some ‘Cool Factor’ for Christmas Gifting?

Three games reviewed with a user experience eye.

My passion for technology and the user experience cannot be turned off and inevitably infuses my afterhours just as much as my professional life. With the holidays around the corner, I reviewed three toys that have made a significant digital comeback, with the potential to serve as gifts for the true “early” adopters of technology.  While these games, Siftio, MindFlex and Simon, still harbor the tangible, physical aspects of the original version, it is the digitization of these classics that makes them so enticing.

Siftio

What if children’s blocks had LED screens on them? The possibilities for educational play are endless. Released this year, Sifteo cubes are small plastic squares with a screen  and can load and store any game from the company’s online store via a wireless USB transmitter. The intriguing part of Siftio cubes game play stems from its ability to sense when it’s turned upside down. Mazes and puzzles with small, movable digital pieces become a reality. Other toy companies already have utilized similar technology in the last few years to make similar products with limited, stand-alone games.

Outside of educational game play, an advanced version of Siftio cubes has significant potential. Imagine an engineer configuring circuits in real time using LED cubes displaying circuitry symbols instead of pen and paper or a mouse on a PC. The whole circuit design process would be more intuitive and feel closer to the end product design. The cubes could have similar applications in architecture, marketing, advertising and any other industry where dynamic design could be of value. There are many applications in the real world that would benefit from the ability to physically manipulate small parts of a greater whole.

Mind Flex

About two years ago, Mattel released a mind-boggling game for children called “Mind Flex,” in which a player controls a small foam ball with their mind. It sounds like something out of Star Wars, so I had to give it a try. Does it work? Yes, but it’s not perfect.

The technology, which reads EEG brainwaves and wirelessly transmits the output to a computerized device, has been around for a while. The so-called EEG-computer interface debuted in the 1980’s when the first prototypes were developed for use in paralyzed individuals to enable them to issue simple tasks to a computer. Now, the technology is compact and cost-efficient enough for mainstream gaming.

Using EEG technology to move a small ball feels a bit unsettling at first.  It’s not a method of acting upon inanimate objects that most people are used to.  I found it easy to get used to, though, and it feels a little like being in a Star Wars movie.  Kids and adults alike will enjoy the sheer novelty of the game.  Although I found the responsiveness of the console fan not perfect, it could be either a matter of practice or something that can be improved with future versions of the game.  Either way, MindFlex is a fun way to experience some mind-boggling modern technology.

Simon

The original Simon came on the scene in 1978 and game-play consisted of a circular hub with four lit-up buttons that chimed a harmonic tune when pressed. The game started with four lights flashing in a certain order. The player was to memorize this sequence and press the buttons in the appropriate order. This simple game mechanism caught on and sparked the release of multiple platforms based on the same premise. The latest rendition is Simon Flash from Hasbro. 

For such a simple construct, Simon Flash packs in a lot of game play.  Tactile manipulation of the color-lit buttons takes the pattern mimicry of the original Simon game to another level.  The game can be helpful in training short-term memory and spatial orientation skills in children 8 years and up.  Multi-player competition is possible by keeping track of the score each player gets at the end of each game cycle.  Another bonus is that the game is highly portable, making it great for family trips. The game is fully self-contained, since the cubes run on batteries and every one of them has a speaker built-in.   One down side, however, is that the set-up will always be limited to only four games.

For now, the strongest appeal to these games is education and the fact that they are family-oriented. Maybe it’s because basic blocks are a classic and intuitive children’s toy.  As the technology improves, however, we may well see more creative expansion of this technology into various corners of industry and higher education. This holiday, take a chance on one (or all) of these throwbacks. Their cool factor will not disappoint the user’s experience.