‘Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics’ Is the Ultimate Boredom Buster

Raise your hand if you’ve been getting more easily bored lately. Doom scrolling is slowly sucking your soul, there are only so many banana bread recipes you’re willing to try, and there might not be any shows you haven’t binge-watched yet on Netflix while we’re all staying safe during the pandemic.

Let’s get be honest: The cabin fever is real. And if you couldn’t tell, I would raise both of my hands if someone asked me if I was getting more easily bored lately.

So, when I first saw that I was going to review Nintendo‘s Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, my initial thought was, “Wow, that’s seriously so many games.” And after reviewing the game on my Nintendo Switch, my final thoughts are still an impressed, “Wow, that’s seriously so many games,” because that’s exactly what you’re getting with this video game.

Boredom? I don’t know her anymore.

Compatible for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite, Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is rated E for Everyone. Think: If your kids are old enough to understand how to play checkers, then they will be able to enjoy this game in full. If you are playing on the Nintendo Switch, you can play in handheld, tabletop, and TV modes like other games, and if you’re on the Nintendo Switch Lite, you can only play handheld.

For me, the experience brought me back to my childhood days, playing some of these classic games for the first time on a chunky Dell computer running Windows 98. I first gravitated to my favorites Spider Solitare and Mahjong, and suddenly I felt like I was playing these games for the first time again. The graphics are clean and chic, and while play is really intuitive, you won’t be left in the dark if you’re unsure of what to do with on-hand tutorials.

OK, I know what you may be thinking. Up to a point, 51 games really *is* a lot of games, so how do you know what to go with first? If you can’t decide, use the randomizer, and the Clubhouse will make the decision for you. You may end up with a classic tabletop game like chess, a board game like four-in-a-row, a card game like Texas Hold ‘Em, or digital versions of sports like tennis. One of the standouts for me was Toy Boxing, which is kind of like playing Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in my two hands.

The diverse assortment of games you can play is complemented by how versatile you can play them, which is a major plus for me. Of course, you can play solo, but you can also play with friends locally online with up to four players, or also play with anyone around the world online. With friends, two people can play on the touch screen or use one of the two Joy-Con controllers. What’s really cool is that up to four players with systems can connect their screens in a Mosaic Mode to share one giant touch screen for some games. Note that you will need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to play online, sold separately.

Whether players want to play a casual round of checkers or beat their own high score in Toy Tennis, how intense they want to play is up to them. More competitive players can challenge multiple difficulty levels to master each game while they unlock fun trivia facts along the way.