FAQs
When you registered, you should have received an email with login instructions for your Parent Dashboard. (Can’t find the email? Just go to app.brainchase.com and click “FORGOT PASSWORD.” You’ll receive an email that will take you straight into your Parent account. This is where you can find the login information for each of your students.
Now LOG OUT as a parent and LOG BACK IN using the student credentials. This will take you to the Student Dashboard. Once the Warm-up Week begins, you can dive in and get started!
Be sure to also check out this Quick Start Guide and a few videos that might help:
Please just send us an email us at info@brainchase.com! We understand that sometimes things seen urgent, and it might be tempting to email, post on Facebook, comment on Instagram, send instant messages, try to call, or even track down the personal emails and phone numbers of team members – but to improve our response time, we’re asking that you please send all questions to our email account. I promise we’ll get back to you!
We completely stand by our products and offer refunds to our valuable customers:
- if your request is within the first two calendar weeks of a multiple-week program (or two days of a one-week program)
- if you have not received decoder rings, brass compasses, t-shirts, or other materials in the mail. If your request is within the first 2 weeks and you received your items, we will prorate the refund or ask you to return the items.
- if you have not upgraded to electives like Rosetta Stone, CodeCombat, and others where we incur licensing fees on your behalf. If your request is within the first 2 weeks and you upgraded to Rosetta Stone or CodeCombat, we will prorate the refund to cover the fees.
We are confident that you will enjoy Brain Chase once you get going (see what parents are saying). If you are having trouble accessing your account or getting started, please email us at info@brainchase.com for help.
We wish it could be! But we strongly believe in paying our teachers fairly. Brain Chase isn’t a free online app or video game. But it isn’t a $600/week summer camp either. As one customer put it, “Brain Chase is a multi-faceted learning experience that beautifully straddles the virtual and physical worlds.” Each program may vary slightly, and your experience will vary based on the package and electives you choose, but in general, Brain Chase participants can receive:
- Live, credentialed teachers providing weekly, personalized feedback
- “Camp counselors” standing by to respond to questions, emails, and chats
- 6-8 weeks of access to Code Combat, Rosetta Stone, Typing Club, and other programs (no additional registrations or logins necessary)
- Weekly “Bonus Challenges” in different subjects ranging from astronomy to music composition
- 6-8 weeks of animated or movie-themed content packed with hidden clues, riddles, and puzzles that boost 21st Century Skills like problem-solving, creative thinking, and grit
- The chance to compete against other families around the world in a massive, global treasure hunt with a real, buried prize (prizes may vary with different programs)
- Multiple “Adventure Tools” (i.e., brass compasses, metal decoder rings, exotic coins, etc.) mailed out at different points during the program in wax-sealed envelopes
- Parent Dashboards to track student progress in real-time
It’s true that Brain Chase sometimes utilizes programs and partners that are free for anyone to use. That’s part of the fun! One of our goals is to get kids hooked on the best available tools. We routinely hear that Brain Chase is worth every penny and more – but see for yourselves. We guarantee that you and your kids will love it.
We do not currently offer sibling discounts.
If you’re creating teams for a library, school, group, or district, that’s different. Please reach out to us at groupsales@brainchase.com.
We understand that every family has to find ways to make ends meet and want to help out as much as possible. Click here to learn about resources available to you and your family.
Absolutely!! We have thousands of students from outside the US who join us each year. A couple things to keep in mind:
- Please select the SCOUT package, then purchase any t-shirts, adventure tools, or other gear separately through the Brain Chase Shop. Don’t worry – all of the electives can be purchased a la carte. This options simply lets you help us with international shipping costs (thank you!).
- Some states and countries don’t support participation in competitions like Brain Chase, so please check the contest rules to see if you are officially eligible to win the prize. IF YOU’RE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN, don’t worry – you can still participate in the full academic challenge, and you can still make guesses about the whereabouts of the treasure. If you’re the first to find it, we’ll still find a way to take care of you.
- Are you a US citizen who’s living abroad? As long as you can claim one of the US states as your place of residence for tax purposes, you’re in good shape. But please select the SCOUT package.
