New games powered by brain waves

Tim Sheridan, wearing a headset containing sensors for the forehead and earlobes to measure brainwave activity, uses his mind to raise a small purple foam ball as he demonstrates the Mindflex game at the Mattel display at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8, 2009.

It's not magic, but rather the latest game from toy maker Mattel, which allows players to move a ball around an obstacle course by using just their powers of concentration.

Focusing on the ball causes a fan in the base of the game -- called Mind Flex -- to start up and lift the ball on a gentle stream of air. Break your concentration and the ball descends.

Once a player has the ball in the air they need to try to weave it through hoops, towers and other obstacles.

"It's a mind-eye coordination game," said Mattel's Tim Sheridan. "As you relax you'll find that the ball drops."

Mind Flex relies on EEG technology to measure brain wave activity through a headset equipped with sensors for the forehead and earlobes.

The game, which will be available in September for 79.99 dollars, is being displayed by Mattel at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

But Mattel is not the only toy maker tapping into the power of the mind.

In a report this week USA Today newspaper said game maker Uncle Milton plans to release a similar game this year. Called "Force Trainer" it is named after "The Force" powers of Yoda and Luke Skywalker in the popular Star Wars films.

The game calls for players to lift a ball inside a transparent tube using their powers of concentration.

"It's been a fantasy everyone has had, using The Force," the daily quoted Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing, as saying.

"Force Trainer" also uses electroencephalography, or EEG, to measure electrical activity in the brain recorded on a headset containing sensors.

A company called NeuroSky adapted the EEG technology for both games, according to USA Today.