My First Wii Challenge - feedback thread (open to non testers too - you could win 2 Wii games)

[AnnMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the MNers taking part in the "My First Wii Challenge" with Nintendo and Mumsnet. You may recall we asked for willing volunteers to try a Wii for 4 weeks and to add their feedback to a thread on Mumsnet. They've been adding lots of feedback already but this is now the 'official' feedback thread.

The families have been playing the following games: uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio, Pictionary and Spongbob, Mario Kart, and Kirby's Epic Yarn. They have also just got Wii Play Motion and Just Dance Jnrs.

We have some challenges and feedback questions for you - do let us know how you got on with set up of the Wii and also try the challenges and see what you think and let us know. Do state the ages and genders of your LO's when posting your reply.

General - please let us know how you got on with the following:

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

~ Create a beautifully furnished room as a family, using the soft furnishings picked up throughout the game

~ Mum and Dad (or another adult) play together (as Kirby and Prince Fluff) followed by the children - the pair with the best score wins

Just Dance Jnrs - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

~ Each family member to assign a dance to another member of the family. The family must then hold a dance off. The family member with the highest score wins

~ Family forms two teams of two. Each team must perform a perfectly synchronised routine and the other team must score them secretly. After each team has performed their routine the scores can be opened. Each family should decide on some things to award extra points for, such as enthusiasm, the best faces pulled while dancing etc.

~ Each family member teaches a routine to a non-family member. Points don?t matter here - it's the taking part that counts!

Mario Kart - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

~ An adult (eg Dad, Grandma) and and child race 3 times and record the best of 3

~ Race a match blindfold: families divide into pairs, and one must race blindfold while the other directs them

Wii Play Motion - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

~ Crown each member of the family king or queen of one mini game. The challenge is to find one game that each family member excels at

~ One sibling teaches the other how to play a new mini-game (if possible)

uDraw - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

~ Create a drawing of a designated family member in under one minute

~ Create a drawing made entirely from the stamps provided in uDraw Studio

~ Play Pictionary in teams - adults vs children, mixed teams..who wins?

~ Create teams and each team creates a Dood - the team whose Dood gets the highest score wins

If you already have a Wii, please do let Nintendo know what you think of these games and of your use as a family of the Wii - add your views here or try some of the challenges and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one lucky winner will receive two Wii games!

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Fennel I think the Dood thing is from the new game we got called Dood's Big Adventure.

Just marking my place here. I will put up the start of my review tomorrow when I get dd off to nursery.

We haven't played pictionary at all yet as dd I feel is a bit young and her granny refused to draw anything, so I am waiting for more adult bodies to appear here to help me play.

If all else fails I will go outside and drag a few passers by in to help me review the game properly (especially if they are male, and in there 30's)...

I must say I have fallen out with the wii a bit this week as my fitness age is still over 70 and my nearly 4 year old beat me at golf!.

General

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time
Really easy for my husband to do. Took about 10-15 minutes maybe. The instructions were straightforward.

2. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)
Yes that was easy too. Our wireless and broadband connections have been a bit rubbish lately but the gods were smiling on us that day and it was very quick and simple.

3. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member
Easy and enjoyable - we have even made Miis for grandma and granddad. The only hard part was not guffawing too hard when granddad's beard and glasses combo was exactly right.

4. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)
Took about a minute for DH to figure out, and he has made good use of it ever since. Boys constantly perstering for Octonoauts again now. This feature significantly increased DH's level of interest in the Wii.

5. Adding additional Wii Remotes
Very straightforward, though when my mum brought over one of her controls it wouldn't work. Maybe this was because hers is an older version without the motion plus feature built in? Anyway, our remotes worked first time and it does make it more fun to play games together.

Quick observation about controllers. The black controller has a black wrist strap & cover, the white controller has a white wrist strap & white cover but the pink one has a white cover & white strap?

General:

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time
Surprisingly easy and instinctive. Went without a hitch or swearing.

2. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)
Yes, again, seemed to work really well.

3. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member
Easy, and fun. Enjoy watching them wander about the screen. We need a Wii for babies as they children wanted the whole family on there, but my youngest looks too grown up!

4. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)
Again, easy and instinctive, just followed the instructions. I LOVE watching iplayer through the TV - it's fab - as we have a small screen on the laptop and a good sized TV. The only issue is lack of bandwith so we can't generally watch iplayer and faff about on t'internet at the same time. I hadn't realised we could do this - would have bought a Wii before if I had. It's a great feature.

