Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is coming to Switch this December

By Emily Morrow September 2, 2021

Nintendo announced via a tweet this morning that the next title in the Big Brain Academy series, Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain, will be coming to Nintendo Switch on December 3. While it can be played solo, like previous Big Brain Academy titles, Brain vs. Brain is designed to be played with other people. Players will be able to face off against friends in couch co-op mode and against players from around the world in puzzle- and number-themed minigames.

#BigBrainAcademy: Brain vs. Brain is coming to #NintendoSwitch on 12/03! Flex your brainpower or engage in a battle of brains with your family and friends! 🧠 pic.twitter.com/lVavwzxbzd

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 2, 2021

The trailer shows off several of the game’s IQ-themed minigames. Players can complete tasks that are designed to “train your brain,” like solving number puzzles, matching a block puzzle to a given image, or figuring out what the subject of a photo is as it slowly pieces itself together. There are several different difficulty levels, and each player can set their own level during couch co-op. Like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, those who have a Nintendo Online subscription can play against players anywhere in the world and upload their own puzzle-solving ghost data, enabling others to play against it. The game appears to allow for players to have different profiles (and presumably records) within its save data.

This is the first entry in the Big Brain Academy series since Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree for the Wii in 2007, making it well over a decade since the series has seen a title. The original Big Brain Academy for Nintendo DS was part of Nintendo’s Touch Generations line of games, which were aimed at consumers who don’t normally play video games. That mindset can be seen in the trailer, where the kids get the whole family involved in the title’s minigames.

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Emily Morrow is a games journalist and narrative designer who has written for a variety of online publications. If she’s…

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