The WORST episodes of Brain Games

Every episode of Brain Games ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Brain Games!

National Geographic Channel's Emmy-nominated series Brain Games returns this summer with 10 new mind-blowing episodes! Host Jason Silva gets inside your head and shows you what's really going on in there with an intricate series of interactive experiments designed to mess with your mind and reveal the inner-workings of your brain. Hailed by critics as "tremendous fun" that "makes science entertaining," Brain Games turns your mind's eye inwards for a fascinating journey into the three and a half pounds of tissue that makes you... you.

Last Updated: 2/17/2024Network: National GeographicStatus: Ended
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Battle of the Sexes 2
star
7.16
62 votes

#1 - Battle of the Sexes 2

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/28/2014

Find out how the male brain and female brain differ when they are pitted against each other in games and experiments. Learn which gender is victorious in the battle of the sexes.

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Tiffany Haddish: Movie Magic
star
7.47
19 votes

#2 - Tiffany Haddish: Movie Magic

Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/2/2020

Actress Tiffany Haddish and director Jordan Peele join Keegan-Michael Key to play a series of games.

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Rebel Wilson: Love and Attraction
star
7.48
21 votes

#3 - Rebel Wilson: Love and Attraction

Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/24/2020

Actress Rebel Wilson joins Keegan-Michael Key to explore the power of the subconscious when it comes to falling in love.

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Superstitions
star
7.49
71 votes

#4 - Superstitions

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/28/2014

Learn about your superstition and why humans believe in things that have no basis in reality. Discover why your brain may be hardwired to be superstitious and if it's possible to read minds.

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Addiction
star
7.49
75 votes

#5 - Addiction

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/14/2014

Learn all about addictions and why some can actually be good for you. Find out why you can't stop checking your phone and why that awful pop song gets stuck in your head. And, discover one of the most addictive sounds in the world.

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Risk
star
7.53
70 votes

#6 - Risk

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/21/2014

Nearly every choice you make involves some calculated risk. Explore how your brain evaluates risk in everyday situations and discover why we're all born as risk-takers. Learn to assess risk like your life depends on it, because it does.

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Food
star
7.54
63 votes

#7 - Food

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/4/2014

Discover the brain's role in your choice of food and what makes you hungry. Through interactive games and experiments, you will learn why you overeat and whether taking comfort in comfort food is good for you.

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In Living Color
star
7.60
109 votes

#8 - In Living Color

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/13/2014

Think you understand the colors you see every day? Think an apple is actually red, or a leaf is really green? Think again. This episode of Brain Games puts your brain to the ultimate test with a series of interactive games and fascinating experiments that will reveal a shocking truth—color is just an illusion created by your brain. We'll show you how some colors can make you fly, reveal ghostly colors that don't actually exist, and if you play along you’ll see how color helps keep you alive.

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The Survivor Brain
star
7.66
59 votes

#9 - The Survivor Brain

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/20/2016

Jason Silva meets several people in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who personify the word "survivor," and puts their brains to the test in a battery of challenges engineered to demonstrate what it takes to be a super survivor.

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Retrain Your Brain
star
7.68
105 votes

#10 - Retrain Your Brain

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/24/2014

Are you stuck with the brain you're born with, or can you improve it? It's easy to upgrade the electronic devices you rely on every day; can you do the same with your brain? The answer might surprise you. Discover how to take advantage of your brain's mental shortcuts, and how to be on the lookout for the little short circuits that can crash your system. We're going to hack your neural network to access secret mental software that can change your life, and if you play along you’ll get to try your hand at the only game PROVEN to boost your IQ.

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Paranormal
star
7.69
45 votes

#11 - Paranormal

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/9/2015

Have you ever seen a ghost? Have you ever known something was going happen before it happened? If so, you may share a link with the paranormal. Or it might just be your brain playing tricks on you. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer in the supernatural, you have to admit there are things out there your brain just can't quite explain. This is an episode about your brain and the paranormal. Get ready for a series of games and experiments designed to prove you actually know more about the unknown than you think. We're going to put your sixth sense to the test by ...

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In It to Win It
star
7.70
129 votes

#12 - In It to Win It

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/10/2014

Whether you're trying to get to the head of the class, earn the big promotion, or just find a parking spot—every day, you're competing. With yourself... and with others. So what is it about the human brain that makes you want to win—sometimes at all costs? In this episode we'll explore your brain and competition through a series of competitions! Each viewer will be assigned a team and play along as our Red and Blue teams duke it out in a head to head battle to determine the winner of “The Brain Games.” Along the way you'll learn what drives you to compete, why some people may be born more competitive, and how a little healthy rivalry can help you climb the ladder of success.

