::Certainly a game worth keeping around::

We live in a very fast-paced society. In an age where we expect instant gratification in just about any facet of our lives, it was only a matter of time that this principle bled into games. From the silly "microgames" made possible by Warioware, and most recently with the brain-oriented offerings for the Nintendo DS, we are reaching a new plateau in gaming where we can simply pick up, play, and put back down again. A handheld system seems to be the best vehicle for such a movement, so it's only natural that a title like Clubhouse Games would emerge first on the Nintendo DS. Certainly a release like this one would be fairly skimpy on a home console, (unless it were part of say, Xbox Live Arcade) but with the DS, it works, and it works on many levels. Let's give it a spin.

Clubhouse Games sets up 40-some odd classic card, board, variety and action games in a collection that's definitely worth taking a look at. The first time I booted up Clubhouse Games, I didn't know what to do with myself. On the one hand, I knew that most of these games were playable online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi system. However, after a second thought, I really felt like running through some of the games to get acquainted (and to avoid possible online embarrassment). What I liked was the ability to jump into old favorites such as Chess, Checkers, Texas Hold ‘em, Darts, Bowling, and Mahjong Solitaire. (Not to be confused with the standard 4-player mahjong.) Not all games require an opponent like the aforementioned Mahjong Solitaire, and are thrown in as a nice surprise. Agenda Games sorts out all these games into several categories such as "card games," "action games," "single player games," "variety games," "board games," etc. to make things easier for the gamer. Before you start playing, you need to create a save file and select what avatar you will be represented by. There are plenty to choose from at first, with more to unlock. Naturally, I chose the cheeseburger.

When playing CG offline, you can play whatever game within it that you want at will, or you can choose from the "Stamp" or "Mission" modes. Stamp Mode is basically you running the gauntlet of games pitting you against the computer trying to complete each game in this tiny card. It's called “Stamp” mode, because each game will have a set goal, and if you win, typically you'll receive 3 stamps for a given game. Once you obtain 3, you move on to the next game in line. Second place traditionally gets you 2 stamps and third or worse, will "earn" you 1. This makes playing the game quite challenging and will keep you at it for close to five or six hours depending what difficulty you have it on. This is a great addition in CG for the sheer fact that I would never have thought to play games like Backgammon, Old Maid. But having played them and received a great wealth of instruction on playing the game from the "Rules" tab provided by all games, I played and learned a few that I wouldn’t necessarily have checked out otherwise. The problem with this mode is that you're forced to play all the games, even the ones like "Koi-Koi" and "Shogi;" both of which have made myself and my colleagues frustrated beyond belief...you’ll see.

"Mission" mode is comparable to the "Achievements" for any Xbox 360 title. You will be given various tasks such as getting 3 bull's-eyes in a game of darts, or getting three strikes in a row in bowling. The missions are extremely tough and require quite a bit of practice to complete. When you do, however, you will be treated with unlockable avatars to use with your saved file. A nice addition and it does provide a little incentive to keep at it.

So there are a few bad apples in this ripe batch of games. By a few, I mean less than I can count on one hand. Each game will provide a decent amount of entertainment, though the plethora of card game variants can get annoying to the unacquainted as learning 10 new card games in succession can get a bit frustrating. There are a few funny clones of your favorite games from your childhood in here. For instance, "Battleship" is replaced by an imitation game called: "Grid Attack," the popular card game "Bullsh*t" is replaced by "I Doubt It" and so on. I also liked the addition of a fun game that occupied my time while in high school math class called "Dots and Boxes." Come on, we’ve all played this one before.

Taking this title online is also a source of great enjoyment, Nintendo released this just at the right time with the holidays rolling around. This "grab ‘n go" style works great with the comprehensive online system built around this game. You can play upwards of 30 games online. When playing, I did not experience a single jolt of lag; my beefs come from some of the same I've had with other DS Wi-Fi titles. It takes far too long to roust up opponents on favorites that probably have players waiting like Texas Hold ‘em and Blackjack. This is a problem that, for whatever reason, all Nintendo DS Wi-Fi compatible seem to have. Granted when you do start a game, there is generally no lag to be experienced. It's a shame that I can't definitively say that about all games in this package as some games I have yet to find an online opponent for. A few days back, I had a real itch to play Chess online and was waiting in the lobby for 20 minutes to see if anyone would join, only to exit sorely disappointed. This is not a gripe I hold against the developer, it just shows that you may not always have an opponent of some of the less popular games in this collection though virtually all of them are still fun offline. Picto-Chat is available to use when playing single or multi-card multiplayer, but when playing online, you can communicate via pre-loaded messages similar to Internet Hearts, etc. loaded on Windows. These messages can be accompanied with emoticons, and font/background color of messages can also be toggled.

A few minor shortcomings are fairly trivial, really. When playing a card game in which betting takes place like Blackjack or any kind of poker game, you can bet more chips than you have and if you lose, you'll still have negative points. When playing an online poker tournament of up to 8 people, I expected that whoever runs out of chips will simply be eliminated. Unfortunately, this is not the case. They run into negative chips and can theoretically still win. (No word on whether these anti-chips would collapse the game if they came into contact with real chips.) This angered me, but no one game in this package is meant to cater to the hardcore fans of that particular game. This means if you play poker in real life and/or online, you will find minor misgivings of how poker and blackjack is played. If that's really going to bother you, than the general purpose Clubhouse Games is likely going to disappoint you. Look for a game dedicated to your hobby to provide you enjoyment. Clearly Agenda’s intention going into CG was to bring a lot of games to the masses and some things just got lost in translation. Some experiences are diluted but by and large, the enjoyment to be had by this collection of games is quite impressive indeed.

The graphics in Clubhouse Games are fairly utilitarian. What's there gets the job done and nothing more. We are not supposed to be impressed by shiny graphics and beautiful pixels, instead the emphasis is focused on gameplay and with card and board games, this seems to be the right approach. While they're not ugly, they certainly won't win any beauty pageants.

Clubhouse Games prominently features the stylus in a game where d-pads and A,B,X,Y buttons get benched. Don't worry though, this is what the system was built for, full functionality of the stylus and the games work great with this mechanic. You'll notice this when playing Mahjong Solitaire, most specifically. While the translations of darts and bowling may feel a bit awkward at first, eventually you'll get on the right side of the learning curve as you will hit the bull's-eye and a bowl a strike more frequently than you used to. The audio is fairly basic; some of the background music gets the job done and is different for each type of game you play. More times than not, I just turn the volume down.

As far as replay value, this game's got legs. The Wi-Fi capability will certainly add weeks to an already packed offline outing. Polish up your skills and take your game online, so long as you're not playing a card game like: "President" online, (which I still don't understand) you shouldn't have too much of a problem connecting with someone; just check your patience upon booting up your DS.

So in the end, Clubhouse Games proves useful in what it sets out to do; bringing that instant gratification style playability to the masses. As a more-than-casual gamer, I found myself having more fun with this collection than I have with some of the full priced new console games being released recently. It's funny since most of these games in the package I've played before, but there’s something about playing against the AI or online that makes it fresh again. You'll have many hours of fun awaiting you and at the very minimum will provide for a decent amount of entertainment. Is Clubhouse Games the DS' new "killer app?" Time will tell, though, in my opinion, it certainly is a lot of fun and worth your time and money; if you're new to the DS, this is a good exercise to get yourself acquainted with the type of interactivity this handheld has to offer.