Our Favorite Family Games for Nintendo Switch

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Our trip to Nintendo got E and I really excited about the Nintendo Switch. So much so that when we returned, we figured out a way to get one. E got one for her birthday in February and ever since, we’ve found ways to play with some or most of the family on the weekends. Our Nintendo Switch game collection is relatively small, but we’ve been able to share with neighbors to come up with our favorite family games for Nintendo Switch.

Family Games for Nintendo Switch

I’ve learned that it’s important to see how many players can play one game at a time AND how many systems you will need to achieve that many players. With six of us in the house, we prefer to have at least two of us playing at a time.

Thank you to Nintendo for providing a couple games for our console. We purchased the console and extra accessories.

When there are family games under our tree or in birthday presents, we all win! I’m especially fond of the games that make us move!

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe

In this new game, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe, the tough puff Kirby is back along with his iconic friends – King Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Waddle Dee – in a four-player platforming adventure that will you copying enemies’ abilities and using their powers against them!

You can play solo, or with up to three of your friends and family to join forces to save the day, team up for powerful team attacks, and of course, call on Helper Magolor to save you from danger!

Our 11 year old’s favorite part is Merry Magoland where you can play subgames for mini-rewards while the 9 year old likes the Boss Battles.

It’s a fun and engaging game across all ages in our house from 9 to 42!

Miitopia

Play Miitopia and star in a hilarious adventure alongside your family and friends!

Create and customize your Mii™ characters and cast your friends, family, or anyone you choose in a comedy-filled adventure to bring down the face-stealing Dark Lord!

Then, take your Mii™ characters, assign them roles, and watch them come to life.

Laugh along as your best friend and dear old grandma team up in the fantasy adventure of a lifetime!

Have a blast with new features—including an adorable horse pal, wigs and makeup, and more—on the Nintendo Switch™ system.

Create unique Mii characters of anyone you’d like—from your best friend to your grumpy uncle—and assign them roles.

Use wigs and makeup to bring Mii characters to life.

Share and receive Mii characters online** with friends.

New Pokémon Snap

Seek out and take in-game photographs of Pokémon in their native environments in the New Pokémon Snap™ game, only for the Nintendo Switch™ system! Snap photos from the NEO-ONE as you you encounter and research lively wild Pokémon. You might see unexpected expressions or behaviors—Pokémon patrolling their territory, playing, or lurking in out-of-the-way spots.

Save photos to your personal in-game album to edit and adjust them. When you complete a course, you can adjust the brightness, blur, zoom and other aspects of your photo in Re-Snap mode. Then, add stickers, frames, and filters to add a personal touch. Share your favorite photos with family and friends in-game*. You can also see what kinds of photos everyone else is taking. See something you like? Award a Sweet! medal.

This new game brings the gameplay of the 1999 Pokémon Snap game for the Nintendo 64™ system to life on the Nintendo Switch system with unknown islands to discover and different Pokémon to see!

Mario Golf: Super Rush

Tee off with family and friends in this content-packed Mario Golf game

Hit the green with up to four players locally or online and golf with familiar Mushroom Kingdom characters in Mario Golf: Super Rush. Modes range from Standard Golf to the energetic Speed Golf and an RPG-like golf adventure in story mode. Intuitive motion or button controls, a shot gauge that adapts to the curve of the course, and other new features make it easy for both new players and seasoned pros to drive and putt with power.

Swing simultaneously and make a break for the ball in Speed Golf

Tee off at the same time with up to three other players and race through the course to get your ball in first. Outpace and interrupt your opponents with dashes and special shots. Mario, for example, can blow other players’ balls away.

Rise through the ranks of golf training in story mode

Enroll your Mii character in golf training in a prestigious country club and go from rookie to pro! You’ll face off against your Mushroom Kingdom classmates and earn experience points. Level up to improve your character’s stats like power, movement, and spin. You can bring your character (and their customized stats) into other modes, too!

DC Super Hero Girls™: Teen Power

Something bad is threatening Metropolis and it’s even worse than the teachers at Metropolis High School who assign too much homework. The city’s currently under attack by a fiendish group of DC Super-Villains, so if you’ve got superpowers and super style to spare, then Metropolis needs you!

In the DC Super Hero Girls™: Teen Power game for Nintendo Switch system, you’ll get to take on the roles of the superpowered Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batgirl. Suit up as these butt-kicking besties and make those dastardly Super-Villains change their ways. No one stands in between these DC Super Hero Girls and a good time!

When you’re not fighting crime and keeping the city safe, you’ll be able to explore the highlights of Metropolis. Do some shopping downtown with your gal pals and customize your wardrobe or grab a bite to eat at Sweet Justice. (Just make sure no one figures out your secret identities.)

