A report published by the charitable organization Scientific Science claims that celebrities are being tricked by a Nintendo DS game into joining a "mind training" cult.

Brain Age is published by Nintendo and claims to help develop your mind using various mini-games of logic and reflex. According to Nintendo, playing the game daily will help to get your mind in shape and keep your thinking fresh and young as you get older. Scientific Science thinks otherwise.

"Sure, playing a reflex game over and over again will help you to cultivate that particular reflex," said Gordon Shumway, a researcher for The Melmac Institute and a Scientific Science board member. "But your mind isn't going to get any younger. This isn't some quick-fix solution to help you find your keys."

Nicole Kidman and Patrick Stewart have been endorsing the game and a group of like-minded celebrities have even started a Brain Age Centre in Hollywood. Ray Bradbury, the famous science fiction writer, started the group and has developed a system of teachings based on the game. He's confident that by reading his teachings and playing the game that people will start to think clearer and become happier as a result.

"I've included all of my knowledge in the teachings. I guarantee that if you follow them, you will be a better person. The book will be available in stores soon."

Some people are concerned that Bradbury and his group are more aligned with a cult then with a group of brain exercise enthusiasts. Mark Tummell, the founder of COW (Cult Organizations are Weird), a cult watchdog group, sees signs of a cult starting to form. He's afraid that people will get sucked in by the pseudo-science and be trapped.

"Anyone can fall for it. I mean, celebrities have so many people they can afford to talk to and find out if something is real or not and yet they still get caught up in weird things. Spooky, even."

The Brain Age Centre is an exclusive group and the only way to be a part of it is by buying the teachings that Bradbury is selling - "sign number one" according to Bradbury.

"There are three signs of a full-blown cult. Sign number one - you have to buy something to be a part of it. Sign number two - it's hard to get out of the group once you're involved and sign number three - magical clothing."

Bradbury denies that the group is a cult.

"All of my teachings are based on pure science. People believe all kinds of weird things anyways. Why can't people just let us play our game in peace."

The game isn't the real issue though according to Shumway. He's afraid that as celebrities start to latch onto this "bad science" that the claims the game makes will start to be thought of as scientific fact by the regular public.

"Celebrities are held in high regard and are thought of as always being on the cutting edge of thought and technology. I'm worried that if someone like Kanye West is touting the fake benefits of Brain Age that the regular public will start to believe its false claims."

A spokesperson for Nintendo could not be reached by phone but an email was sent in response to our queries:

"Give your brain the workout it needs. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! available in stores now!"

ahem... Satire: n. - the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. (i.e. it's a joke)

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