5. Adding additional Wii Remotes
Took us a while to work out how to do it, but we got there eventually. I'm sure we could have looked at the instructions but we didn't need to iun the end.

Games:

Kirby's Epic Yarn
This is a totally fab game. DS (6) was unconvinced by the box as he thought it looked too girlie, but he's completely hooked. He would play for hours a day if he could. Once the second remote arrived, we've enjoyed playing it as a twosome; it's very clever how you can play even with a significant disparity in ages. I like the music.

udraw tablet
Deeply annoying and boring. We're all v unartistic and I can't persuade my children to use it at all. It's uninstinctive and unresponsive. Really dislike it. Lots of whining: 'but what does it DOOOOO?'. 'Erm, you can draw pictures.' 'But WHY? I can draw more easily on paper. 'Well, quite.'

Pictionary
Children won't play it due to aforementioned tablet issues. DH and I enjoyed rather a fun game - would be good for older children with some artistic nous, or a group of adults.

Spongebob Squarepants
Children won't play it due to udraw tablet issues. I will persevere.

Mario Kart
We love this. I came home early from a night out to find my DH on it - very amusing. Getting lots of use.

Sports resort
A big hit. My boys (6 and 3) especially love the sword fighting and the boxing. But we've tried most of the sports; they're really fun.

Just Dance Juniors
I'm the only one who likes this. So tempted to get the Adult version. My boys are quite happy to watch mummy make a fool of herself but are too self conscious and unmusical to give it a try themselves. It may take some time.

We will get on with the challenges over the next few weeks but unfortunately we're on hols for a fortnight in August so we may not get through them all on time now.

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time : according to Dh it was a lot simpler than he expected.

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could): bit more complicated, as couldn't find the password but ok once that was sorted.

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member:Very easy and DCs really enjoyed doing this. Was the cause of much amusement.

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi):DD did this but claims not to remember how!

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes: V easy if you read the instructions (which I did), annoying and frustrating if you don't(DH!).

Kirby's Epic Yarn was more fun than anticipated.

The boys set up the room and then DH and I played with mucho assistance from the boys. Great game. Interesting graphics too.

Mario Kart blindfolded is ridiculous!!! None of us could do it at all and poor ds2 kept forgetting his left from his right!! Very funny. DH sat there blindfolded trying to play and DS1 forgot to tell him which way to go which was most amusing.

MarioKart challenge was played by me and ds2 and he won both games!! He said it is because I am 40 and he is 6 ! Cheeky!!

Brilliant present from Nintendo and the boys still cannot believe we have it so many thanks again.

Hello :)

General - please let us know how you got on with the following:

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time

Very easy and given my lack of ability at such things it must be very very easy

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)

I haven't used the internet specifically but do use iplayer so must have connected to the internet. Was very easy again, following the instructions.

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member

Both DS and DD (especially DD) love doing this. We have a veritable collection of Miis - some their toy animals and some completely random characters

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)

This was very easy to do and I really enjoy being able to use it. Didn't realise I would be able to and is very good.

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes

This was very easy to do as well. Having more than one controller does make things more fun :)

Will do challenges at some point although DC back tomorrow and then we're off on holiday on Saturday. Given the weather forecast for next week am considering taking the Wii with us....

Morning all

1. Getting the wii set up for the first time : This I found quite easy to set up, I used the quick set up quide included in the box and found it very straightforward. I put the sensor on top of the TV and so far have found no problems.

1. Connecting the wii to the Internet : once I found where I had put my wifi Internet code (which took a good few hours of rummaging in lots of drawers and boxes! ) the set up was very clear. You just have to follow the one screen instructions and after a few minutes of waiting it is all set up. I am very impressed as didn't realise that the wii could do this!

1. creating a Wii Mii: This has given me many hours of fun, dd wasn't that interested in pushing the buttons herself, but enjoyed watching me do it. Although dd did want me to give myself grey hair! I AM NOT GREY!! She thought this was hilarious! I headed straight to the bathroom pull out one grey hair which had appeared..

1. Setting up iplayer: this was also a very straight forward task, though it seemed to take a long time to actually get downloaded and the icon to work..this may be due to broadband issues but may also be user error? Anyway, I got it installed and we have already watched a few programmes. Granny was delighted to be able to watch a local programme about one of our golfers which she had missed the following night. I havent let dd know mind you that you can get cbeebies on it at any time! (she thinks the tv in the living room doesn't have cbeebies, that she can only get it at certain times in the other room..).