Super Mario 3d World + Bowser’s Fury

Enjoy two Mario adventures solo or with friends with Super Mario World 3D + Bowser’s Fury.

Pounce and climb through dozens of colorful courses! Mario and his friends can use a variety of power-ups like the Super Bell, which grants catlike abilities like climbing and scratching.

Always a fan of games you can play with more than one person, with Super Mario World 3D + Bowser’s Fury you can Super Team up with up to three other players locally or online to reach the goal and see who can get a high score.

The cats! The girls love the cats and think it’s simultaneously hilarious and awesome! Explore a seamless feline world in the new Bowser’s Fury adventure

Free-roaming Super Mario gameplay makes a return in this brand-new adventure. Bowser has become gargantuan and lost all control! Explore Lake Lapcat and its islands, complete objectives to collect Cat Shines, and team up with Bowser Jr. to bring his big, bad dad back to normal. Just watch out for Bowser’s island-wide attacks.

In Super Mario 3D World, choose a character—each with distinct playstyles—as you dash and climb through dozens of colorful courses, collecting Green Stars and power-ups along the way.

Players can decide to cooperate or compete with friends locally or online to reach each stage’s goal.

And of course, a crown is awarded to the highest-scoring player, making for a friendly frenzy. Did you say frenzy? Yes, I did! Who doesn’t enjoy friendly frenzy?

In addition to added multiplayer options, the Nintendo Switch version of the Super Mario 3D World game has been improved with faster character speeds and more.

Explore a seamless feline world in Lake Lapcat, complete objectives to collect Cat Shines, and defeat a giant Bowser in the new Bowser’s Fury adventure

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

We thought we might be the last family to have Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but it turns out, when I asked on instagram, many people told me they were adding it to their collection for Christmas.

Build your community from scratch on a deserted island brimming with possibility; Create your personal getaway and customize your character, home, decorations, and even the landscape itself.

Collect materials to construct everything from furniture to tools. Then, use what you create to give your island a personal touch.

Watch as the time of day and seasons match real life—even your hemisphere. Each day holds potential for surprises and discoveries.

Get to know the island residents, garden, fish, decorate, hunt for fossils, and more.

Show off your paradise – Play on the same system with a total of 4 people, or play together online or over local wireless for fun with up to 8 players.

Check out some of their other holiday offerings.

Just Dance

Just Dance is one of those games that gets everybody moving. The 2021 version has over 300 tracks. With the Nintendo Switch version, you get new exclusive Mario dance and can play two-handed choreographies!

Up to six players can join the fun in this game making for the ultimate dance party.

We definitely have to get our own copies of many of these games and check out others, but it’s fun to play together and share our love of older games and the nostalgia of games we played when we were younger.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Discover (or rediscover) three of Mario’s most memorable adventures all in one package with Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

Jump into paintings to collect Power Stars and save Princess Peach in the Super Mario 64 game. Spray away paint-like goop with the help of your water-spouting friend, FLUDD, in the Super Mario Sunshine game. Travel from planet to planet and power up Rosalina’s Comet Observatory in the Super Mario Galaxy game—motion controls and a two-player Co-Star mode included.

Pikman 3 Deluxe

Pikmin 3 Deluxe is our first Pikmin experience. Those little Pikmin are so cute! Take your tiny creatures on a big adventure.

Should you choose to accept, your mission is to grow a squad of adorable Pikmin and save your planet. Along the way, you will befriend different types of Pikmin and strategically use them to overcome obstacles, defeat enemies and more. Who wants to throw burning rocks?

As you advance, there are more difficulty options, lock-on targeting and optional hints make it easier for newcomers to learn and play.

You can work cooperatively in Story or Mission mode with a friend, or go head-to-head in Bingo Battle

Play new side-story missions featuring Olimar and Louie exploring planet PNF-404.

Minecraft Nintendo Switch Edition

The girls started playing Minecraft on other devices and even at school. They have built out so much of it and share the games with each other. This game supports up to 8 players, too!

Minecraft for Nintendo Switch is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures. Build anything you can imagine with unlimited resources in Creative mode, or go on grand expeditions in Survival, journeying across mysterious lands and into the depths of your own infinite worlds. Will you hide from monsters or craft tools, armor and weapons to fight back? No need to go alone! Share the adventure with friends in split-screen multiplayer and online!

This new version will let you play together across different devices, access a multitude of content through the Minecraft Store and get all future game updates, starting with Update Aquatic.

Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield Double Pack

Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield Double Pack is on our 7 year old’s Christmas wish list. She is so excited about the launch of this game (just last month). And it’s good for up to 4 players which is a win in our house!

As a special bonus for purchasing the Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield Double Pack, you’ll receive two codes (one per game) that will each reward you a special item known as a Dynamax Crystal.

A new generation of Pokémon is coming to the Nintendo Switch™ system. Begin your adventure as a Pokémon Trainer by choosing one of three new partner Pokémon: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble. Then embark on a journey in the new Galar region, where you’ll challenge the troublemakers of Team Yell, while unraveling the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta! Explore the Wild Area, a vast expanse of land where the player can freely control the camera. Team up with three other players locally or online in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles* in which players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pokémon known as Dynamax Pokémon.

Ring Fit Adventure

I’m most excited about Ring Fit Adventure! I really like the idea of combining a fitness game with fun elements. Look at the yoga with frog like creatures!

Traverse grass-swept plains by jogging in place, attack enemies with overhead shoulder presses, and refill your health meter by striking some yoga poses. Two new accessories, the Ring-Con™ and Leg Strap, measure your real-world actions and help turn them into in-game movements. With additional minigames and customizable workout routines, Ring Fit Adventure is great escape for players of all skill levels and schedules.

In Adventure mode, defeat enemies with attacks based on real-world exercises as you traverse more than 100 levels in over 20 worlds. As you work through each level (and possibly work up a sweat), you’ll earn experience points. Between fights, you may encounter some unusual methods of transportation such as squat-powered launch pads. Then, pass around the Ring-Con and leg strap accessories and select from a few minigames: break boxes with gusts of air, craft pottery using squats, and more.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020:

Who is excited about the combining of Mario and Sonic on a Nintendo Switch game? It’s full of  2D games like long jump, volleyball and hurdles as well as 3D games like surfing, rugby and karate and so many more! Play it on your own, or hook it up to the TV and have some good family fun! You’ll definitely want to add Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 to your Nintendo Switch line up!

Bowser rides a horse and Dr. Eggman jumps off the high dive. Luigi and Tails go on a quest to free Mario & Sonic from the Tokyo ’64 video game console, where they’ve been trapped as retro 8-bit and 16-bit versions of themselves.

Where else could that happen? Nowhere. And just in time for the holidays, you can experience these fun, entertaining adventures for yourselves with family and friends. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is ready for you to join the party, only on Nintendo Switch™!

What you need to know aboutMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020:

• Brand New Story: Help Mario and Sonic escape from a 2D-themed console, the “Tokyo ’64,” hatched as part of Dr. Eggman’s and Bowser’s nefarious plans to trap the colorful and capable power pair.
• A Bountiful Medley of Events: Skateboard, surf, and race your way to the top of the podium! With more than 30 events to master in this fun-filled Olympic Games showdown, there are plenty of ways to prove your skills to your friends in local and online multiplayer.
• Push the Boundaries: Dream Events deliver a layer of fantastical chaos. Zip through a downhill obstacle course on your hoverboard, throwdown for territorial control with lightning-fast karate action, or smash the most targets inside a traditional Japanese manor!
• So Many Ways to Play*: Exclusively on Nintendo Switch, determine who the real champion is while using the fun and flexibility of Joy-Con controllers to your advantage.
• Play with a Cast of Fan-Favorite Characters: The gang’s all here! Play as Mario, Sonic, and a star-studded cast of your favorite SEGA and Nintendo characters!

Super Mario Maker 2

Do you have a creative gamer in your family? Super Mario Maker 2 for Nintendo Switch lets you “Make it Your Way, Play it Your Way!” And it’s fun for 1-4 players!

Mario fans of the world, unite! Now you can play, create, and share the side-scrolling Super Mario™ courses of your dreams in the Super Mario Maker™ 2 game

Dive into the single-player Story Mode and play built-in courses to rebuild Princess Peach’s castle. Make your own courses, alone or together.

As a bonus, with a Nintendo Switch Online membership what you create can also be shared! This give you access to a near-endless supply made by others, enjoy online multiplayer, and more!

A new side-scrolling Mario adventure that unleashes the creative potential of Super Mario Maker 2 awaits in Story Mode, which contains over 100 built-in courses. And in Course Maker, a wide range of parts, tools, and more are available so you can construct your own courses. Want coin-shooting cannons? Bowser riding on a giant Goomba? Cat Mario sliding down slopes to take out an army of baddies? Go for it! You call the shots. Pass a Joy-Con™ controller to a partner to build cooperatively on a single system!

Nintendo Labo

Since Nintendo first launched their Nintendo Labo kits, we can’t stop building them. Or I should say, the girls can’t stop building them.