We’re proud to offer a program that was built with travel and adventure in mind! Whether your student is traveling, attending sleepaway camp, or simply falls behind, Brain Chase will be here when s/he’s ready to move forward. The dashboards will stay live for at least two weeks after the final week of the treasure hunt.
Then find it! This is a treasure hunt, after all.
We also provide a virtual version of each Adventure Tool, since not all participants elect to receive them (see the Hints on the relevant Bonus Challenge pages), or you can order replacements from the Brain Chase Shop.
When you’ve completed your elective challenge for the week, you’ll receive a green checkmark over the icon on your Student Dashboard. If you’ve started on the elective, but have not yet submitted your work, you might see a blue ellipsis over the icon. If you’ve submitted your work, but you haven’t yet received personal feedback for your submission, you’ll see a yellow hourglass over your icon. If that’s the case, please be patient – your work will be reviewed shortly.
Just follow the instructions provided on the Khan Academy page. You no longer need to set up Brain Chase as a coach – instead, your student will just log his own Khan Academy energy points manually using the ADD DATA field on the Brain Chase Math page.
TypingClub is the same – you’re welcome to create your own typing account by clicking Save Progress in the upper-right corner on TypingClub.com. Students will track their typing progress using the ADD DATA field on their Brain Chase Typing page.
Thank you for your honesty! Just go back to the ADD DATA filed and type a negative (-) symbol and a point value, and you can take points off of the board. But please note: once a challenge has been unlocked, it won’t re-lock itself.
Each student must select THREE electives. This can be done by selecting “Edit Student” on the Parent Dashboard. The electives can be changed during the first week of the program (the “Warm-up Week”).
Go into your Parent Dashboard and select Edit Student, then make sure you have three electives chosen (even if they aren’t your final choices). Next, scroll down and choose the electives you’d like to add, and make the additional purchases if necessary. The new upgrades will now appear in your available elective list, so make your final three choices and click SAVE.
For Khan Academy, just access any Khan Account – the one we provide for you, one you set up yourself, or you could even start doing work without logging in. Just don’t forget to return to your Math page and manually input your energy points.
Having trouble syncing your time with TypingClub? You can create your own account, or just use the program without logging in. Either way, you’ll need to return to your Brain Chase Typing page to manually input your typing minutes.
Not seeing credit for your Google Books reading time? Here are a few ideas:
- First of all, make sure you’re reading on the Brain Chase Google Books page, and not leaving Brain Chase to go directly to Google Books! We’ll never see your reading minutes that way.
- Remember that you won’t receive credit for time spent browsing different titles – only time spent inside a book. And please make sure you’re actively engaging with the content by turning pages and scrolling. If you remain inactive for more than 7 minutes, the system will believe you’ve checked out, and it will stop counting your time.
- You’re also welcome to read offline and manually input your reading minutes.
If your time isn’t recording with Rosetta Stone, keep in mind that you only earn credit in six-minute increments. Learning a new language is like going to the gym for your brain; you can’t expect to see progress if you only exercise for a few minutes at a time.
Having trouble accessing your Coding account? Occasionally we get errors or delayed syncing with Code Combat, but we’ve found that switching browsers can work wonders here. We highly recommend the Firefox browser for the Coding challenge.
Google Books is a rich online library of public domain literature. We’ve recommended dozens of titles for each age group (and we’re hoping to hear back with user recommendations as well!), but you’re also free to use the search bar to search for other titles. Here you’ll find unabridged timeless classics including Anne of Green Gables, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Secret Garden, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Romeo & Juliet, and thousands of others.
Two things you’ll want to keep in mind:
- Please note that Google Books is NOT the same library as Google Play. Google Play is different service that allows you to pay to download more contemporary titles. Due to complicated publisher licensing agreements, Google currently restricts Google Play titles from integrating into programs like Brain Chase.
- You’ll want to avoid “preview” versions of books (unless you’re a fan of unresolved cliffhangers).
Click here for more information about using Google Books with Brain Chase.
Sorry. We allow catching up, but we don’t allow zooming ahead – we don’t want anyone to see any clues before the others.
Yes! There’s no reason not to collaborate with other families and teams. There are no rules about sharing hints, clues, or even solutions – the only rule is that the students must complete their own academic work.
