You have almost certainly already heard the arguments “play together” and “encourage children to manage frustration” that we regularly put forward. This month we are offering a way of putting these ideas into practice.
The first Mario Party on the Nintendo 64 did not just leave scars on the palms of our hands, it also played a major part in launching the “party game” style. In other words: the video game that focuses on conviviality and that anyone can join, even without any mastery of the art of the controller.
Built around the principle of a board game of the goose, in which collecting as many stars as possible guarantees victory, this new instalment on the Switch is an ideal opportunity to play as four, as a family. Each player takes on a character from the Mario universe, like a counter moved across the squares of the board. A digital die then decides how far you move towards the star. But these stars come at a price! So you have to pick up as many coins as possible along the way, to be able to pay. The paths chosen on the board allow you to try to maximise your haul.
When the four players have moved the number of squares shown by their dice, a random mini-game starts, in which you can grab even more hard cash. Through these small contests, everyone can show off their skills. What a pleasure for children when they manage to beat their parents. Do not hesitate to ask your children how they feel when they win, but also when they lose. Some children find it harder to handle the emotions linked to a rout, so you can use a moment at the end of a game to talk about these things, including the part played by chance.
Other, more dynamic game modes offer rhythm mini-activities, or working together to steer a raft down a river and skilfully catch the mini-games scattered along the course. This new instalment comes with enough cheerful new features to guarantee good moments of sharing. This “good-natured” setting is therefore well suited to setting up family discussion spaces after a game. If these can develop here, you will also find it easier to do so for any other type of game, even those that make you grit your teeth a little more.
I also briefly recommend Megaman 11 (Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC), since this difficult but well-constructed game deserves your children’s interest. It is both a very good opportunity to talk about the feeling of frustration when you fail (necessary for progress), and perhaps to reconnect with the games of your own childhood.
niels.weber@semperludo.com
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