1. adding additional Wii remotes: I have added the two new remotes with no problems. It would be helpful though if all the remotes could access the menu etc and select things instead of the number one remote. My dd wants to use the red remote, which is also the number one remote, which means that I keep having to take it off her to make selections. I have no realised from reading other people's reviews that I can switch the order of the by resyncing, so I will try this.

Mario Cart challenges:, all of us here really enjoy the Mario cart, especially now that we can actually race each other. We all fight over who is going to be 12th though as none of us are really that good at it . We tried the blindfold, but dd nearly 4 cannot tell her left from her right, and neither can I or granny,..it takes granny and myself a few seconds to determine which is our left or right hand, so this task didn't really work for us..we ended up going round and round in cicrles!

Udraw I'm afraid that so far we haven't had much success with this. Dd has a drawing app on my iPad which she uses and compared to this, the udraw is too complicated for her to use by herself. It is annoying that you have to keep clicking to get the menu and the colour palates in my opinion. Are very complicated to use. I could see if you where an arty person that having all the colour palate choices are great, but for dd she found it too hard. It would be good if there was a choice in the set up to select a simpler palate for younger children to use.

Still havent found any nice looking passers by to they pictionary with me, but I will try again and then review this game for you later.

Dd liked spongebob, as did I and granny, but the mini tasks were far to quick for us to use. Dd got very frustrated, as she worked out what to do, but by the time she tried to do it the task was finished with her crying, 'it's too fast mummy". As with the udraw studio, it would be great if there was a way of selecting an easier version of the game for younger children.

Dance Junior ie great fun...although I should say that dd and her granny spend lots of time laughing at me dancing around like an idiot while they sit and watch!...dd has tried it with me and was very good at it, but enjoyed watching me more. It felt like a workout to me..which is all good as I don't feel guilty about eating that other piece of chocolate last night!

We haven't played much of Kirby yet or play motion but will do and report back.

We are enjoying sports resort a lot! I can't hit the baseball at all hence my fitness age is over 70, but I never knew how good I was at tennis!...my dd I believe will be the next Northern Ireland golf champion if her scores are anything to go by.

Thanks Nintendio and Mumsnet for this wonderful opportunity.

Adding a bit as a 'non tester' - DCs are 13, 11 and 7.

We've had a Wii pretty much since they came out. We never had any problems setting it up, it was very straightforward. We have it set up for wifi, and watched iplayer on it with no difficulties, (I've even MN'd on it when our PC was playing up!) DCs still like the Miis. DD(7 yo) gets a particular kick out of spotting family members turning up in games that use the Miis as extra characters!

We're a bit of a gamer family (also have a PS3 and a 360) but the Wii still gets a lot of use. It was invaluable when the DCs were younger as I think Wii games (on the whole) tend to be more family friendly, not just in terms of playing as a group but in content. DC, thanks to the adverts for 3DS and Luigi's Mansion 2, are currently going retro and playing the first Luigi's Mansion for Gamecube on our Wii

Only game we have out of the list is Mario Kart, and they love the idea of the blindfold challenge. We can't do it today, but will give it a try later in the week

Non-tester.

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time

Fairly easy and straightforward.

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)

Not connected.

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member

Easy and fun. We have hordes of Miis - creating them is a very popular activity.

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)

Not done.

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes

Fairly easy and straightforward.

Of the games listed, we only have Mario Kart. Ds1 totally adored it, until he was given Mario Galaxy. Dh and the dc play with the Wii far more than I do. I will occasionally take a pootle round a few Mario Kart tracks, but I really can't get into the competitive aspect. 4yo ds2 likes to think he can Wii, but he cannot actually do it, so playing with him is very much like the blindfold challenge!

We already have a wii and we just love it, it definitely brings the whole family together. (although we could do with a couple of new games )

-We particularily loved when our mii's appear in posters etc in Mario Kart.

-ds loved that he got 'hot girl' Princess Roselina as a gift from Mario Galaxy in Mario Kart.

I must say though we do get quite competitive over our fitness age, and who is the best X factor singer.

We love the mario games especially the changes made to super Mario Galaxy 2 as I have found the dcs really work together well to complete the levels.

ds is 7, dd1 10, dd2 4

We have had a wii since they were first widely available. I can't remember a lot about setting it up, the children did it anyway as they are better with technology. It's not connected to the internet as I don't want teenagers accessing the net in lots of places. Supervision is easier when you limit net access - does it have password protected parent lock facilities?