Hard! But they need to be, since all you’ll need to do is click on a map to win some cash. And think of all the online resources you have access to! Click here to see how Grayson and Jack Engler solved the mystery in Summer 2014 and here to see how Ashton Detwiler and his family solved it in Summer 2015.
Note – the “escape” portion of the Escape Rooms won’t be terribly hard, and there will be several resources available to help you solve them and advance. But the map/treasure portion of the game will be considerably more difficult.
For Summer Treasure Hunts, students are completely responsible for their own learning electives. But once the clues are unlocked, it’s open book, open parent, open internet, open…everything. We love when parents and children can work on projects together. Besides, we suspect that children will be better than grownups at finding hidden clues.
Haha. We’re glad you’re curious. But we’ll never tell you. All we can say is that it’s buried someplace wonderful.
Don’t worry, someone always solves it. If not, we will begin posting additional clues until the correct answer is submitted.
Go to the Map page and click on the map to place your pin, then click Submit. After each guess, you’ll need to wait 24 hours before guessing again.
We’re monitoring the guesses very closely, and we’ll notify the winner shortly after the program is completed. In addition to screening the radius from the prize, the time stamp, and the completion of all academic work (Summer Treasure Hunts only), we’ll make sure all potential winners have abided by the User Covenants and all of the Official Rules.
OF COURSE! Do you think we’d let you have the treasure if you took a shortcut to adventure? All academic modules in the Student Dashboard must be completed and unlocked. So stick with the challenge!
No! That is simply the first time the new content will be available on the Student Dashboard. You can start Brain Chase at any time and there is no penalty for starting later and no reward for starting right at the exact time the Student Dashboards open. So don’t worry if you get to it later in the day or even later in the week. Keep in mind that the first week of each program or month is also a “Warm-up Week,” allowing participants to get started without feeling pressure of winning.
Don’t be daunted by the instructions on this page! There’s a very simple way to do Caesar and Vigenere ciphers: watch this video to learn how.
You can’t unlock the videos, challenges, and clues of Week One until you’ve completed the Warm-up Week (or Warm-up Day). The Warm-up challenges go very quickly.
Parents and students log in from the same page, so parents must first log out in order for their students to sign on.
Parent Log in:
We automatically send an email with instructions regarding how to set up your Parent Dashboard after you register. Sometimes these emails go to Spam or Promotions. If you cannot find this email, just go to the login page and use the email address you registered with to request a new password. One will be sent automatically. You can also email a request to info@brainchase.com and we will help you out.
Student Log in:
All student login information is found on the main page of the Parent Dashboard under the words “Student Passbook.” Your Khan Academy login information is also located within the Math Challenge section of the student dashboard.
We do not provide logins for Typing Club, myOn, Code Combat, Rosetta Stone, Google Books, or other electives because the sign-in is automatic. You are only able to access these sites by linking to them from your student dashboard.
Have you signed the User Covenants? Log in to your Parent Dashboard, scroll down to the Student Passbook, and select Edit Profile under Student Info. Now scroll to the very bottom of the Student Information page to the blue box labeled SIGN PARENT AND STUDENT COVENANTS. Click to review the covenants, then check the boxes, and click SAVE CHANGES.
Is it still the Warm-up Week? You need to wait until the Week One videos or rooms are released.
Have you already registered a guess within the last 24 hours? You’ll need to wait until the clock counter reaches zero before you can guess again!
Are you submitting coordinates in the correct format? Instead of copying coordinates from Google Earth or another program and pasting them into your coordinate boxes, try simply clicking on the Treasure Map and letting it auto-generate your coordinates for you. Then click “Submit.”
Please see our Technical Requirements page to learn more!
Brain Chase is an online challenge, so you’ll need a high-speed internet connection. It will work on the latest versions of Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari web browsers. You will be able to complete many of the academic challenges on tablets (i.e., math and reading), but since others will be more difficult (i.e., writing), we strongly recommend having a desktop or laptop available.
Please note – if you don’t have access to an appropriate device or an adequate internet connection, then you won’t be able to participate. Plus, it would be hard for you to be reading this right now. Please contact us at info@brainchase.com with any technical questions.
Go to the Map page and click on the map to place your pin, then click Submit. After each guess, you’ll need to wait 24 hours before guessing again.
