Comparison

Emotional Brain Study vs Brain Explorer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Emotional Brain Study

Features
Read full description

Are you good at ignoring emotional distraction? Can you control what emotional information to remember and what to forget? Neuroscientists and emotion researchers at University College London (UCL) think these abilities are related to how we feel. Find out for yourself by playing these fun games and help advance science while you play! In this study scientists from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience are exploring how much control people have over experiencing emotions, how this relates to their mood and how this changes over time. Each time you use the app to play a game and record your mood you will be contributing to this scientific study and you’ll be helping the neuroscientists to understand the mind’s emotional control system. The app will help you track your mood. Over time you can track your mood and emotional control performance pattern to find out whether your own mood is changing as a function of your control ability or not. The app will also allow you to measure your emotional control ability and compare it to other players’ ability. Running this study in the general population through an app provides the researchers with a unique opportunity to understand how these processes operate in everyday life. This information is very useful to advance our understanding of how mood can be improved in individuals who frequently experience low mood. Data privacy: Your data privacy is important to us. All data collected as part of this study is fully anonymised. No personally relevant information will be collected and the anonymous data that is being collected is used only for scientific research. Funding: The app is supported by the Wellcome Trust.

About

Brain Explorer

Engage in fun, scientifically-backed games to test your cognitive abilities. Compare your brainpower with others and contribute to neuroscience research. Explore a galaxy-themed adventure while unlocking new challenges and earning achievements.

Highlights
  • Play brain-testing games
  • Compare brain scores with others
  • Win medals and unlock games
  • Help scientists understand the brain
  • Space-themed exploration
  • Anonymous data collection
Features
Read full description

How does your brain work? How is your brain power compared to your friends? Play the fun and entertaining games in the Brain Explorer app and learn all about your brain. The Brain Explorer app was developed by world-leading neuroscientists at University College London (UCL) and brings you the newest games to measure your brain power using the most state-of-the-art brain tests. Using this app, you can - Play many fun games that test your brain power - Compare your brain scores with others - Win medals and unlock hidden games - Help scientists understand how the brain works. You will explore outer space, find new planets, visit intergalactic marketplaces and hunt for treasures across the entire galaxy. This space-themed app entails multiple entertaining games, each of them probing another brain function. You get feedback about your performance, can learn about your brain strengths, and compare yourself to others. By playing these games, you will collect moons and stars that allow you to further explore the galaxy. If you play well, you will win medals and get badges for your achievements. Brain explorer is a citizen science project. By playing these games and answering questions, you will help scientist understand how the brain develops and how brain functions are linked to mental health. Become a researcher yourself and help uncover the hidden mysteries of the brain. Data collection is entirely anonymous.

Screenshots

Emotional Brain Study4 screens
Brain Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Brain Explorer at monthly against Emotional Brain Study's every 5 months. Emotional Brain Study's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emotional Brain Study ships an update every 5 months, Brain Explorer monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Emotional Brain Study versus Brain Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmotional Brain StudyBrain Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB51 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperH2 Cognitive Designs LTDthkp, LLC

In-app purchases

None

Emotional Brain Study

No in-app purchases

None

Brain Explorer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emotional Brain Study free?
Emotional Brain Study is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Brain Explorer free?
Brain Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Emotional Brain Study or Brain Explorer have ads?
Neither Emotional Brain Study nor Brain Explorer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emotional Brain Study or Brain Explorer?
Emotional Brain Study ships an update every 5 months, and Brain Explorer monthly. Most recently, Emotional Brain Study was updated on October 3, 2026 and Brain Explorer on September 30, 2026.

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