Nintendo DS Games for Adults

I bypassed Clubhouse Games numerous times because it looked boring. But after reading reviews, I decided to try it. That was a great decision.

A Good Collection of Games

Clubhouse Games is a collection of more than 40 board, action, and card games. Some of them are: Blackjack, Texas Hold Em, Darts, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Rummy, Dominoes, and Backgammon

A Minor Flaw

Some of the card games are repetitive. Sometimes you'll find yourself playing a game that seems exactly the same as another. However, the large selection of games in this collection make-up for the ones that feel like repeats.

The Extras

In addition to a nice collection of starting games, you can also unlock new games as you progress. You can also unlock additional backgrounds and in-game icons.

Buy this game now from Amazon.com

Crosswords DS is just my speed. Why? Because I can solve the puzzles without using a crossword puzzle dictionary. The crossword puzzles in this game, at least on the easy levels, won't drive you nuts.

Not too Hard

There are hundreds of puzzles in this collection, so you get lots of playing time. Plus, once you solve all of the puzzles on the easy and medium levels, you unlock more difficult levels.

The Other Games

There's more to Crosswords DS than crosswords. The games on this cartridge include: crosswords, wordsearch, and anagrams.

How to Play

This game requires the stylus. You write the letter in the square to spell out the answer. It's just like doing a print crossword puzzle. The handwriting recognition is really good, unlike in some other games I've played.

Buy this game now from Amazon.com

I was excited when I learned The Price is Right was coming to the Nintendo DS.

The show is fun to watch, and I wanted the chance to play in my own home. The game is good, but it could have been better. No one will consider The Price is Right as a Nintendo DS top game - but judge for yourself.

The Fun Stuff

Most of the fun elements from the show are in the game. Fans of the show will be able to play along with ease.

Most of the popular Price is Right games are included. You get:
Cliff Hangers (my favorite), Plinko, 3 Strikes, Bonkers, Check-Out, and more.

The announcer explains how to play each game before you start. So even if you don't watch the show, the in-game instructions help you along. Basically, you have to figure out how much things cost, which is why the show is called The Price is Right.

You also get a chance to try your luck on Contestants Row. If you win there, you play for money and prizes on the stage.

The cool thing is you get to play onstage even if you lose on Contestants Row. You won't find yourself stuck there like people on the show who never make it to the stage.

The famous Price is Right wheel is also present in the game. Like on the show, the goal is to spin the wheel and get as close to 100 as possible without going over. If you go over, you're sent back to Contestants Row. But if you've lost too many times, the whole game ends.

The Not-So Fun Stuff

This game is very slow compared to other Nintendo DS games. The loading time between games is slower than I've ever seen. You spend a lot of time waiting for the next game or scene to appear. It's seems more time went into graphics and sound than actual gameplay or speed.

Another annoyance is the in-game disclaimer. The disclaimer is long, and it scrolls on the screen each time you start the game. There's no way to skip it or increase the speed.

The Game is Fun...But

The Price is Right for the Nintendo DS isn't the best game around. Could it have been better? Yes. Is it a total waste? No. If you like the show, you'll probably enjoy the game.

I enjoy watching Hell's Kitchen. I also enjoy cooking games like Cooking Mama. So I figured this game would be a good combination of the two.

The game is good as a time management game like Cake Mania. But it's not a true cooking game like the other Nintendo DS top games Cooking Mama and Cooking Mama 2.

Not Exactly Like the Show

In this game, you are the owner of your own restaurant. But you also have to greet customers, seat them, take their orders, prepare the food, serve the food, and then accept payment.

This is more of a management game than a cooking game. The actual cooking is limited to clicking on ingredients and timing them to finish cooking at the same time. You never prepare anything. That's nothing like most cooking games in which you have to actually boil, cut, chop, mix, and fry the food.

Listening to Chef Ramsay's comments also get annoying after awhile. It's funny at first because he curses and it gets censored just like on the show. But it gets old quick because he says the same things over and over.

Some Cool Things

The most fun thing about this game is seeing how far you can get. And if you're like me, you won't find this game easy to beat.

The game gets harder as you go along. In the beginning you have easy recipes and few customers. But as the number of customers increase, the recipes get more demanding.

Managing the restaurant isn't easy. You have a lot of responsibility, and you must excel in everything. Mad customers are no good. If they get mad enough to leave, then you're in big trouble. Chef Ramsay will get furious and close your restaurant if you make a mess of things.

One unique thing about this game is the recipe book. The game has real recipes created by Chef Ramsay. So if you like to cook, you can copy the recipes and cook them at home.

Final Rating

If you like the show, you might get a kick out of this game. But if you're looking for a cooking game that gives you more control over preparing the food, this isn't for you.

Like I said, this game is more like Diner Dash or Cake Mania instead of a real cooking game like Cooking Mama. Also, this one is intended for adults and teens.

New York Times crossword puzzle fans will enjoy this game. Nintendo has done a great job of transferring the newspaper's famous puzzles to electronic form. Unlike many Nintendo DS top games, this one is fun, educational, and enjoyable for adults and teens.

The Puzzles

New York Times Crosswords for the Nintendo DS is a collection of more than 1000 puzzles from the newspaper. The puzzles appeared in print between 2004 to 2006. There are enough puzzles here to keep a crossword lover busy for at least a year or longer.

Just like the crossword puzzles in the print edition, the puzzles in this game are tough.

The difficulty varies based on the day of the week. Monday and Tuesday puzzles are the easiest, and they get tougher as the week progresses.

Don't be fooled into thinking the easy crosswords are a breeze. They are almost just as challenging as the more advanced puzzles.

I couldn't complete any of them without my crossword puzzle dictionary. So make sure to get a crossword puzzle dictionary when you get this game.

Solving the Crosswords

The game is very easy to use. Its pan and zoom feature lets you fit the entire puzzle or just a section of it on the bottom screen. This is good for zooming in on a section if you have a problem viewing small text.

The top screen has the clues and corresponding boxes in large print. So people with impaired vision can play this game with ease.

Navigating around the puzzle is easy as well. You're able to jump to different sections of the puzzle using the stylus or the button control pad. To input your answers, write them with the stylus using the handwriting recognition feature. If you prefer to type, enter your answers using an onscreen pop-up keyboard.

Challenging Crossword Fun

If you want a Nintendo DS top game for crossword fans, then this is it. New York Times Crosswords is a collection of some the best (and toughest) crossword puzzles available.