If you’re anything like me (which you’re probably not, I’m insane), you sometimes feel “less than sharp”.  You’ll notice yourself zoning out or going to say something and suddenly it’s lost.  They say that as you age or if you just perform the same exact things every day your mind can start to slip and people are encouraged to do “brain teasers” to keep the mind focused.

I find that when I’m at home with the kids, it’s the exact same thing every day.  Wake up, go to school, take naps (them, not me), eat lunch, clean up (me, not them), cook dinner, go to bed.  Even my mother mentioned that she loses track of the days of the week when she’s here because it’s often too hot to go outside in the summer and there’s only so many places you can go without having to spend a fortune.

Well, Nintendo recently sent me a game in a box.  It was a special “magical” box that you had to figure out how to open and inside it was the new game for the Nintendo DS, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

Turns out, I REALLY need this game.  I sat with my husband and children staring at this box trying to figure out how to open it.  It had an 800 number to call if you got stuck that would give you hints and we were all stumped.  We squeezed, pushed and even got the hammer out.  Just before the crowbar was about to destroy the box, my husband got it.  Turned out we were doing it right, it just got stuck.

Once inside, we found the game and started to check it out.  The in-store product doesn’t come with the box, it was just a neat thing Nintendo did as a treat.  The game itself is really cool in that it features a cool storyline involving the Puzzle master Professor Layton and his apprentice, Luke, have stumbled upon another mystery (this is the second game in the series). It’s up to them to navigate their way through numerous puzzles to determine who – or what – caused the death of Professor Layton’s mentor, Dr. Schrader. Was it the mysterious Elysian Box, rumored to kill all who open it? Professor Layton and Luke find a clue that begins their adventure: a train ticket for the Molentary Express.

Product Features

You can check out the Professor Layton website to play and watch puzzle demos to see what I’m talking about and this is a product I think both you and your children can enjoy.  With school starting up, it’s great to have those brain teasers to help your children with math, hand-eye coordination and puzzles-all while having a great time doing it!

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box retails for $29.99 and is for use on the Nintendo DS ans DSi and can be found online and where video games are sold.