Others say...

"party"
This is a good game for several people. Had a little bit of trouble with the dart game getting it to not throw over the board but we figured it out.

"Fun for the whole family"
I purchased this game for my parents that are in their 50's for Christmas. They absolutely love it. The Shuffle Board is so much fun.
All the other games are fun as well, once you get the hang of controling yourself. I would highly recommend this game.

"Try Before You Buy!!!"
Wish I'd listened to my own advice and tried this one before purchasing it...at least is was less than $20!! We played Carnival Games at a friend's house and thought this would be similar, but it doesn't come close the Carnival. The controls are random. Move your remote to the left, and your player moves to the right! We have patience when it comes to getting used to a game, but this one is just worthless. At least try it before you buy it, so you won't have our regrets!!

"This is a great game -- I don't understand some of the criticism !?!"
Usually, I don't leave reviews. But after seeing some of the negative comments about this game I wanted to dispel some of the criticisms out there...especially as we've been playing this for a week now, and have had an absolute blast!

Before I get to the game itself, for the benefit of people who are looking at this and trying to gauge the difference between the original and Game Party 2 (which is where I was a month ago), the major differences seem to be that V1 has air hockey and puck shuffleboard/curling, where V2 does not have air hockey, has puck bowling, and adds football, bean bags, lawn darts, & horseshoes. 2 also has the ability to customize characters where 1 just has a cast you can choose from. (While Miis would be nice, we didn't expect that of a non-Nintendo product.) We went with V1 on account that we were able to get it for half the price of V2, at the time we bought. Plus, we were told, and it proved true, that the air hockey in this feels more like the real deal than the laser hockey in Wii Play. But if you can live without air hockey and like the idea of the added games, V2 is probably the way to go.

Some of have criticized the control - or lack thereof - in some games, like ping cup, ski ball, and shuffleboard. MYTH. Like any game, you need to play them a few times to find your way. But we busted right into things without reading the instructions, and found the controls to be pretty intuitive. By the time I'd played ping cup three or four times, I was running off several in a row. Admittedly, ski ball and shuffleboard proved quirky at first, but, again, came around quickly. My 3-1/2-year-old has rolled a 300 in ski ball, so how hard can it be to get the ball down the lane...really?

If you do not have a dartboard, and enjoy throwing them when you get the chance, cricket alone is worth the price of admission. Trivia was fun to do with a room full of people, especially with a couple teams. Sure, ski ball and hoop shoot are 1-player-at-a-time, but it's not like you can't take turns !? And while 'beirut' isn't exactly something you want your kid mastering before they go off to college, the other games ought to save you a few trips to Chuck E. Cheese. (Hey, the game will pay for itself!)

Bottom line: some fun games; a great value; stuff you can do with family and friends that you would normally have to go out to do.

"Not at all what I hoped it would be..."
Game Party

I LOVE to play arcade games with my family. Especially Ski Ball (skill ball) and air hockey. I thought this game would be fun to have at home. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with the Wii Game Party. My family was frustraded. My husband thought it was an incredible waste of money. Not much fun for any of us. Perhaps you should try a friend's game or rent it before you buy it for yourself. Maybe you will enjoy it more than we do?