Okay, so my sister and brother-in-law just bought a Wii for their family for Christmas. I'm pretty sure they bought the standard Wii and Wii Sports bundle, so I'm looking for a game to help them start their collection. They have four girls, all under the age of 13. I'm after suggestions for games that will appeal to young girls, involve the whole family, complement Wii Sports (i.e. games of a different style) and showcase the Wii. That's not too much to ask, is it? Oh, and using Miis is a plus, but not essential.

I've had a quick look at some of the Sim titles available (Sims 2: Castaway, Sims 2: Pets and MySims). MySims looked promising, but I've heard bad things about the game's loading times. I also want something that they can play as a family, or at least that the girls can play together. I've also looked at Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. I like the way it uses the Wii remote, but I'm worried that my nieces may not like the theme/characters.

So far, Super Mario Galaxy is looking like a winner. Who knows? I may just need to be convinced that I should get it for them.

Keep in mind that I'm in Australia. Games like Zack and Wiki haven't been released yet. Thanks in advance for any contributions.

Get your hands on Wario Ware. It's like a "Slinky"! It's fun for a girl OR a boy!

horsez?

Mario would be my suggestion. It's fun, non-threatening, and it's something the adults can enjoy too(assuming they like to have fun).

I would not recommend Monkey Ball. I'm a big fan of Monkey Ball 2 on the Cube(I still play it on occasion), but Banana Blitz on the Wii was a letdown. Now I've heard the single player mode is actually fun, which is something I didn't get to try, but the multi-player, which is what you're most concerned about, was pretty hit and miss. As a matter of fact, out of the 2 dozen or so mini-games me, my brother, and ex-wife played, the majority of them weren't any good, with many of them have very poor and frustrating controls. There are a lot of mini-games on that disc, so it's possible there might be some good ones, but I decided not to risk my money on the game after trying it out. My brother, who is another Monkey Ball fan like myself, actually traded the game in, which is something he doesn't often do.

Although I've never tried the multi-player, Rayman Raving Rabbids is a fun game they might enjoy. The sequel, which I'm not sure if it is out in your country, is said to have a much greater focus on multi-player than the original. So Rayman RR2 might be a better choice for them than the original.

Galaxy is a must
Mario Party 8, the kids will love it.
WarioWare Smooth Moves is a great showcase for the Wiimote.
Rayman Rabbids is also fun for mini games

For what you are asking for, these games will please, the 13 year old will probably love Zelda
TP

gurok said: Okay, so my sister and brother-in-law just bought a Wii for their family for Christmas. I'm pretty sure they bought the standard Wii and Wii Sports bundle, so I'm looking for a game to help them start their collection. They have four girls, all under the age of 13. I'm after suggestions for games that will appeal to young girls, involve the whole family, complement Wii Sports (i.e. games of a different style) and showcase the Wii. That's not too much to ask, is it? Oh, and using Miis is a plus, but not essential. I've had a quick look at some of the Sim titles available (Sims 2: Castaway, Sims 2: Pets and MySims). MySims looked promising, but I've heard bad things about the game's loading times. I also want something that they can play as a family, or at least that the girls can play together. I've also looked at Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. I like the way it uses the Wii remote, but I'm worried that my nieces may not like the theme/characters. So far, Super Mario Galaxy is looking like a winner. Who knows? I may just need to be convinced that I should get it for them. Keep in mind that I'm in Australia. Games like Zack and Wiki haven't been released yet. Thanks in advance for any contributions.

My sims is defenitly something for gils in that age, Mario Galaxy should be a hit.

For famaly play a party game: Mario Party, Raving Rabbits, Mario & Sonic at the Olympics. Big brain accademy: Wii Degree.

I would have to say MySims is the best choice of the Sims familiy. Stay very faraway from the other ones.

Rayman is really my favorite for mini-game. IMO it beats Mario Party and Wario Ware handily. People of any age love the humor in Rayman.

Mario and Sonic is another good choice.

Paper Mario is another good one of a different genrer but lacks any muliplayer.

Young girls like the social mini-games. I have five niece's ages 5-17 (and more that are older, but that's different) and they don't like to play the games alone, they like to play them in groups. They tend to like the games with cooperative gameplay, a little less structured, and not so competitive. All generalizations but I've seen them play games like Animal Crossing and the Pokemons for hours.

On the Wii the Wii Sports is always a big hit. Don't expect them to love SMG so much as to play RRR all day.

dschumm said: Mario and Sonic is another good choice.

Yes, but it's a little too close to the whole Wii Sports theme. That's a shame too, because it has some neat edutainment style Olympics trivia in it, and would get better as we get closer to Beijing 2008.

Thank-you for all of the suggestions so far.

I feel I should add a little more background to this. My sister came over about two months ago with her eldest daughter. At the time, I had Wii Sports, Wii Play, Rayman Raving Rabbids 1 and Super Paper Mario. We played a bit of Wii Sports (okay, a lot), and I showed them the rest of the games I had. I've already shown them bits and pieces of the later parts of SPM and RRR1. I feel it'd kind of cheapen the experience a bit if I got them either of those two games. And I guess that kinda' rules out RRR2 too, unless it's a complete departure from the first game.

Thanks for the warning about Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, quigontcb.

So, out of the suggestions I've gotten so far, I'm considering:

• Super Mario Galaxy
• MySims
• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
• Mario Party 8
• WarioWare: Smooth Moves
• Petz 2: Horsez
• Zelda: Twilight Princess

I've ruled out:

• Super Paper Mario (I've spoiled it)
• Rayman Raving Rabbids (I've spoiled this too)
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Too similar to Wii Sports)
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Thanks quigontcb, and I wasn't sure if they'd like the monkeys)

Sorry to be so picky, and thanks to everyone for suggestions. I honestly wouldn't have even considered Petz 2: Horsez, but it's a surprisingly good fit.

fkusumot, given what I've said about the RRR series, would you consider WarioWare to be a good, social hit with this tough crowd? More of a hit than Super Mario Galaxy would be?

gurok said: fkusumot, given what I've said about the RRR series, would you consider WarioWare to be a good, social hit with this tough crowd? More of a hit than Super Mario Galaxy would be?

 Yes, WarioWare would be a better choice than SMG. Even Boogie would be a better choice than SMG for the under 13 female crowd. The Little Mermaid > Little Miss Sunshine, when you're talking about a certain age group.