The Program – The one-week programs will still use the classic Brain Chase dashboards, but each line will represent ONE DAY instead of ONE WEEK. Some of the electives with time requirements are adjusted accordingly.
The Timing – For the weekly programs, a new line of content and challenges will unlock every day (as long as you’re keeping up!) and you can make treasure guesses every 2 hours instead of 24 hours. For the treasure hunt, you’ll get new content every week, and you’ll get one treasure guess every 24 hours.
The Electives – In the one-week programs you can change electives at any time at no additional cost. But in order to accommodate the daily content releases, all student submissions will receive an automated response. With the six-week treasure hunt, credentialed teachers are standing by to review submissions, but you’ll need to upsell to different electives.
The Storyline – This summer’s six-week treasure hunt features an original Brain Chase animation: Mae Merriweather and her search for the Globe of Magellan. The weekly programs alternate between Brain Chase animations and searches through archived content (i.e., Sherlock Holmes films) for hidden clues.
The Prizes – The winner of each one-week program will receive an official Brain Chase trophy. The winner of the six-week treasure hunt will receive the grand prize: a trip for two to dig up $5,000 USD in gold.
6/12 – 6/16: The Pirate’s Gold
6/19 – 6/23: The Globe of Magellan
6/19 – 8/4: The Globe of Magellan (GLOBAL TREASURE HUNT)
6/26 – 6/30: The Man of Steel
7/3 – 7/7: The Sunstone of Cortes
7/10 – 7/14: The Jungle Book
7/17 – 7/21: The Mask of Tomoe Gozen
7/24 – 7/28: The Lost World
7/31 – 8/4: Sherlock Holmes
The Gray Box is our first-ever live treasure hunt tournament.
What’s the same:
- You’ll use a similar Brain Chase dashboard, and you’ll complete tasks to unlock videos hiding clues
- You’ll have access to a personal map page where you can make treasure guesses
- There’s a real treasure buried somewhere on the planet
What’s different:
- Unlike the summer learning programs, the Gray Box program contains no learning electives
- It’s for players of all ages (not just ages 6-16)
- All past winners are eligible
- In the summer programs, there’s only one winner – but in the Gray Box, every player who solves the mystery before the posted deadline will receive a golden ticket to the final round.
- The summer learning programs end with one family journeying around the world to dig up a treasure – but the Gray Box program ends with an in-person treasure hunt where all players are racing to find the treasure’s location. The first to arrive gets to dig it up while the other participants watch.
- In the summer learning program, all travel expenses are paid. Gray Box finalists travel to the treasure’s destination at their own expense
There are dozens of Gray Boxes hiding all over the world. Their contents and whereabouts are unknown – but we understand that they’re each hiding something amazing.
In Round One of the tournament, players will identify the location of the Final Round by dropping pins on a map. They will identify the treasure’s city – but they won’t know the exact location.
At the designated date and time, finalists will gather in the Gray Box’s town or city. Each player/team will then receive new instructions and a mysterious envelope, and the race will begin. Clues will likely be located at different locations in the town. The tournament ends when one team locates the treasure and all players are summoned to join them for the unearthing.
You’ll learn the dates and location well in advance of the final round.
The golden tickets are non-transferrable; only players who successfully completed the first round are invited to attend the finals. If you are unable to attend the final round, you will not advance in the tournament.
The Gray Box tournament is designed for individuals, families, or teams. In the Final Round, each qualifier is allowed two helpers (participating as teams of three or smaller).
Final Round spectators are welcome – but they cannot be consulted during the treasure hunt.
Brain Chase treasure hunts are designed to take several weeks and some good brain power. Not everyone who enters the tournament will advance to the Final Round.
The in-person round of the tournament might add a few new challenges that previous Brain Chase adventurers haven’t faced before… so stay on your toes!
The Gray Box has no age restrictions, and all previous winners are eligible to win.
Compared to the other Brain Chase programs, The Gray Box skews a bit older, a bit more mysterious, and much more in-person. It’s dialing down the learning electives and dialing up the adventure.
The Gray Box is for teams, individuals, families – and everyone in the mood to dig up and claim a real buried treasure.