Many of us are so busy outside the home we rarely ever really interact with our family. We wish there was something we could do that includes the very young and old at the same time.
Do you have a difficult time keeping up with board games? Lost parts, damaged parts or not enough room to play or keep up with board games?
One of the ideas I came up with was converting the board games my family has loved to play over the years is to video game format. They are often available on PC software as well. A favorite game of mine is Jeopardy. I also like to play Monopoly and Family Feud. While I am waiting and hoping these games will be added to the Nintendo Wii video game line I also have my PlayStation 2 console with Jeopardy and Monopoly. I went through two Monopoly board games before saying enough. I once had a Jeopardy game but I never got to play it because of the lack of players. With the video game systems you can play against the computer.
For now we have the Ultimate Game Board and Game Party. Checkers, Battleship, Darts, Air Hockey and many other games are available on these discs. It has saved me time, money and sanity by having all the favorite games on a disc rather than boxes sitting around collecting dust sometimes with missing parts.
But what about games for the small group like Kindergarteners? Well, my son Caleb is 5 1/2. One of my concerns about video games was are there any video games out there he can play? My son was diagnosed with developmental delays last year in Pre-K. I was given a list of suggestions to help him get caught up. For the most part I did what I could to help build the muscles in his hands as well as his hand/eye coordination.
Just after Christmas I bought my kids a Nintendo Wii. I had done a lot of research to learn the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages of having a Nintendo Wii. A few days after making my purchase I found that the Parents magazine from December had a section with the most recommended video games for the season. It turns out that several that were mentioned we had with our collection. Many of the games we owned were recommended for preschool aged children. How many true video game systems can you find that include preschool children and they can actually play the games? This was a concern of mine when I was considering purchasing the Nintendo Wii. I wanted something my son could enjoy besides myself and his older sister.
My son enjoys playing Mario Party 8. He gets to interact with his older sister and get to play with his own remote. Another one he enjoys playing is Carnival. This is actually a favorite of all of ours. It brings you back to those fun times while being at a carnival. Skee ball, A day at the races horse game, Basketball hoops, Milk can toss, and many more games are just part of the fun you can have.
With Carnival I was able to interact with my daughter and son. We all had such a great time playing against each other and with our own remotes. In fact, my son Caleb put me to shame beating me on several of the games!
One thing I really liked about the Wii is the downloads option. I purchased Wii points after I found out that many of the classic games I had played as a child on my NES (original system) are available through downloads. One of my children's first video game systems was a Sega Genesis. Several of the games we owned with the system could now be downloaded onto our Wii to play. All you have to have is the Standard controller designed for the downloaded games. A favorite of mine from the Sega Genesis is Columns. Downloading the game was quick and painless. Graphics are the same and playing it is also the same. I was unable to save the games that I had played but it was not a big deal. As I recall you couldn't truly do that on the genesis once you turned it off.
Another advantage is being able to play Nintendo GameCube games that is along as you have the GameCube memory card and controller(s). I found several games for my daughter as well as myself with this option. One game that I had for my PS2 was by Namco Museum. It has Pac Man, Galaxian, Galaga and a couple of others on it. I found that a special edition was created for the GameCube which I found used at our local GameCrazy store. My daughter also was a huge fan of the Sonic games from our Sega Genesis. We found the Sonic Collection on Ebay and purchased it. She has enjoyed playing all the games combined on one disc.
I cannot say enough about the Nintendo Wii. Memories are created when an entire family plays the Wii together. My son Caleb is building his hand/eye coordination playing games such as baseball.
If you are skeptical about the Nintendo Wii really wearing you out, change your attitude now. The first few days I played the Wii I mostly played the tennis, bowling and baseball. After playing Tennis for a few hours I realized I was quite sore. The following morning I woke up still sore as ever. I was amazed at how much of a work out I actually got from playing a mere video game system. I remember the hard work I had when playing the boxing. Several times I had to stop and rest because I was so wore out.
If you have older children particularly teenagers and you don' t know what to get. I would recommend the PlayStation 3. I finally had the opportunity to view the graphics on a PS3. I was amazed. The sound was great as if it was at a movie theatre.
The Wii is mostly for children and small families although there are role playing games for those who are up for a challenge. The Wii is also very easy to connect and play.
Many of the games and the Nintendo Wii itself I bought off of Ebay. I went to countless retail and electronics stores looking for the Nintendo Wii, games and accessories with a lot of difficulty. At the time I purchased the Wii it was a few weeks after Christmas. Wii Play, Wii Remotes and the Wii Nunchucks were nearly impossible to find.
If you are in the market for something productive and fun interaction I recommend the Nintendo Wii. It is truly for all ages. The Wii is great entertainment for those not so great days when you cannot go outside because of the weather or when you are not feeling so well. It is also a great tool for therapy whether it is helping to build coordination or physical therapy.
The best part is you can interact with your family and have a really great time including memories.