Braingames
Encyclopedia
Braingames was an educational program shown on HBO in the mid-1980s. It was a half-hour program consisting of brain-teasing animated skits (either stop-motion or cartoon) designed to make the viewers think.
Although full episodes have not been shown in years, HBO has occasionally shown single games between programs in the 1990s.
In 1996-2000, full episodes were later shown occasionally each month on HBO Family.
Episodes
The series pilot was aired in 1983, with another five episodes made in 1984-1985 with new games and a few brought back from the pilot. After that, an episode called "The Best of Braingames" was made which had five of the best Braingames games from episodes 1, 3, and 4, plus a special episode of "The Riddler" (see below) where Chuck Roast read off the winners of a contest for "The Absotively Posolutlely Worst Riddle in America". Every episode in the series ends with a sad and teary voice saying, "Braingames...is now...over." On the final episode, an even sadder voice says, "Braingames is now over...for good."Although full episodes have not been shown in years, HBO has occasionally shown single games between programs in the 1990s.
In 1996-2000, full episodes were later shown occasionally each month on HBO Family.
Games
The following is a list of the different games played on the various shows:- Earplay - From both the original episode and played on two of the later episodes, this consisted of 5 different sounds being made. First the viewer simply heard the sound for about 15 seconds, then the sound would be rewound and replayed, this time with the corresponding video footage. (NOTE: In all three showings, at least one of the sounds was an arcade gameArcade gameAn arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
.) - Digitville - Here, we visit a town where the entire population consists of people and pets whose heads are actually items that use numbers (clocks, etc.) (although a dog has a ruler for a body), and they come up with number games for us to play. This was played on two of the newer episodes. Prooduced by Jerry Lieberman.
- Faces/Whosamawhatchamacallits - Faces was on the first episode, then Whosamawhatchamacallits was the game on the next 4 episodes. The two games were similar, showing initially a distorted image, while the voice gives clues until the image is clear. Each one started with a superhero and ended with a monster, but not the "Faces" prototype, which ended with DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
but began with Mona LisaMona LisaMona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
, and the last of the "Whosamawhatchamacallits", which was bookended by two superheroes; Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and The Incredible Hulk. In the "Faces" prototype, one distorted image has an illustrated cameo of two Fraggles (Red and Mokey). - Tales of Wrongovia - Essentially an anachronismAnachronismAn anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
quiz, this segment goes back into history, where a historical person is faced with a dilemma. Each dilemma involves showing four different items that would all be useful for the person in question, but in all but two, one of the items wasn't available to them at the time. (In the other two, only one of the four items was available.) It's the job of the viewer to guess which one couldn't (or could) be used. Produced by Michael SpornMichael SpornMichael Sporn is an American animator who founded his New York-based company, Michael Sporn Animation in 1980, and has produced and directed numerous animated TV specials and short spots.-Career:...
. - The Riddler - Chuck Roast hosts a game full of riddles. Produced by Joey Ahlbum.
- Memory Rock/Workout - Four people are shown either in a rock band or exercising, and questions are asked that involve how many of them are of a specific way (either what they are wearing or what they are doing). In "Rock", there was one more question that did not involve a number, and that was to ask what the name of the song being played.
- Odd Card Out/Safari Solitaire - The original episode had Odd Card Out, and the subsequent episodes had Safari Solitaire. The idea was that four cards were dealt with different pictures, but one was set apart from the rest based on the question asked. Odd Card Out was based on numerous things, but Safari Solitaire was specifically geared towards animals (and humans). Produced by Stan SmithStan SmithStanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...
. - Uninvited Guests - Groups of four people who look like they belong together come into a very upscale party, but one doesn't belong. It is later revealed which one is uninvited.
- Eyewitness - A man goes in and quietly robs a bank. Then 6 hours later, four suspects are caught and the viewers must guess which one was the robber while remembering that only certain things can naturally be changed on a person in a 6 hour time span and that nothing on the suspects is fake (no putty, makeup, wigs, or fake facial hair).
- Museum Mis
stakes - This segment is set in a museum and every picture shown includes something out of the ordinary. One picture with the Dutch family featured an animated cameo of the Cookie MonsterCookie MonsterCookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...
from Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. - Eyeball Twisters - Things are shown so close-up so as to not be able to tell what they are immediately. Meanwhile, a voice-over gives clues until the object is revealed.
- Read Between the Lines - Essentially a rebus puzzle, in which the voice over tells a story, then pauses as a word puzzle is displayed, and the viewer has to guess what it means. For example, "I right I" would mean "right between the eyes".
- Lloofbat/Aceps Gevoya/Splatnarnt - Three different games which involved unscrambling words associated with the theme, which was also scrambled. Lloofbat (football) was all things regarding a typical football game as it is played. Aceps Gevoya (space voyage) involved things an alien named BLT runs into as he makes his way home after spending quite an amount of time exploring space. This segment was produced by Janet PerlmanJanet PerlmanJanet Laurie Perlman is a Canadian animator and children's book author and illustrator whose work includes the short film The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 54th Academy Awards and received a Parents' Choice Award....
. Splatnarnt (transplant) involved a mad scientist and his female assistant creating a monster, as the viewers unscramble inner parts of the body. After each segment, the voice-over summed up the previous action with the key words back in their scrambled states. Additionally, in the episodes in which they appeared (the original and the first two regular episodes, respectively) they were the final game of the show. - Unidentified Flying Pranksters - A group of wild aliens come to a typical town and changes one minor detail from what was originally seen. The viewers must guess what they did. Produced by John CanemakerJohn CanemakerJohn Cannizzaro Jr. , better known as John Canemaker, is an independent animator, animation historian, author, teacher and lecturer. In 1980, he began teaching and developing the animation program at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts', Kanbar Institute of Film and Television Department...
. - Ze Inspector and Ze Lost Princess - This segment involved an inspector reading a letter to find a princess; the letter was actually a rebusRebusA rebus is an allusional device that uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. It was a favourite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames, for example in its basic form 3 salmon fish to denote the name "Salmon"...
puzzle. Produced by Bill DavisBill DavisWilliam Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
. - Name That Sport (Mane Taht Storp) - A game that appeared in game-show format, in which different contestants have a sport described to them. Both they, and the viewer have to unscramble its name, similar to the Lloofbat/Aceps Gevoya/Splatnarnt games. Moreover, the title also appeared scrambled as in the aforementioned games. It was also the final game in the episodes in which it appeared. Produced by Bill DavisBill DavisWilliam Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
. - Aliens - A viewer must find one of the four aliens that doesn't belong.
- Mysteriosos - A game involving droodles that the viewer must guess, similar in appearance to "The Riddler". Produced by Joey Ahlbum.