These Video Games Are Fun for the Whole Family

You don’t need any experience with the previous Pikmin games to jump into Pikmin 4, which is one of the best games on the Switch for parents and kids to play together. In this action-puzzle game, you command cute, tiny, plant-like creatures called Pikmin to help the stranded intergalactic Rescue Corps rebuild their ship and rescue the lost Captain Olimar. You can play alone or with another person, and both children and adults will find plenty to appreciate. Though there’s nothing particularly inappropriate for small children in Pikmin 4, it might be hard for them to read the subtitles necessary to understand the Rescue Corps’ alien language, and they may need help navigating the menus and tutorials before they can play it alone.

This cozy game for Disney fans is appropriate for all ages, and you can play it on just about any device you own. In Dreamlight Valley, your goal is to find familiar Disney characters who have lost their memories, and rebuild the village they once called home. To bring the valley back to its former glory, you have to garden, fish, and smash rocks to collect resources that you then use to restore buildings and spruce the place up with new decorations. You then explore whimsical realms straight out of Disney’s films to track down different characters and convince them to come home. Although Disney Dreamlight Valley has an online multiplayer mode, it’s too limited, and it requires all members of your family to have their own copy of the game, so we think the game is best enjoyed solo. But if anyone in your family is a Disney lover who enjoys titles such as Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley, Dreamlight Valley should keep them busy for the next few months.

Mario Party Superstars is one of the few ways we’ve found to entertain a group of people whose attention spans, tempers, and experience levels don’t mesh at all. Superstars is a compilation of the best boards and minigames the Mario Party series has offered since the ’90s. Up to four people roll dice to race around a board and compete in different minigames between turns, using controls that are basic enough for even the most fumbling players to get the hang of them. Fortunately, there’s no guarantee that the most experienced player will win every time—plenty of unpredictable events pop up throughout the game, and players may be awarded bonus points for random accolades such as landing on the most red spaces or traveling the least distance. You can also customize the minigame selection, the rules, and even the match length to fit your family’s preference. As long as all of your players can use a controller for side-to-side movements and locate each directional button and trigger, you can all enjoy Superstars together.

Any family with a Switch in the house should own a copy of Nintendo Switch Sports. Whether you’re having a family game night, entertaining visitors, or looking for something that kids of varying ages or skill levels can play together, this game is simple enough for everyone to get the hang of and enjoy. Up to four players on a single screen can compete in motion-based sports such as volleyball, soccer, golf, bowling, tennis, badminton, and chambara. Later this summer, Nintendo will release a free update that introduces basketball into the mix. No matter how many times you play, Switch Sports always feels fresh and fun with every match, and mimicking movements like swinging a tennis racket or golf club feels natural and satisfying. If anyone in your family has a more limited range of motion, you can also play just as well by sitting down and using subtle wrist flicks.

Split-screen racing games aren’t as abundant as they used to be, but every set of siblings needs a good racing game to funnel their competitive energy into from time to time. Up to four players can race together on one screen in Dirt 5, which is accessible for players of all ages and skill levels. The controls are easy, the handling is smooth, and you have tons of different cars and courses to choose from. It’s also currently available on Xbox Game Pass, as well as on PlayStation with an EA Play subscription. Keep in mind that if you buy this game on PlayStation, all players must complete the tutorial before the co-op mode can be accessed.

Unspottable requires a minimum of two people to play, but up to four members of your family can hop on the same screen to play this ridiculous game of hide-and-seek. In Unspottable, the goal is to blend into a crowd of identical people and punch other players out of the game before they punch you. You have to try to match the movements of the other NPCs (who are actually robots in disguise) to not give yourself away, while detecting any other characters that look suspicious. It’s hilarious and extremely simple, and most important, it’s unlikely to start any family fights. Although the premise does involve punching, the game is rated E, and children and adults of all ages can play together as long as they know the basics of using a controller.

If your relationships are strong enough to withstand a little stress, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a great cooperative game that feels similar to a fast-paced tabletop game. To defuse a bomb primed to explode, you and your team work together by choosing one player to examine and interact with the bomb, while everyone else frantically scrolls through a digital booklet on their mobile device or laptop. Because only one player can examine the bomb in question, they have to verbally call out the images they see on screen to help the other players locate the right answers in the manual. Trying to describe puzzles that contain strange shapes and symbols is challenging and hilarious, and interactions can quickly get heated as time runs out or wrong attempts are made. The best way to play this game is on a VR headset or laptop, as it’s easier to hide the screen from the players tasked with rifling through the manual, but it’s also available on any console you might have.

Beat Saber is one of our favorite VR games for kids and adults alike, and it doesn’t require any established skill to play—simply swing your arms to slice through blocks with virtual lightsabers as popular songs pump in the background. The experience is exhilarating on its own, and the game is also a fun way for players to exercise without even realizing it. We recommend this game for solo players or groups of people taking turns, but if you happen to have multiple headsets and copies of the game, you can play together in Party Mode or compete against one another for the highest score.

If you want something that the grown-ups can indulge in after the kids go to sleep, or if you don’t have any kids at your family gatherings at all, we recommend breaking out one of the Jackbox party packs. They’re full of hilarious minigames that prompt players to chime in on their own mobile devices by drawing silly pictures, typing in random phrases, or answering trivia questions. Ten different party packs are available, but we like The Jackbox Party Trilogy because it bundles three great packs together for a wide variety of minigames. These minigames can accommodate up to eight players at the same time, but if you need space for a couple more, some of the newer packs can host up to 10 people. And if the bundle is overkill for you, note that some of our favorite games, such as Drawful and Fibbage, are also available for purchase as standalone titles. Although these games are rated for teens and older, the content isn’t so scandalous that you need to consider hiding it from kids—but we do think it’s more fun when you’re not worried about whether the contents are appropriate for younger ears.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Signe Brewster.