I regard the wii as brilliant. It's quite social and if it isn't very effective at getting teenagers off the sofa (they soon learn how to make minimal wrist movements) it certainly works on their parents. Wii fit is almost compulsory for mothers of a certain age....

The only game we have of those listed is Just Dance. Most used games for us are probably rabbids and wii play when younger, rock band and wii sing when older. I rather regret buying Wii Sing. Legend of Zelda was great.

Although it's not an issue for us I'm aware that in smaller houses getting several people playing at once can be tricky.

If they are still in existence can I suggest speaking to the Learning Company about developing educational software for the Wii as what I've seen is rubbish.They used to do excellent PC software. A game based on the BBC Horrible histories programmes would go down well, especially if the songs were included.

Tester here - DCs aged 7, 5 and 1 (he hasn't much apart from chew the empty boxes and annoy the big two by trying to grab the controllers )
Getting the Wii set up for the first time
This was really simple and intuitive - the coloured plugs go into the same coloured hole on the side of the telly and you plonk the sensor on top. Couldn't have been simpler.

Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)
I also found this quite simple using the instructions on the screen but I am the one in the house who sets up all the electrical/computer stuff. DH might have struggled a bit more but he's something of a techno dinosaur!

Creating a Wii Mii for each family member
This was DSs favourite thing for quite a while - he's 5. We now have Wii Miis for the entire family, most of our extended family, the majority of his class and the man who works in the shop round the corner!

Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)
Again, this was easy enough to do following the on-screen prompts. We've watched a couple of things but the picture quality isn't great, which is probably to do with our very non-Gucci telly.

Adding additional Wii Remotes
This was the only thing I struggled with but it was only because I didn't read the instructions properly and thought that turning it on and waving it in the general direction of the sensor would work. I looked it up online and it was simple enough. We also borrowed a remote before the other ones came and managed to synch that after a quick online search.

We havent had chance to do the challenges yet but here's our initial feedback on the games.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - This was initially one of the favourites but DS (5) went off it quite quickly because he couldn't do it NOW and didn't want to practice or accept help. It got a bit easier when we had another remote and they could play together although again, it took a little perserverance to get them playing happily. DD (7) enjoyed this more when she was playing alone. The graphics are good and it's a sweet idea for a game.

Just Dance Jnrs - one of our favourites. It's great fun to do together as a family and we really enjoyed taking it in turns to choose a dance and make the others join in.

Mario Kart - this was the one the children were most excited about getting because they already recognise the Mario characters from marketing. We all enjoyed playing it, although they sometimes got frustrated when they kept falling off the sides of the track on certain races. Perhaps a junior player option with fences to stop them plummeting off the sides would be possible? It did make my hand hurt after a little while so I limited the amount of time the children spent on it because I was a bit worried about RSI etc.

Wii Play Motion - Haven't played it yet but will do so this weekend!

uDraw - Again the children were initially excited about this but it soon paled a little in comparison to old-fashioned paper and pens. They quite liked the colouring book option, particularly when they used the paint pot fill option so it was all very neat but they found the actual drawing quite clumsy. The replay option was quite popular and it made them laugh to see how they'd coloured things in. Spongebob was our favourite of the uDraw games, particularly once they started to get better at it....
DS enjoyed all the creating a world aspect of Dood but struggled a bit with the actual game.

I'll post this now and add more later if that's ok.

Mario Kart - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

General comments: I think this is my DC's favourite game. Even DD enjoys it when her big brothers let her on it!

~ An adult (eg Dad, Grandma) and and child race 3 times and record the best of 3

We enjoyed this, although DH did get a little bit too competitive The boys seem to like racing each other the best though and don't want me/DH/DD interfering

~ Race a match blindfold: families divide into pairs, and one must race blindfold while the other directs them

This didn't work very well as my DC aren't very good at telling their left from their right DD and DS2 got frustrated and gave up. They didn't like being blindfolded so had to give the directions, but weren't confident enough with left and right to do them. DS1 was better at this, perhaps I will try it again with his friends who are the same age.

DS1 - nearly 9, DS2 - 7, DD - 5

Tester Here. DD1 9y DD2 7y & DD3 3y.

DD3 is left handed & is having trouble using the Udraw Tablet as the pen & controller are on the wrong side for her so she tries to use it upside down so the controller is on her right hand side.

Tester here, me, DH, and DDs aged 9 and 6.

