Learning About Safety With Safety Brainiac

by:  Rev. James G.W. Fisher - "The Toy Man™"

Product Evaluation Summary Date:  06/20/2007

There are loads of board games on the market that cover the educational angle with games, but Brainiac Games chose to take a different approach with the development of their game, "Safety Brainiac". This games takes an innovative approach to children learning about how to stay safe in the world around them and having fun in doing so.

   Evaluation Summary - Category Ratings

	Trade Industry Sales Types Wholesale  Retail  Reseller  Online

	Safety / Quality Classifications

CE Marked	UL Approved	JPMA Certified
ASTM Compliant	eco-Friendly	eco-Conscious

CPSIA Compliant	Independent Lab Tested	Independent Lab Name
LeadSafe™ - Surface Coatings/Paint (Complies with 16 CFR 1303/CPSIA 101)	LeadSafe™ - Content / Substrates (Complies with CPSIA 101)	PhthalatesSafe™ (Complies with CPSIA 108)

BPASafe™ (Complies with CPSI EN71)	Soluble Heavy Metals (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106)	Mechanical/Physical (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106)
Flammability - Solids/Textiles (Complies with 16 CFR 1500.44/CFR 1610)	Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials (Complies with ASTM-4236/16 CFR 1500.14(b)(8) )	iWatchDog™ Approved (Complies with ICCS™ Certification Standards)

When you first look at the game board and such, it appears that is just a simple game, but don't be fooled because it is far from it! The game has a variety of question cards which each contain questions dealing with safety in real-life situations. Kids can learn so much about safety in their life and have so much fun doing so. This is mild glance at the wealth of fun and education the game has to offer, just waiting to be discovered. I can assure you this game is packed with vivid colors and imagery in combination with an educational experience like no other.

To start, Safety Brainiac is designed for play by children 5-12 years of age range. The players have to make their way across the board via a roll of a dye, answering questions from multiple categories such as Internet safety, playtime safety, dealing with strangers, and even the weather. A unique feature of the game is that the kids get to pick their own rewards upon completion of the game that they can in turn cash in with their parents or guardians. The very best feature of all is that there are some impressive certificates that come with the game, which parents can personalize and give to their children for playing the game.

Now just imagine Safety Brainiac being brought into the public school environment. The game serves as a perfect medium to bring into the curriculum for the students, to learn about safety with a completely new approach that no other product on the market can provide. When you think about safety issues on a school campus alone, you are looking at a vast amount of risk that kids need to be educated about. These dangers can range from school bullies, to the common predator, but these dangers can become of far lesser concern when a child is armed with the proper and well-founded education in safety which Safety Brainiac provides.

As an additional step to establish the validity of our position in reference to this games being applicable We took Safety Brainiac to public and private schools in Clark County, Las Vegas, Brooklyn, NY, and Santa Paula, CA. The feedback we received from the students was varied, but primarily consistent with the idea that at first they assumed the game would be a bore, but once the teachers got them going, they were excited to play it repeatedly.

The teachers at all of the schools held the same opinion that Safety Brainiac could be an invaluable tool to be used in the classroom. As one of the teachers in Brooklyn expressed, "I don't see this as a game, rather it is an invaluable educational tool that makes learning fun." You can't get much better than that in an unbiased comment from a teacher.

Safety Brainiac was a powerful product to review with so many delightful features to elaborate upon, but if I did so, it would take up 10 pages of focus to do so. To be more concise and to the point, I am now focusing on the overall ratings of the game. As you can easily see, it is easy to see each rating we have calculated for this product, but it is an added comfort to see more specific definition of what details helped us arrive at these ratings. That information is provided below.

Design Quality: Rating Level 5 - Our evaluation of Safety Brainiac was quite time consuming with so much to look at, evaluate, and test, yet the labor was well worth it. Now understand that when we speak of DESIGN QUALITY, we are speaking in reference to the box which holds the contents of the game, the game board itself, and all peripheral content of the game box. This has nothing to do with the VISUAL portion of our evaluation.

The box is built extremely well and is designed to withstand extended usage while still holding all contents with limited signs of wear. The quality of all materials used for the game board itself is incredible with nothing but the finest degree of detail and quality which again ensures endurance for extended play with minimal signs of wear. All of the cards used in the game as well, are of the highest quality in materials used, well organized within the box to enable quick access and simplistic effort if putting all pieces of the game away in a prompt, yet neat and organized manner. The 4 Safety Brainiac Puzzle Holders were ingenious in design with 6 rubber puzzle pieces that will stimulate multiple developmental skills ranging from cognitive to tactile touch recognition.

