Finally, it seems like science is actually endorsing the effects of certain video games. Last week we received [i]Brain Age[/i] for the Nintendo DS, a game researchers say will strengthen your mind. Now there’s one that could even lengthen your life.
[i]Dr. Sudoku[/i] for the Game Boy Advance shipped to major retailers across North America today. The game, published by Mastiff, is a handheld version of the popular sudoku puzzle games. According to research at the University of Edinburgh, brain stimulating games such as these can help you live longer by awakening ‘survival genes’ that lay dormant in the brain. These survival genes cause brain cells to live longer and resist disease, strokes and the effects of drugs.
A sudoku puzzle looks like a math problem, but it’s not. The rules are simple: start with a grid consisting of nine three-by-three squares in which some of the numbers are already supplied. Fill in the blank squares so that each column, row, and three-by-three grid contains a number from 1 to 9 with none repeated.
[i]Dr. Sudoku[/i] features 1,000 sudoku puzzles and includes an “Original Mode” whereby the player can create his own. There is also a tutorial mode to help those who are unfamiliar in solving them.
If you’re interested in sudoku puzzle games, some currently available titles include [i]Go! Sudoku[/i] for the PSP and [i]Global Star Sudoku Fever[/i] for the GBA. [i]Dr. Sudoku[/i] is scheduled for release on May 3, 2006.