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time

I found this really straightforward, once I had unpacked all the stuff and found all the booklets. The only thing I would say is that it would have been quicker if all the info was in one booklet, maybe with the quick setup bit at the front.

I am the person in the house who reads instructions and sets things up/assembles Ikea furniture etc. I think DH would have struggled with it as he tends to plow straight in without reading the instructions.

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)

Again this was easy to do but only because I have a card stuck next to the computer with the SSID/Network key etc on. Did not realise that Wii could do this and was impressed.

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member

Great fun, it's like a game in itself. The children have created a couple of Miis each and also ones for their grandparents. Love the way they pop up in the games - on posters in Mariokart for example, as someone else said.

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)

I have done this, and it was straightforward. We haven't used it yet - we don't tend to use iplayer anyway as we catch most things on Sky+.

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes

struggled a bit more with this as I did not read the instructions properly and just added the second controller as a one off the first time and then couldn't work out why it wasn't synchronised the next time. But when I did it properly it was easy and quick - took about 2 minutes to synchronise the three remotes.

We haven't attempted any of the specific challenges yet, I'd agree with a lot of other testers though and say that MarioKart is probably the favourite game so far, especially with DH who is very competitive about it.

And Udraw so far is a bit of a disappointment - this is the one my (artistic) 9yo was really looking forward to and it seems clunky and difficult to use. The 6yo couldn't do it at all and got really upset. I think I need to sit down (with the instructions!) and work it out myself.

Kirby is a hit with the two dds, DH and I haven't tried it yet.

1. Getting the Wii set up for the first time

No problem, easy peasy.

1. Connecting the Wii to the Internet (using wifi, if you could)

not as straightforward but not difficult, just followed screen prompts.

1. Creating a Wii Mii for each family member

Loved this! dd wants to do this every time she goes on. we've made wii miis for several friends and family who'll probably never actually play on it, but fab to see them cheering us on in the game backgrounds.

1. Setting up iPlayer (if on wifi)

yes very easy again. i watched several things on it for the novelty factor, but i actually find the picture quality is better on my laptop than on the tv.

1. Adding additional Wii Remotes

fine, no problem.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges: I really dislike this game, the music annoys me immensely, the red screen with the characters trotting across every time the scene changes seems really amateurish, the language used in the on-screen story telling bits are bizarre in places and ds1 (5 and goes to Welsh school) can't read them so he cannot play this game without me. It's not a hit in this house.

~ Create a beautifully furnished room as a family, using the soft furnishings picked up throughout the game I find this really slow and tiresome - maybe I'm missing something but it seems to take an inordinate amount of time to do this

~ Mum and Dad (or another adult) play together (as Kirby and Prince Fluff) followed by the children - the pair with the best score wins We keep losing each other and then arguing about who has gone the wrong way , and ds1 cannot play this without lots of help both to read the instructions and co-odrinate the controls. DS2 (3) is unable to manage it at all.

This will soon be relegated to the back of the cupboard and brought out when they're both a good bit older!

Managed to do a few games yesteray and today. With DS1, 8, DS2, 5, and DS3, 2.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

DS1+2 love this game. They found being able to change your character into different vehicles and floaty things fun and enjoyed fighting the bosses at the end of each stage. Very easy for my 5 year old to play.

Create a beautifully furnished room as a family, using the soft furnishings picked up throughout the game

Boys didnt really enjoy this as much as the actual game playing, although the fact they could buy things from the shop with the gems they picked up throughout the game helped.

Mum and Dad (or another adult) play together (as Kirby and Prince Fluff) followed by the children - the pair with the best score wins

We did a stage each. DC were definitely better than the grown ups, maybe because they had more practice. Was fun and we all had a giggle.

uDraw

DS1+2 were not that interested in this, it was too boring for them. DS3 however loved the colouring in and quite got the hang of how to change the colours. I think the pen could be designed better, it would work better ike a mouse, ie, the cursor is where you last had it rather than the pad and screen being in same location. Also, button on pen should be sole one on this, rather than pressing A or B.

Create a drawing of a designated family member in under one minute

DC were not interested at first, but once I had made a picture of them each, they had a go drawing me. Quite fiddly for the younger two, as they can;t see what they are drawing on the pad.

Create a drawing made entirely from the stamps provided in uDraw Studio

Impossible, got quite frustrated with this.

Play Pictionary in teams - adults vs children, mixed teams..who wins?

We have had loads of nights playing this, we have teams and we are still working through the heats. A great game as you can chose both adult and child drawings each time. Has been a great game to play, and continues to do so.

