Clubhouse Games

By the time you get to experience the multiplayer, you’ve already hooked enough members of your family that finding a foe will be 2nd nature. If not, the single player mode has enough meat to last even the most driven of gamers, due to the ability to set difficulty and replay beaten levels.

All in all, it's a robust title with very few flaws and a lot of play time potential. While some titles are the type you play once, complete, and put on the shelf; this is one title DS players would likely come back to time after time.

If ever there was a game to get gamers and non-gamers playing together, this is it. Addictive gameplay, online play and more vareity than Noah's Ark make this a surprising must-have title. [Nov 2006, p.84]

Judged on fun, depth and the amount of recharges you'll be forcing into your DS, 42 All-Time Classics is a winning formula. We heart it.

An excellent package that redefines value for a handheld game. It'll probably become a permanent fixture in your DS carrying case, as it has become in mine.

Each individual game controls elegantly with the DS stylus. It is entirely possible to play each of the 42 games in the collection without ever using the directional pad of the face buttons. This is vital in appealing to non-gamer markets.

No more worrying about 52 card pick-up or missing pawns. Clubhouse Games provides a compelling collection for nearly everyone. With a full experience of single player modes and multiplayer capabilities, both quantity and quality are well served.

Clubhouse Games is not as cheap as a deck of playing cards, but it's more versatile -- it's worth it for the multiplayer options alone (if card games are your thing).

There's something here for everyone, presented in a familiar and friendly way, and offering big challenges for those willing to give it their attention.

Like the Opera browser, 42 All-Time Classics is a software package, and a brilliant one, the perfect match for its format and the perfect Christmas present for a Mum who's finally bored of Brain Training. More than that, it's so adaptable, so sociable, so easy to enjoy in any situation (over lunch, between train stops, with your least favourite uncle) that it's nothing less than an essential component of any DS library.

There's a little something here for everyone; for every game that you couldn't care less about, there are two or three games that'll suck your attention for days and days.

As a more-than-casual gamer, I found myself having more fun with this collection than I have with some of the full priced new console games being released recently.

If you are looking for a compilation of mini-games to pass the time once and awhile, Clubhouse Games will fit the bill quite nicely.

Clubhouse Games is an example of substance over style, and I love it. While the games won't win any awards for graphic achievement or soundtrack, they're still quite fun to play.

Clubhouse Games serves up 42 different parlor games that practically anyone can pick up and play--and most of them support local and online multiplayer modes.

Clubhouse leans heavily on the Wario Ware theory that an abundance of great, short games will always prevail over a longer, more serious game with nothing to offer.

I've played for at least a couple of hours every day since I got it -- I've played a lot of my all time favorites (Chess, Backgammon), learned how to play a few games that have interested me for a while (Shogi, Hanafuda), and even came close to destroying my DS on a number of occasions thanks to a couple of insanely hard missions (Bowling, Hasami Shogi).

Good job Nintendo, I think you've even got my wife hooked too.

Low in price, but high in quality, 42 All-Time Classics is one of the surprise highlights of the Autumn DS line-up.

It’s a great collection and with single player objectives and online capabilities it’s one to own.

A value-packed collection of infinitely replayable and hugely enjoyable classic card and board games.

To quote a famous wood-stain TV advert slogan – 'It does exactly what it says on the tin.'

A hefty online-enabled super-retro collection. [Dec 2006, p.38]

Despite a few quirks here and there (you can bet into the negative chips during poker, you can’t split a hand in blackjack), Clubhouse Games is a worthwhile purchase no matter what sort of gamer you may be. This is the stuff the DS excels at.

Simple but ace. [Christmas 2006, p.100]

The Texas Hold 'Em game, for instance, doesn't even allow you to choose the size of your bet. And the billiards game is ... well, it's bad.

If you plan on playing with your friends, it's indespensible; if you'll be going at it alone, there's a fair amount to do but you may lose patience with the scoring and lack of single-player variety. [Nov. 2006, p.87]

Card and board game fans will find a lot to enjoy though, and the online integration and solid support for the lone player make a game that is well worth its budget price.