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This game devours lives

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 112 / 114
Date: October 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Clubhouse Games is the latest entry in the Nintendo Touch Generations label. These games exist outside the norm of gaming. They're usually non-games, or outside-the-box titles, that are meant to appeal to a wider audience than most games target. Nintendogs for pet lovers, Brain Age for those interested in puzzles, and so on and so forth.

Clubhouse Games might very well be the strongest entry into the genre yet. A collection of 42 awesome card, board, and variety games, Clubhouse Games is perfect for single players, a group of friends, or online matchups.

The game list is impressive, spanning from the usual staples such as Poker and Blackjack and Solitaire to the rarer things like Go, Hanafuda, Field Tactics (stratego) and others. The list is already covered in reviews, so I won't reiterate.

The game shines with a simple, plain display that allows you to easily manipulate the controls for all of the card and board games. The games themselves come with detailed rules, and tips should you desire them. Given that some of these games can be pretty obscure, it's a nice addition. And refreshing your memory never hurts.

The only problem is the games that are more action-oriented. Billiards and bowling are almost impossible to control with dependable accuracy, unless your hands have control of surgeon-level quality (I beat Trauma Center, I know what I'm talking about. =D). It's frustrating, given that tighter control would have made them standouts. As it is, I'll play it when I'm bored, or a friend wants to play that one with me.

As for the multiplayer options, that's half the reason to get this game. Not only are most (if not all) of the games single-cart multiplayer, but every game can be played online, as well. And included with the game is an online version of PictoChat, the amazingly addictive little chat client bundled into the firmware of every DS.

This pictochat comes complete with paint and stamp options, though some colors have to be unlocked. In fact, many of the bonuses for this game are unlockable: some of the games need to be opened, as do half the avatars, extra chat colors, and whatnot. But exploring all the game modes will open up most of them, and certainly all the important ones.

Yes, Clubhouse Games seems like the usual shoddy card-game compilation. But I assure you it's much more. It's 42 games that range from average to impressively deep, and at such a high number (42!) you'll be spending lots of time with it, especially if you have a gaming companion.

It truly is the meaning of life. GET IT!

ClubHouse Games: Cheap Parlor Trick or Fun For All? You decide

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 78 / 79
Date: October 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Clubhouse games rock!

Many of the games are available at the start, others you have to "unlock" for later.

Three modes of gameplay are available:
"Free play": Play any game you have unlocked/play available games.
"Stamp mode": Clear all the games in order (yes, each game, but you get stamps when you lose, so you're not stuck on darts or whatever forever!) one stamp for third place or lower, two for second, three for first; three stamps and you can move on to the next game..a great way to familierize yourself with all the games, plus it's the only way to unlock certain games
and finally,
"Mission mode": Clear specific challenges to move on: Make X number of strikes in bowling, for example.

Some games are great, others stink, ditto to the music, but that's not we are here..

There are only a few games available at the start as I previously mentioned:
*Basic Card Games*
old maid
spit (speed or war)
I doubt it (Cheat!)
Sevens
Memory (yes, memory!)
Pig

*Intermediate Card Games
Blackjack
hearts
president
rummy
seven bridge
last card
last card plus

*Advanced Card Games*
five card draw
texas hold'em
nap
spades
contract bridge

*Basic board games*
chinese checkers
checkers
dots and boxes
hasami shogi
turncoat
connect five
grid attack

*Advanced card games*
Backgammon chess
*three others to be unlocked:
shogi
field tactics
ludo

*Soda shake
dominoes
Koi-koi
*unlockable game
word balloon

*Action games*
bowling
darts
billiards
balence("Jenga")
takeover

*Single-player games*
Solitaire(Klondike/draw three, go thru deck once; standard/draw 3,6,or infinate, go thru deck infinate)
Escape
Majongg Solitaire(lots of different ways to play)

Whenever there is unlockables, simply touch the grayed-out icon to find out what you have to do to unlock it! There are even unlockables in the choose able icons and picto-chat features!

I love the instructions for most of the games! Anytime during a game, you can pull up a help window which will teach you the intricacies of a given game.

Now, this package isn't without stinkers:
In Texas Hold'Em you can't go "all in" or even "raise a bet"
in billiards and darts there is no actual ball physics, etc
however, there is a robust mode of solitaire(both "Klondike" (draw three) and "draw one". Most solitaire games don't have this, and I HATE "draw three!") and majongg which are two of my favorite single-player games and I wasted hours late last night trying them out. The instructions to refresh my memory of majongg were flawless, complete with icons to help!

The computer AI is great, especially in chess and checkers! How many of us have played online or with an electronic hand held game, where you'd play a game against the computer and end up in a "cat" game? (Where no one wins or loses, and no one can move on)? or in chess, where the AI is stupid, and cheats? This one didn't! It "thought out" moves, it made jumps or moves when I wasn't looking, it even won sometimes, though so did I!

