Brain exercise games have developed into a cottage industry over the past few years, so it's not a surprise that many of them have appeared on the App Store. They're certainly perfect for an iPod touch or an iPhone: They emphasize short pick-up-and-play sessions that, as an added benefit, improve your cognitive abilities. I think some developers tend to oversell the effects of these games, but studies have shown that they certainly don't hurt, and they can give a big boost to elderly people.

SoftBank's Brain Training Unotan, published on the App Store by Softservice Corp., delivers what you expect from this type of game, with 15 exercises spread across the memory, concentration, and intuition areas. Each exercise is timed, and when you're done, you receive a score that dictates how developed your brain is in that area, expressed as a percentage. I didn't feel like I should put much stock in the percentages: If I score 20% in Remember Faces, does that mean I'd be lousy on a witness stand?

The percentages actually demonstrates how far you've progressed in that exercise. In one case, I hit 100% before time ran out, so there seems to be an end point for each activity. Once you've mastered an exercise, there isn't much point in doing it again, although I suppose your brain still sees some benefit from repeating it. Unfortunately, you have to start at level one again: there's no way to choose a higher starting point. In addition, there's no way to pause the game while in the middle of an exercise; I never received a call while playing, so I don't know what happens in that situation.

My final nitpick involves the Find the Goal exercise, which is in the intuition category but was very unintuitive, even with the description you can read before playing. A demonstration would have been helpful. Then again, maybe that was a test of my intuition abilities, and I failed.

Overall, Brain Training Unotan is a nice entry in the noggin workout category. Thankfully, the ability to distribute updates to an App Store selection means SoftBank can address the game's shortcomings, which are few.