ctrlhq

Brainsprint

Swap the scroll for a minute of brain.

Five one-minute brain games that pop up under your notch when you choose. Quick math, word guess, memory and focus.

Buy ctrlhq · Launch price, regularly $49: $19

One-time purchase, lifetime updates

14-day money-back guaranteeAlready bought? Download

ctrlhq's Brainsprint tab with five games and the reminder schedule

Most breaks are a reflex: pick up the phone, open a feed, lose ten minutes. Brainsprint gives that reflex somewhere better to go.

Every so often ctrlhq offers a one-minute game under the notch. Say yes and a small card drops down, you play for a minute with the keyboard, and you're back to work. Say later and it asks again in ten minutes.

What you get

  • Five quick games

    Quick Math, Word Guess, Number Chain, Odd One Out and Stroop Dash. Mental arithmetic, vocabulary, working memory, visual attention and focus.

  • One minute, then done

    Timed games run for 60 seconds. After a game you can go once more, up to three times, and the card tells you when that's plenty.

  • Keyboard first

    Type the answer, type the word, press 1 to 4. Esc closes the card at any point, with no penalty.

  • Offered on your schedule

    Every 15 minutes to 3 hours of time at your Mac, within the hours you pick, on weekdays if you like. Snooze it and it comes back in 10 minutes.

  • Never mid-take

    Stays quiet while you record, take meeting notes, run a focus session, or have ctrlhq open.

  • Scores stay here

    Personal bests and your daily streak are stored on your Mac. No account, no leaderboard, nothing uploaded.

How it works

  1. 1Open the Brainsprint tab and press Play on any game, or turn on reminders.
  2. 2Pick how often to be offered one, and the hours it's allowed.
  3. 3When the offer appears under the notch, press Play and use the keyboard.
  4. 4Beat your best, then get back to what you were doing.

Questions

Will it make me smarter?

It isn't a clinical brain trainer and doesn't claim to be. It's a one-minute break that asks you to think a little, in place of a scroll, so you come back to work with something other than a feed in your head.

Does it watch what I browse?

No. Brainsprint doesn't look at your apps or websites. It offers a game on the interval you set, counted only while you're at your Mac.

Which games are included?

Quick Math, Word Guess, Number Chain, Odd One Out and Stroop Dash. Choose which of them are in the rotation, or play any of them whenever you like from the tab or the power tool.

Does Word Guess need the internet?

No. The word list and the dictionary check are both on your Mac.

Also in the notch

All features

Brainsprint, and everything else.

Every feature is in one app, for one price: $19 once, no subscription, and a full refund within 14 days if it isn't for you.

Buy ctrlhq · Launch price, regularly $49: $19

One-time purchase, lifetime updates

14-day money-back guaranteeAlready bought? Download

macOS 26 Tahoe or later · Apple silicon & Intel