My kids are at the age where they still love to play the old fashioned  card games and board games that I used to play when I was a kid.  But, they also love to play video games.  I have a window before playing video games with mom isn’t fun any more. So, I decided to looking into video games that I could play with my kids that would be fun for all of us.

My top 5 in no particular order:

1. Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved

Remember the Disney film Fantasia? While the name is similar, the game isn’t the same as the story in the movie at all.  There are a few references to it when Yen Sid helps you as a new apprentice.  You have to get rid of the “NOISE” and create music by moving your arms to cues on the screen. The game is easy and fun to play with your kids.  There are songs from today all the way through old, old classical symphonies.  We love to talk about the music when we play it or the words in the songs if there are any.  Some of them are pretty corny!

2. Minecraft

This is one of our favorite games.  My daughter’s school even has a minecraft after school program.  You build homes and shelters, dig for resources, create flower gardens and explore the world that you are in. There is no win or lose ore killing (well killing sheep for wool and cows for meat), just creativity. It has kept my kids busy for hours and hours.

3. Osmo

I discovered this little gem as I was researching Christmas presents for my kids.  It works with an iPad.  You set your iPad in a specially designed stand, connect a mirror over the camera and start up the application.  There are 3 games that came with the set that I purchased for like $80.  The three were: Spelling, Drawing, and Puzzles.  I

The drawing game is really cool.  You can use your face, and different textures to bounce balls into their targets.  If you use a substance like Ketchup on a piece of paper, it understands that the imaginary balls or dots can “bounce”.  If you use a flat surface like a table or piece of paper, they don’t bounce.

Check out this video by Bratayley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgMTmWJ9WG8.  My daughter loved Bratayley so much she started to watch all of the other videos out there by her.  To the point that I was begging my daughter, “No more Bratayley videos!”.

4. Mario Kart 8

Who doesn’t love Mario Kart?  I mean have been playing this game since we were kids right? I remember playing it with my nephew 10 years ago and it just doesn’t get old.

The characters are all there: Luigi, Yoshi and Donkey Kong. I love going underwater and through the air, up the walls – talk about crazy. We still find ourselves racing into the wee hours of the night on non school nights!