5 Ultimate Brain Teaser iPhone Apps

1. Quordy – $2.99, Updated: Oct 27, 2010 Current Version: 1.4.5, Seller: Lonely Star Software, Inc.

For any of you wordsmiths out there, Quordy is the app for you! Anyone who used to bore their parents senseless with repeated requests for family games of Boggle can now revisit their childhood memories through their iPhone’s screen. The main aim of the game is to create words among the 16 letter titles, challenging your friends and competitors to QUORDY challenges, who will then receive the same game board and will try to beat you on points scored. A refreshing antidote to the Sudoko phenomenon, Quordy will keep the literate part of your brain well fed.

2. Braingle – Free, Updated: Mar 19, 2010, Current Version: 1.1, Seller: Jake Olefsky

This is probably the most comprehensive brainteaser app on the market, providing users with access to the world’s largest collection of logic problems, riddles and puzzles that will keep your mind ticking over for as long as you need it to! There really is a huge array of content here and the best thing about it is how versatile and diverse the puzzles are. One question could be about pop trivia, with the next one seeing you brushing up on your language skills before throwing an optical illusion into the mix! Ranging from the easier end of the brain spectrum to the downright tricky, you could be up all night with this app, waking up the next day a born again genius!

3. Sudoko Magic – $1.99, Updated: Feb 01, 2011, Current Version: 2.3.1, Seller: MagicSolver.com Ltd.

Sudoko-mania began sweeping the nation about five years ago and it currently shows no signs of abating, with a puzzle being plastered over every newspaper and magazine worth its salt, encouraging the population to use their noggin on their daily commute. Sudoko Magic is the ultimate Sudoko app for the iPhone, with an easy-to-use interface that allows pencil markings to map out your possible number placements, Undo, Redo and Hint functions and unlimited new puzzles generated every time that you use the app. However, the real ace-up-the-sleeve is the fact that Sudoko Magic allows you to capture pretty much any Sudoko puzzle from a newspaper, magazine or computer screen just by taking a picture of it and uploading it to the app! No longer will that puzzle in the doctor’s waiting room go uncompleted!

4. Trixel – $2.99, Updated: Aug 08, 2009, Current Version: 1.1.1, Seller: ADEPT Games, LLC

Of all the brainteaser apps out there, Trixel is the rock star of the bunch, as paradoxic as that may seem. Hailed by critics as the greatest iPhone brain teaser app of all time, (that’s what I want to be when I grow up!), Trixel has had accolades and awards showered upon it since it’s launch a few years ago. Here’s why. The game itself is very simple; all you have to do is flip the tiles on the board over and try to match the tile pattern shown in the top left corner of the iPhone’s screen. As you progress, there are new ‘super tiles’ that have continuously changing conditions that make it harder and harder to get to the next level. The attraction of Trixel is how easy it is to play, yet how difficult it is to get really good at it; if you fancy giving your brain a really good work-out, this app is the one for you.

5. Mensa Brain Test – £1.19, Updated: 18 November 2010, Current Version: 1.1.0, Developer: NOMISIAN LTD

Ever since the launch of the film The Social Network, geeks have suddenly become cool. If you want to prove yourself as the coolest geek, then you need this app. The Mensa association is basically the ultimate boys’ club for brainiacs, with access granted only to a privileged few with a huge IQ. Mensa specialists have developed the iPhone app and it is composed of dozens of different questions to ensure that every time that you take a test, it is unique. You can practice with warm-up questions and then choose from a Short (20 questions), Medium (40 questions) or Long (60 questions) test that covers Logic, Maths, Language and Visual topics. Once you have completed the test, you can quickly delete your embarrassingly low score, or post I on the Mensa leader board or on to your Facebook status to crow over your friends! Be warned: nobody likes a smartarse.