Big Goose Egg is all about bringing you great games… even if… no, especially if they belong to another developer or company. Sure we want you to check out our games like Guano, H2Whoooa!, Newton’s Nightmare, Vision Impossible, and others. But every month (or so), Big Goose Egg Games issues a Platinum Egg Award that goes to the best up-and-coming iPhone or iPad (or occasionally Android) games. Most often, they are free. And for sure, my kids have to like them. The winner for the month of November is Brain Drain by Rowdy Apps.

I call Brain Drain one of those “potato chip type” games. You know… where you think you will only have so much? First, I was drawn in by the name and the icon. And I thought, “Let me just quick check this game out.”

When I first opened it, I was like, “Meh. Graphics aren’t that great, but I’ll try it.”

Simple gameplay – tap where you want the ball to go until you get to the goal. Even simpler graphics – I mean, we’re talkin’ a ball and moving blocks – that simple.

The first two rounds, I thought, “Oh. This is kind of cute, actually. Simple, and doesn’t require a lot of time to do.”

Urrrnnt! Wrong! Sure one game doesn’t take long at all, but I got completely sucked in.

Brain Drain is extremely engaging and challenging. Here’s why I think this is:

• It is the opposite of what it appears… you think it’s going to be easy (Nope). You think ultra-simple graphics equals a throw-away game you won’t play very much (Nope),
• Since each round is so fast, there is always time to “try just one more round” (i.e. potato chip phenomenon), and
• If you lose one round, you have to redo the round before it, before you can retry the one you missed.

That last point is key. I was quite frustrated with the game itself the first couple of times it put me back at the beginning of the previous level. But then I was more incentivized to solve each level. The frustration turned on myself… sort of like “You idiot! Why didn’t you concentrate and get it done right the first time?!” That made me more up for the challenge than before.

Now, add a group element to it and WOW! When you and your friends or family each take turns trying to get further, there’s a lot of shouting It’s hilarious, actually.

The negatives? Just one- the music. I play it on silent and it is great.

You won’t think it at first, but Brain Drain is truly awesome. And you have no skills unless you can pass the growing ball in level 4 or 5.

Check it out, I dare you. [insert evil laugh here]

Brain Drain – “I betcha can’t play just one” .

Learn more about the Platinum Egg Award.