Cortex Challenge Kids

Cortex Challenge Kids – review and giveaway

We seem to have had so much going on over the summer holidays, it was quite a challenge to get all three of us in the room together, for some down time.  We managed to achieve that recently and enjoyed a few games of Cortex Challenge Kids in the process.  This is a game unlike any other we have as it really tests your brain power!

Cortex Challenge Kids

The Esdevium Games Cortex Challenge Kids is aimed at players aged 6 years and over, and can be played with 2-6 players.  Game play lasts for around 15 minutes, although we played a simplified version to make things a little easier for my 6 year old.

The game comes with 90 playing cards – 74 are Test cards, 6 are Touch Challenge cards, 10 raised touch cards and 6 brain jigsaws (in 24 pieces).

There are 8 different tests within the game to stretch your brain power as you race to be the first player to piece together their ‘brain’ jigsaw.  The tests include Memory, Maze,  Odd One Out, Coordination, Duplicates,  Frequency, Reasoning and Touch.

Cortex Challenge Kids

We started Cortex Challenge Kids by looking through the Touch Challenge cards, feeling them and trying to remember what each card represented before adding them to the playing cards, to shuffle and start the game.  Turn the playing cards over face down in a pile.

The youngest player begins by turning over the top card from the main pile. All players them look at the card and try to work out the answer to the challenge. The player who thinks they’ve got the answer covers the card and tells everyone their thoughts.  If they are correct they get to keep the card.  If they are wrong the card is placed on the bottom of the pile and they cannot join in on the next round.

Cortex Challenge Kids

As Monkey has been playing the game against us, rather than with other children, we decided to take turns to answer with the cards, rather than making it a rapid fire game. This way he had some chance of winning and remained engaged, especially until he really gets to grips with the game play.

Cortex Challenge KidsAlthough it’s fair to say that he is considerably better at solving the Reasoning challenges than his father!  He was an absolute whizz at working out which puzzle piece fitted correctly into the space.

Cortex Challenge Kids

He did find the Coordination challenge a little harder as he needed to remember which hand was red/blue and which number related to each finger.  But he has definitely improved on this challenge over the last few times we’ve played the game.

Cortex Challenge Kids

You are only allowed to have won 4 cards at any one time. If you collect 2 of the same type of challenge card, you can exchange one for a brain jigsaw piece.  Once you’ve got 4 different coloured brain pieces you’ve won.

We’ve really enjoyed the challenge of Cortex Challenge Kids and it’s a game that Monkey will get better at over time. We’ve all favoured different challenges and its been interesting to see our various strengths and weaknesses.  As well as the Kids edition, there’s a Normal Edition for players aged 8 years and over, and a Geo edition for players aged 9+.  The video below gives you an idea of the game in play.


Priced at £12.99 I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference in case you fancy buying it for your family.

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review


I’ve teamed up with Esdevium Games to offer you the chance to win Cortex Challenge Kids.  Complete the Gleam form below and one of you will be my winner! Good luck.


Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

Only the first step of this form is mandatory, all other steps are optional. Only one entry per person is allowed.

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once a winner is randomly picked, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within one week, the prize will be allocated to another person.

The giveaway will close on 2nd October 2016 at midnight.

Don’t forget to visit my Giveaways page for more great prizes on offer!

Cortex Challenge Kids game worth £12.99

121 thoughts on “Cortex Challenge Kids – review and giveaway

  1. My husband and son would probably be best at this as they have very good memories (when they want to!)

  2. My 12 year old son loves board games and knows all the rules so will be best at picking this game up quickly and enjoying playing it with the rest of the family

  3. My daughter and i play board games every week , she always beats me at Articulate and im sure she would love this game, looks really fun

  4. I’d like to think, as a member of Mensa, that I’d be the best at this, but no doubt the kids would be beat me!

  5. Daddy would be best…he has to be 😉 If he doesn’t win first time he stay up half the night practising so he could win next time 😉 x

  6. Ooo, now thats a very loaded question for our family as we are a family of competitive people. Boggle had to be banned after the great boggle incident of christmas 2013, My eldest, his Gran and me are quite dangerous when we sit down to a board game. My husband and Father wont play with us anymore 😀 soooooo, I have to say we are all most likely to win just from the sheer determination of the 3 of us not to lose 😀

  7. Me haha but I hope my children will become as logical and quizzical as me as they grow. The OH doesn’t stand a chance.

  8. I’d hope me, because I love logic puzzles and games. I’ve had years more practice than my husband and 4 year old, so I’d expect to do the best at the start.

  9. My Neice is a lot more puzzle solving than me so I’d say she’d orob be the winner from the family

  10. My almost 10 year old daughter. She is far smarter then I am. Her 4 year old sister would be 2nd lol

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