When Fiona Conrad, 11, isn't playing her guitar, she's fighting zombies.
But it's not just child's play.
Fiona says the video game, called "Project Azriel," has made her smarter.
"When I took the IQ test, I was 97, and then I took the IQ test again, and I was 102," said Conrad.
What's the game like?
"You have to match patterns for you to be able to actually shoot the zombies," explained Conrad.
You also have to pause at various points in the action to complete a memory test. But it certainly looks more like a traditional video game than most brain games. That's by design.
"Project Azriel" tries to tap into what makes non-educational games more interesting, while also teaching important skills.
"We're trying to entratrain you instead of entertain you," said Deanna Terzian, president of Curriculaworks.
Terzian and her team have worked for six years with the Office of Naval Research to develop the game. It focuses on fluid intelligence or the ability to solve problems. One measure of fluid intelligence is your IQ.
"If you could get your child to play this game some of the time, then that means some of the time that they're doing something for fun, they're actually training their brain," said Terzian.
One study showed participants who played for 16 hours a month improved five points on average in their matrix reasoning score.
"Project Azriel" is available online. The cost ranges from $19 to $70.
"Today's world is so much more complex than before. Students are expected, people, adults, children are expected, to learn more in less time," said Terzian.
And now, even the undead are lending a hand.
To learn more about "Project Azriel," click here.