Clubhouse Games [DS]

Nintendo announced a new game to join its newly established Touch Generations line of Nintendo DS titles: Clubhouse Games is a huge collection of familiar card, board, and parlor games in one cartridge, and focuses heavily on the Nintendo DS system's wireless multiplayer functionality.

The whole line-up of games include (take a deep breath):

Old Maid, Spit, I Doubt It, Sevens, Memory, Pig, Blackjack, Hearts, Rummy, Last Card, Last Card Plus, President, Five Card Draw, Texas Hold Em, Nap, Spades, Contact Bridge, Hasami Shogi, Turncoat, Chinese Checkers, Checkers, Dots & Boxes, Backgammon, Chess, Connect Five, Grid Attack, Koi-Koi, Soda Shake, Dominoes, Bowling, Darts, Billiards, Balance, Take Over, Solitaire, Escape, and Mahjong Solitaire.

Whew. That's a lot of games. What's more, every game in this stack features stats tracking for wins and losses and other data. The games have been developed in a clean and professional interface and environment, clearly going after the more adult crowd for this title. The non-card games aren't enormously elaborate, though - Billiards, for example, is a very bare-bones game of pool with a basic physics engine and almost no animation to the balls as they roll. Some games are quick little throwaway challenges - Soda Shake is a good example. In this game, players use the touch screen to shake up a bottle of soda - each player decides how long to shake, and the one left with an exploded bottle is the loser.

Though the game focuses on multiplayer with its single and multi-card local wireless functionality, it's surprising that, at least right now, that the game doesn't have Nintendo Wi-fi Connection functionality. This package would make for a perfect online experience, and yet, as of right now, it doesn't have it. Hopefully Nintendo will see the light and add it before the game ships.

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