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Video Games Mom and Dad Can Play

One dad's take on Nintendo's Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics.

The kids want more Minecraft or Fortnite, but as parents, we want them to engage with the rest of the family. There’s another solution: find games that everyone can play…even Mom and Dad. I took the newly released game, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics for the Nintendo Switch, for a test drive with my family.

As the name implies, you get 51 games with this single purchase. That seems like a great deal, and it is, but these are what I would call “mini games.” You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck at less than $1 per game, but don’t be surprised if there are some games that you don’t play at all.

You’ll find a handful of classic card games, including President, Texas Hold ’Em, and Blackjack. Some of the others are pickup-and-play games like Four-In-A-Row (remember Connect 4?), Dots and Boxes, and Air Hockey. My favorite games in the collection reminded me of the good ol’ days of the Nintendo Wii—especially Bowling and Toy Baseball. They aren’t quite as good as they were on the Wii (Bowling only allowed two players instead of four), but they come close, and my kids loved playing them as a family.

Bottom line, this is an awesome deal and I guarantee out of the 51 games you’ll find a few that you’ll enjoy playing together as a family—a majority of the games are multiplayer. Best of all, most of them will take a matter of minutes to figure out and can be played by people of all ages. As a parent, I felt good about what my kids were playing. No blood, no gore. The only things they were shooting were balloons, and they actually played with each other instead of sitting in front of the screen by themselves.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is available for $40.

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