Mindball is a game that goes against the conventional competitive concept, and also reinvents the relationship between man and machine. Instead of activity and adrenalin, it is calmness that mark the truly successful Mindball player. Mindball is unique amongst machines since it is not controlled by the player’s rational, strategic thoughts and decisions. On the contrary, the participants are dependent on the body’s own intuitive reactions to the game/machine.

At first glance, Mindball seems similar to a traditional two player game - two people challenge one another and take their respective positions at each end of a table that is laid out with two goals and a little ball. The rest of the game’s equipment is more special. Both players wear a headband with electrodes wired up to a biosensor system. This system, that is used to measure the body’s biological signals, is tightly fastened to the frontal lobes and registers the electrical activity of the brain - the so called EEG. The players’ brain activity is graphed in a diagram and displayed on a monitor so that the public can easily follow the players’ mental processes during the match.

The brain waves that move the ball forward, increasing the chance of victory, are called Alpha and Theta waves. They are generated by the brain when one is calm and relaxed. A considerably stressed player will therefore lose.

The matches’ outcome is rarely obvious since the transition between calm and stress, and vice versa, can occur quickly. Often, the ball will roll backwards and forwards for a few minutes before the game is concluded. In this way, Mindball is an exciting and social game where the audience can follow the match by watching the ball on the table, the graph on the display/monitor and the more or less relaxed expressions of the players.