Back to Writing
NOTESmobile-gamegame-analysispuzzlemonetization

Mobile Game 3-Day Play Analysis: Brain Out

October 23, 2019•Updated Feb 17, 2026

As of 2019.10.22

Rating: 4.6

Reviews: 30,000

Downloads: 1,000,000+

Ranked #1 in trending

Age rating: 15+

Focus App

Presumed to be a Hong Kong-based company

Estimated 6th project launched on Google Play

Design

  • Business Model:

  • Bottom banner ads

  • Rewarded video ads for hints (1 key each)

  • Store exists but only sells keys. 1 key is tied to a video ad

  • 10+ keys require in-app purchases starting at $2+

  • Ad removal listed in store, but the button was unresponsive so I couldn't verify

  • On the stage select screen, ad-linked images are planted like mines. I was curious if there'd be a reward, but there wasn't

  • Stage clear screen randomly swaps the "watch video" button and "next stage" button positions, raising accidental click concerns

  • Full-screen ads appear at irregular stage intervals — quite unpleasant, but at least they're dismissible

  • Game Design:

  • Feels like solving absurd riddles

  • There's genuine satisfaction and fun in deciphering the developer's wordplay

  • 4-choice multiple-choice format

  • Stage-based progression

  • Lots of typos indicating localization wasn't done by native speakers

  • No penalty for wrong answers, so you can just randomly guess and move on — which is disappointing

  • Overall focus on content over resources

  • Many fresh ideas that are simultaneously frustrating yet make you curious about the next stage

  • Sound:

  • Monotonous background music loops infinitely — starts causing hallucinations after a while

  • Low resource investment but surprisingly fitting quality

Development

  • No server — deleting the app means starting over from scratch
  • Data persistence is impossible for the same reason
  • Attendance rewards appear first when launching the game
  • Vibration on wrong answers
  • Applause sound and window popup on correct answers

Art

  • Uses sequence animations in the UI
  • Maintains a slightly crooked aesthetic that gives it a children's drawing study game feel
  • Overall white plain backgrounds keep resource usage low without feeling awkward — the simplicity actually helps you focus on the content