Create teams and each team creates a Dood - the team whose Dood gets the highest score wins

We found this one quite hard to understand, and the games were not that interesting. Has the potential to be a good game once we work it out.

Mario Kart

Easy to use, the boys enjoyed playing on this, even the 2 year old. Easy toplay as just push a button and turn. Steering is a bit sensitive but once you get the hang of it it is pretty easy.

An adult (eg Dad, Grandma) and and child race 3 times and record the best of 3

Adults won DC lost. Caused much outrage between the smaller people in our house, what can I say, I'm a better driver.

Race a match blindfold: families divide into pairs, and one must race blindfold while the other directs them

It was easier the adults getting the instructions, rather than the DC.

Will be back with some more feeback later.

Not a tester but we have MarioKart and it's the only game that everyone can do together without getting bored - youngest is 3 and he takes great delight in beating granny (who is 85). Only problem is they tend to get overexcited and fall off the sofa but what the hey, they're having fun :)

DD1 9y DD2 7y DD3 3y

Kirby's Epic Yarn

All 3 children are enjoying playing Kirby although DD3 just wants to pick everyone up & put them on her head which makes the older girls get frustrated with her as they want to play.
I like playing with DD3 on this game as it takes lot's of team work & encouragement & she is getting really good at it now.

Create a beautifully furnished room as a family, using the soft furnishings picked up throughout the game

I'm finding this one quite hard to work out tbh but I am so untechnical & the children have never had a games console so it's no suprise we are struggling a little bit.

Mum and Dad (or another adult) play together (as Kirby and Prince Fluff) followed by the children - the pair with the best score wins

We did a stage each. DC lost but took it well DH is SO competitive!!

uDraw

I have posted my main comments on Udraw further up the thread.

Create teams and each team creates a Dood - the team whose Dood gets the highest score wins

We aren't doing very well with this game tbh. It will take me on my own with a glass of wine a while to work it out.

Mario Kart

Easy to use, and a favourite in our house. We have raced & layed time trials & curently the coin races are providing lots of laughter. DD3 is getting better but she really doesn't care if she is last or going the wrong way she is jus glad that it's finally her turn.

An adult (eg Dad, Grandma) and and child race 3 times and record the best of 3

We won, they lost, it was to be expected but still good fun although DD2 did try & knock my controller from my hand a few times

Race a match blindfold: families divide into pairs, and one must race blindfold while the other directs them

Totally flop over here & everyone got bored very quickly. DC arn't great with directions & in the end I sat behind them & leant them into the direction they needed to go which worked a bit better.

We don't have just dance jnr yet.

DS1 - almost 9, DS2 - 7, DD - 5

Just Dance Jnrs - Challenges - let us know your overall views on the game as well as trying these challenges:

I like this game and thoroughly enjoy making a fool out of myself doing it! The only problem I have found is that some of the songs are a bit babyish for older children, however younger children have difficulty following the moves and so have difficulty scoring points. However, having said that, my eldest does seem to be having a Wiggles revival, he loved them as a toddler and has recently been caught in the shower singing "Hot Potato Hot Potato" Also it is a bit confusing that the moves for YMCA/Macarena etc are different to the ones that I am used to, but I suppose that makes you follow the game rather than do your own thing.

~ Each family member to assign a dance to another member of the family. The family must then hold a dance off. The family member with the highest score wins

This was fun, although as I said above it is harder for DD to follow the moves and score points than for DS1, making it a bit unfair. I tried to choose easier songs for DD, but of course they want to go with the song that they like and not necessarily the one that you choose for them based on difficulty!

~ Family forms two teams of two. Each team must perform a perfectly synchronised routine and the other team must score them secretly. After each team has performed their routine the scores can be opened. Each family should decide on some things to award extra points for, such as enthusiasm, the best faces pulled while dancing etc.

I think we need to try this again with DH, we did it just with me and the DC. DS1 was old enough to "score" but the other two found the idea a bit difficult

~ Each family member teaches a routine to a non-family member. Points don?t matter here - it's the taking part that counts!

DS1 was very good at teaching the routine to DD, but DS2 wasn't remotely interested. He probably wanted to get back to MarioKart...

Has anyone had an envelope yet to post back the camera? We are going away on Sunday and I have filmed about 45 mins and wanted to post it tomorrow but do not know where to post it to?

Any ideas?

AnnMumsnet is away now.

HELENMUMSNET ..................................COME HERE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!