The two dice are easy to identify each designated number represented in dot format, and the 4 pawns are simple and designed to last under extensive usage. Now a unique factor considered as well was the weight of the unopened box. No question about it, having the quality of materials which were used in this game, you end up with a product which has a strong level of weight. This gives the consumer the idea that they are definitely getting "more bang for the buck". At the same time, some buyers may see this as a flaw due to shipping costs. At the same time, it is important to consider that the game delivers a powerful safety education game which is like no other, thus the shipping cost does not necessarily act as a deterrent in sales.

The final item though was absolutely magnificent in design and concept. That is the "You're A Safety Brainiac" Winner's Certificates which can be filled out by a parent or teacher to be given to a child. Roughly 8.5" x 11" in size and quite colorful, these certificates are made to last and will make a dramatic impact in the mind of a child.

Educational Value: Rating Level 5 -The educational value of this game was a very tough call. Although the hands-on experience with the general public evaluation participants were nothing but the best in results, our evaluation guidelines are quite definitive. Safety Brainiac has an incredible wealth of information which is useful and literally invaluable, but at the same time, it can also be seen as information overload. By having so many cards used in the game and so much more going on, some people, especially teachers may see this as too much and overlook the true educational value of the game. The game has an intensive amount of educational content and the evaluation scoring was well above average which was high enough to pull a score of "5" in this segment of product rating.

FunFactor™: Rating Level 5 -The FunFactor™ with this game was clear to see when watching the evaluation participants from the local public. The game was so exciting and fun for our participants that they actually asked us for additional time to play the game again! In our evaluation guidelines, the factors which are used to determine our evaluation for the level of FunFactor™ ranked a rating of 5 without any question in the slightest.

Innovation: Rating Level 5 -Safety Brainiac is well ahead of the pack in defining the word "INNOVATION". The very concept of the game is one of the most innovative designs seen in a game in years! Challenging and innovative with so much qualified information and conceptual design, this game demonstrates a most innovative manner of delivering vital educational information while at the same time keeping the interest of the players remaining strong. Very unique ideas in the method and design of this game truly proves its making its mark in the realm of innovation.

Marketing Value: Rating Level 3 -When it comes to marketing value, this was a tough one. Although you see the utmost of quality in design and innovation, potential for optimum shelf placement provides a tough one to evaluate. The price point is good for the quality of what you are getting, but many hard core buyers have blinders on and look primarily at the size of the box, the shipping cost, and multiple other factors, while at the same time never understanding the full value of a product. In our evaluation, the weight of the box cost the game some points so that it ended up with a rating of three, yet at the same time, from my own independent standpoint, I will personally recommend this game regardless.

Visual Appeal: Rating Level 4 -Now this rating was probably the most challenging. The box for Safety Brainiac is not the most visually appealing and the creators of this game plan to improve upon it soon, but the game board, cards and certificates are a cut above the competition! Colorful and alluring with such magnificent visual appeal, the game draws kids to play it and have an incredible time while doing so. The color and various features of the game will easily captivate the attention of a child, but the current packaging cost Safety Brainiac a point in the VISUAL APPEAL rating.

The bottom line of our evaluation of Safety Brainiac was an overall rating of "5", which is above average in our evaluation. I am sure some people will argue the rating established, but we have strict and defined guidelines that help to ensure unbiased evaluation of a product. Combine that with the actual live feedback from teachers and students at multiple public schools from BOTH coasts, you have solid evaluation results. This is a game which we can highly recommend!

We are all proud to say without hesitation that the rewards shown below are well deserved. As with any product which scores high enough to be inducted into The Toy Man™ Product Guide, Safety Brainiac has been approved to receive The Toy Man™ Seal of Approval. This emblem is the very cornerstone of The Toy Man™ Product Guide foundation.

EVALUATION RESULTS - From evaluation for induction into "The Toy Man® Product Guide"
Overall Rating:  5	Seal of Approval: Approved	eco-Recognition™ Seal: Not Eligible	Award of Excellence: Approved	eChoice™ Award: Selected

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