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Left vs. Right
star
7.72
40 votes

#13 - Left vs. Right

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/19/2015

Whether you're a left-handed artist or a right-handed accountant, we all use both sides of our brains. But is there any science behind the notion that the left half or our brain is the creative side while the right half is more logical? In this episode about your left and right brain, we're going to put you through a series of games and experiments designed to find out how the two sides operate, what they really control, and whether or not one side of your brain dominates the other.

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Drew Brees: Performance
star
7.73
15 votes

#14 - Drew Brees: Performance

Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/27/2020

New Orleans Saints NFL quarterback Drew Brees puts his brain to the test with a series of mental challenges exploring how we can train our own minds to do as we want.

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Morality
star
7.76
46 votes

#15 - Morality

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2015

Have you ever wondered where your morality comes from? Is it ingrained in your brain, set by religion, or does society dictate what you deem as right or wrong? Through a series of interactive games and experiments, we'll test the strength of your moral fiber. Play along and discover how your brain makes countless moral decisions every single day. We're going to mess with your mind as we show you how outside influences like clothing, attitude, and your own evolutionary survival may sway your brain...and your morals.

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Perspective
star
7.77
35 votes

#16 - Perspective

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/28/2015

In this episode of Brain Games, you'll see how your brain gets tripped up by odd angles, how light and shadows play a crucial role in your perception of the world, how you can radically shift the way you see reality, and how your brain isn't always as honest with you as you think. Through a series of games and experiments, you'll discover why you shouldn't always believe what you see.

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Intuition
star
7.78
37 votes

#17 - Intuition

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/25/2014

The power of intuition--when you know something to be true without knowing why--is one of the mind's greatest mysteries. Test your intuition and learn how your brain makes decisions without you having to think about it.

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Language
star
7.79
70 votes

#18 - Language

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/21/2014

Discover how language is the closest thing humans have to telepathy and how you communicate without words every day. Guest Sri Sarma, a biomedical-engineer from John Hopkins University, leads a discovery of language and how humans create meaning.

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Common Sense
star
7.80
49 votes

#19 - Common Sense

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/19/2015

From knowing when to cross the street to avoiding hot stoves, your brain is constantly making judgments that you likely take for granted. We chalk it up to common sense - but just how common is it? Through interactive games and mind-bending challenges, unravel your mental shortcuts and learn how to harness the power of collective thinking. Play along to understand how your common sense can either lead you astray or keep you on the right track.

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Meet the Brain
star
7.80
92 votes

#20 - Meet the Brain

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/14/2016

A tour through the labyrinthine city of London; a metaphor for your brain and its numerous regions and intricate pathways.

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Brains Behaving Badly
star
7.81
67 votes

#21 - Brains Behaving Badly

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/28/2016

Host Jason Silva visits New Orleans, Louisiana, to explore the brain and bad behavior. A series of games and experiments demonstrate how the brain has an evolutionary predilection toward doing the wrong thing.

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The God Brain
star
7.81
67 votes

#22 - The God Brain

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/21/2016

Jason Silva travels to Israel to explore “The God Brain.” New research has uncovered that believing in God may be hardwired in our brains.

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Logic
star
7.83
35 votes

#23 - Logic

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/9/2015

In this episode of Brain Games, we put your problem-solving skills to the test as we lead you through a labyrinth of logic games. Every day, you use logic to get things done, from dressing for the weather, choosing the best route to work, to deciding what to eat for dinner. Through a series of interactive games and experiments, you'll learn about the power and the limitations of your logical abilities. Studies have found that logic is something you develop and hone with practice, so play along as we present puzzles and illusions that will help strengthen your brain.

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Positive Thinking
star
7.87
52 votes

#24 - Positive Thinking

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/28/2015

Do you sometimes hear a little voice in your head, an inner critic that keeps you from performing at your best? What if we told you there's a way to change what that voice is telling you that will improve your performance in just about anything you try? It might come as a surprise, but research shows thinking positive is more than just a warm and fuzzy idea. And in this episode about positive thinking, we're going to show you how thinking positive can change your thoughts, your reality, and even your life! We're going to mess with your mood to show you what really ...

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Kids vs. Adults
star
7.87
15 votes

#25 - Kids vs. Adults

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/3/2020

Actor Anthony Anderson and his co-star Marsai Martin face off in a series of games with Keegan-Michael Key.

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