Some of the best brainteasers are ones that look simple at first, but turn out to be just the opposite! Brainstring Advanced is a clear, hard, plastic ball with rubber strings intertwined in the middle. Your job is to move the knobs at the end of the strings through the slots in the ball. Your goal is to arrange it so a different solid color is on each side of the ball. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? The twist is that you don’t want to end up with a twist! Keeping the strings from getting tangled is what makes it a real brainteaser.

My kids loved this puzzle because the challenge was irresistible. From my seven year old to my teenagers, and everyone in between, the Brainstring Advanced kept them busy.

Figuring out how to play it is easy, but unraveling the challenge is no simple task. When it was scrambled, it took as long as half an hour to figure it out. Once you master the challenge, you just scramble up the rubber tips and start over again. Each time is different.

It’s also a great travel game, or one to stick in your bag to keep a child occupied during a long wait at the doctor’s office. There are no pieces to keep track of – or to lose. It is intended for one player, ages 7 and up. It’s available on Amazon too.

Brainstring Advanced was a great brainteaser for our family because of its durability, but also because it challenges the brain while utilizing the kids’ fine motor skills. If your kids have developed lazy brains from hours in front of the television or computer, toss them a brainteaser.

The Brainstring Advanced may be just the puzzle your kids will love.

Product Review by Gwen Toliver, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March, 2013