While the package isn't without it's duds it does have perks like redesigned/renamed versions of Battleship, Stratego, Trouble, etc(most you have to unlock), and Hanafuda, the card game that Nintendo was famous for before they got into video games in the 1800's!

You can download all games(that you have unlocked) to another ds to let someone try them out, and many games can be played online through Nintendo's wifi service, or a robust single-card and multi-card download play!

This is a great package overall, but some of the games could have been tweaked a bit more. I have Telegame's versions of "Ultimate card games" and "ultimate pocket games" for the gba which has better renditions of poker and other games then this game, and I'll be picking up their ds versions; but for everyone who has ever played solitaire on their calculator or hearts and poker on the computer, this game is a must-buy, especially if you have friends online. You can "picto-chat"chat with your friends or use generic phrases like "good job" and "one more game?" with random match-ups.

I'm glad I spent the money for this game, and while not all forty-plus games are available at the start, it's fun to try to unlock them all.
This game deserves a solid 8 or 9 out of 10!
Go buy it, and I'll see you online!

Another superb game for the DS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 47 / 50
Date: November 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

They just keep coming. Just about all of Nintendo's original first party games for their dual screened handheld are simplistic yet incredibly addictive, and Clubhouse Games is no different. Featuring a horde of instantly accessible games of all types, Clubhouse Games is a blast that gamers of any and every age can get into. There's tons of card games here, ranging from Blackjack to Texas Hold 'Em; to go along with Chess, Checkers, Solitare, Pool, Darts, Bowling, and many more; all of which played using the stylus and touch screen to full effect. The visuals aren't anything revolutionary, but they get the job done, and the controls using the stylus are nicely done as well. There's more mini-games and extras to unlock as well through the Mission mode as you accomplish various goals throughout the various games, which adds even more to the incredibly high replay value. And speaking of replay value, Clubhouse Games features Wi-Fi capability, and to get the most out of the game you'll have to use it, and you'll be getting addicted to it even more. All in all, Clubhouse Games is yet another addition to an increasingly superb DS library, and for DS owners looking for some quick yet lasting gameplay, Clubhouse Games is a must own.

Place Your Bet

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 23 / 27
Date: October 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Clubhouse Games is the newest in Nintendo's Touch Intiative series, and it's by far one of the best. There are 42 games collected here. Most (if not all) of them you'll be familiar with. Much like games such as Brain Age, it's addictive, simple and has a long lasting appeal.

With all these games it's a question of which one you want to dwell into first. 18 of the games are card games. All of which are divided into different categories. Basic, intermediate and advanced.

The basic games are as follows:

Old Maid
Spit
I Doubt It
Sevens
Memory
Pig

The Intermediate games are as follows:

Blackjack
Hearts
Rummy
President
Seven Bridge
Last Card
Last Card Plus

The Advanced games are as follows:

Poker
Texas Hold 'Em
Nap
Spades
Contract Bridge

In addition to that, there are also a set of basic and advanced board games.

The basic board games include:

Checkers
Chinese Checkers
Dots and Boxes
Hasami Shogi
Reversi
Connect Five
Gold Attack

The Advanced board games include:

Chess
Shogi
Field Tactics
Lodo

Finally there are nine variety games for you. These games are:

Soda Shake
Dominoes
Koi Koi
Word Balloon
Balance
Billards
Bowling
Darts
Takeover

It's a long list of games to be sure, but they'll certainly keep you busy for a while. Also, it's very important to keep in mind that these games are given their correct names. For example, you've probably played "President" but it was called "A-Hole". "I Doubt It" is basically "Bull****" and "Last Card Plus" is basically "Uno". So even if the names don't look familiar, you probably do know most of these games. And the good news is the rules are exactly the same on the Nintendo DS as they are in real life. If, however, you find a game you're unfamiliar with, you can easily view the rules. They're explained in a simple and easy to understand way. Needless to say, you'll be playing all games with the stylus.

The variety of games is great. But what fun is it without some competition? Or without some friends to play? There's some AI here, and the computer is fairly competant. You can adjust the difficulty setting, but on some of the more advanced games such as Chess, even setting the computer to a high level might not be enough for a pro. So instead of playing some games against the computer you might want to consider playing against some friends. Only one person has to have the game in order for multiplay to ensue, and it's quite fun. Perhaps the best part is taking the game online. Play online with friends or against people worldwide.

There are some games that can't be played on multiplayer at all, but it's nothing to get to jumpy about. Of all the games only five them don't function with multiplayer. So there's still a nice variety.

