With all the rain we’ve had here in New England this week, we thought we’d share a post from our sister site in Chicago on a Wii game that may help get you to the beach during this rainy period.
If the summer has gotten away from you and you never made it to that island vacation, maybe you can live vicariously through Vacation Isle Beach Party. We recently got sent this game for the Wii and I would not say that it successfully replaces a vacation, but it definitely got me thinking about one.
Vacation Isle can be played with your standard Wii remote and nunchuk or you can get the Wii balance board and surf the way the pros do it. Vacation isle comes with 8 different games with adjustable difficulty settings. So your kids can play as well as teenagers and adults. Games include:
Salom Skiing where you water ski back and forth between pilons, jumps, and other obstacles.
Wake boarding where you show off you balance.
Surfing where you try to catch the best waves and don’t get dragged underwater.
Stand Up Paddling where you try to steer your boat through the obstacles.
Ski Jump where you take your water ski’s over platforms and jumps for distance.
Stunt Park where you get to try your freestyle moves.
Hula and Fire dancing which I never really did try.
My five year old and me spent our time in the slalom racing and ski jumping. Each time we hit a jump we screamed until we landed to see how far we went. The slalom really helps you remember how hard water skiing is but at least you don’t have to start from a sitting position in the water. Vacation Isle is a little monotonous as it doesn’t very that much except for the difficult so it hasn’t hit the major rotation. However, when it slides into the Wii we do get some solid entertainment out of it.
Good luck shopping for the upcoming holiday season. One thing that you should see is major discounts from the biggest retailers including Toys ‘R Us, Target, Walmart, Amazon, and of course the Comic Vault on Ashland and Montrose. I have received several emails this last week from Amazon looking at 25% off all sorts of toys including Mattel, Disney, and Toy Story.
There is no substitute for getting toy recommendations from friends and family or just by watching Saturday morning cartoons and letting your kid point out what they want during commercials. However, there are a couple of resources you can use if you are looking for what is hot including the Toy Insider and Dr Toy. Below are the toys we had the most fun with this year in no particular order:
Seven in One Maximus Draganoid. We would recommend any of the Bakugan toys and getting involved in this franchise but the Seven in One combines puzzles, action figures, and Bakugan all rolled into one.
SORRY! Sliders. What a phenomenal sequal to the always fun classic SORRY!. This combines the gameboard with some physical skill and the ability to crash into your opponents sending them off the table.
Nerf or Nothing. the new Nerf guns are wickedly fun. If you aren’t into play guns skip this recommendation, but you can get Nerf toys in all shapes and sizes that can shoot across the room without anyone getting hurt. They even have accessories for you to play capture the flag and Nerf dart tag.
Battle Strikers. Battle Strikers is unique, fun, challenging and exciting. Using battery powered spinners, drop your battle strikers (each looks different, has a name, and certain qualities) on the play table and see which battle striker is left standing as they bang, spin, and crash into each other. Use the finger magnets to try to keep your battle striker spinning and crash into your opponent.
Dive Sticks. Affordable, simple, and hours of entertainment in the pool. These simple dive sticks blink, glow, sink, and float in the pool. They help your kid learn to swim (and sink) while still thinking they are playing.
What will I do with my Kids today is on the lips of every parent, every day. Once you get past breakfast, the grueling decisions start. Crazy Kids is the cure.