There are minor problems with this game. The only things that really annoy me are all focused around gambling. For starters, you can bet while you're in the negatives. If you gamble all your money away, you'll find that you can still be in the game. It's great that you can still play, but it gets annoying when say... the person with the most money makes low bets and folds every time just so that you stay there. Also, some games don't utilize their full potential. In Texas Hold 'Em, for example, you can't go "All In". At all. Also, in Blackjack, you can't split at all. Minor setbacks, but it does detract fro the game somewhat.

Okay, so the game is probably not as fun as sitting down with your buddies and playing some real poker, but this collection is exactly what the Nintendo DS needs. It doesn't look great, but there's a lot of good quality here. So place your bet and get this game.

The Good

+Tons of games to choose from
+Easy to learn games, and tons of familiar games
+Playing against friends is fun
+Nintendo Wi-Fi enabled
+Easy touch screen controls
+Along with there being tons of games, there's a wide variety of them

The Bad

-The negative bankroll. Great to keep playing, bad when someone takes advantage of your disadvantage
-Some games aren't utilized to their fullest

Great set of games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: November 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Clubhouse games is well worth the money. This title is stuffed to the gills with all sorts of games, from old maid to three types of darts to solitaire.

My biggest critique of clubhouse games is that it does not have multi-player for a single DS. Almost every game in this collection is set up for taking turns (Checkers, Chess, Darts, Dominoes, Billiards, Backgammon, etc...) yet the game restricts itself to one profile, and lacks the ability to pass the DS back and fourth with a friend to take turns playing a game.

So far I have almost played each game it has to offer and the only one I found I don't like as much is their version of Blackjack. Other than that I love most every game this package has to offer. Darts (Cricket style) is by far my favorite and well worth the purchase just for that alone.

Clubhouse Games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: November 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1HJDOR7B7IN5B Lots of games to choose from, bowling and darts are my favorite. I don't think I'd care for these games if it wasn't for the stylus, somehow it makes them more fun.

Family fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: March 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for myself (a MOM) to pass the time while waiting in the parking lot for kids to finish practice. Now even the kids want to play it so we had to buy another DS Lite. Then we discovered we can play with each other and have even more fun! Great for car trips! My kids are 12 and 15.

Horrible Chess Engine

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My wife got this for me as a Christmas present, almost solely because I kept saying I wanted a chess program for the DS. I have to say, the chess program is horrible. I can easily beat it on the hardest (of three) settings. It doesn't appear to use an opening library, or if it does, that library consists of sacrificing the queen as early as possible (I'm not kidding about that). It takes forever to decide on a move, then it does something completely inexplicable (like instead of moving a dangling piece out of harms way, it will move another piece to a meaningless square).

I will say that the rest of the games (at least the ones I've played) seem good enough to distract me while I'm on the bus. My wife and I have also played some of them together over the wireless connection, and that was fun.

Bridge players stay away!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this title precisely so I could play Bridge. Bridge is one of the most complex card games of all time, so I wasn't expecting miracles of AI brilliance, but I at least expected that (a) the minimum necessary information would be given to you so you could play the game, (b) the AI could at least give you some challenge, and (c) the game would implement the real rules of Bridge. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Necessary information (bidding history) is not available anywhere. The bids are displayed on the UI as they are made, but they flash very quickly and are buried in a confusing flash of irrelevant information, and if you miss them, they're gone. As atrocious as that experience is, the game only allows you to make a single bid, so it doesn't even implement Bridge rules correctly! I'm thinking of returning the game, or seeing if there is such a thing as a patch for DS games.

Given that I was trapped on a long flight, I tried out a few of the other games.

Hearts was at least playable, but lacked the options that I would have preferred to be able to set (e.g. I couldn't configure passing schemes, rewards for hitting 100, or Jack of Diamonds optional rules).

Solitaire was acceptable.

Backgammon is my favorite game on this compilation so far, but even this lacks advanced features (doubling cube), and the UI is also quite annoying (you have to be very precise about where you place your pieces or it will reject your input).

Chess worked and was, as expected, easily beatable. At least the game knew to allow castling. I didn't have a chance to try en passent.

Bottom line: jack of all trades, master of none. Some of the games are fun, some are unplayable. Have low expectations of what this game can do and you'll probably enjoy it more.

- - - - -

UPDATE: years later, I find I enjoy this game more than I did when it first came out. Yes, it's still a poor implementation of every individual game, and the abundance of flashing screens is still annoying. But if you ignore the warts, this game can entertain you for countless hours. I enjoyed beating all the missions (despite some of them being very frustrating) and some games like Mahjong are fun to replay indefinitely. If I have anything else to play, I do, but when I'm bored with current games, this one is still not a bad way to kill time.

Perfect game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: December 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I consider this game to be one of the best games for Nintendo DS. It is fun, very user friendly, with flawless online play (for 8 players !). And above all, perfect value for money.

I just can't stop playing it (I prefer it to my Metroid P Hunters and Mario Kart).

Recommended for "all" ages.

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