The newest edition of Nintendo Labo allows families to join in with a VR kit and experience where one can battle aliens, feed hippos, paint elephants and more. The Nintendo Labo: VR Kit is fun for the whole family. They’ve even placed a setting within the system for children under 6 so they can enjoy the game safely and without the VR experience.

This kit is a fun and unique way of combining the physical experience (building the system parts) with the digital world to bring it all to life.  You can create several Toy-Con creations like the Toy-Con VR Goggles, Toy-Con Blaster, Toy-Con Elephant and Toy-Con Wind Petal all of which are included in the VR kit.

The entire kit is built to be shareable for a fun social experience. Families and friends can take turns and some even involve two people within the same set up (if one is in the ocean game and taking photos with the Toy-Con Camera, another person can wear the Toy-Con Snorkel and step in front of the camera to make a bug-eyed fish swim past.

It’s so much fun to watch them all figure out the VR experience.

Right now there are two configurations available; Nintendo Labo: VR Kit which includes the full experience and the Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – Starter Set + Blaster with the option to purchase the expansion packs; Nintendo Labo: VR Kit – Expansion Set 1 and Expansion Set 2.

Yoshi’s Crafted World

Two Yoshi’s at one time? In different colors? The girls love figuring out this game and what all Yoshi can do with the assistance of another Yoshi.

Yoshi’s Crafted World is a colorful new game that stars the lovable Yoshi as he sets off on a grand adventure through a series of handcrafted worlds made out of household objects like cardboard boxes, milk cartons and more. Yoshi has an assortment of colorful eggs at his disposal making it fun.

And, it’s crazy to say, but I’m certain the girls playing in Yoshi’s world increased their imaginative off-screen play and inspired them to build a huge living room fort out of household objects!

Mario Kart

Mario Kart 8 is a classic that also has a version on the Nintendo Switch. The girls can play solo, race each other or battle them in a revised battle mode on new and returning battle courses. All four of the girls can play at the same time with local 4-player multiplayer.

The Nintendo Switch version has every race track from the Wii U version. Also, the Inklings appear as all-new guest characters, along with returning favorites, such as King Boo, Dry Bones, and Bowser Jr.!

Go Vacation

The Go Vacation game is now available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch!

Go on the family adventure of a lifetime in Go Vacation and enjoy over 50 co-operative and competitive activities including scuba diving, skateboarding, skiing and more. We are big fans of the Wii and Wii Sports, so we knew we would enjoy Go Vacation for Nintendo Switch.

One of the things we really like is that you can play color, or with up to 4 players on one Nintendo Switch system, or if you have a friend with you, you can play via Local Wireless with other control options. Two people can split a Joy-Con controller, so you only need two sets to play with four people.

On Kawawii Island you will explore four diverse paradise resorts and experience over 50 co-operative and competitive activities that you can play with the whole family in multi-player mode. Enjoy leisure activities like scuba diving, horseback riding, and sea fishing, and try out extreme sports like skydiving, surfing, and skateboarding. You can even compete to be the best at a variety of other fun activities like skiing, beach volleyball, and tennis.

Every day is different on the island of Kawawii!  Customize your character, villa, costumes, vehicles and even pets! You can also pull your Mii characters in so you can play against their data in activities at any time.

New to the Switch version is enhanced graphics, fishing (with more than 30 species of fish), create a photo collection with more than 40 types of animals and scoring rewards with propeller plane air drops.

Daily presents and challenges mean that you will want to keep coming back to the island of Kawawii to explore more terrain and play through activities all over again. You can find more info at govacation.nintendo.com.

The water sports were the biggest hit with the kids. They liked driving their water craft around. We do wish they could chose their swimsuit colors as some made the girls appear clothes-less. They did think it was fun, though to be able to play with four people at one time and interact with each other on the screen even though they were supposed to be competing against each other.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

The game is the beloved Donkey Kong franchise’s debut on Nintendo Switch, and comes with a banana-bunch of new features, including a new playable character – Funky Kong!

Arctic invaders have turned Donkey Kong Island into their personal frozen fortress, and it’s up to you to save the day. They thought it was a riot to throw the barrels and Mr. Serious enjoyed the nostalgia of playing a game he grew up with and helping the girls learn how to play it.

Play as Donkey Kong in Original Mode and team up with Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong—each with unique abilities—to overcome platforming challenges and frosty foes. Traverse islands packed with platforming perfection and nonstop action as the classic Kongs in the original game, or mix things up by playing the story as Funky Kong in new Funky Mode!

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is only for two players, but everybody was good at taking turns and working together to figure out how to beat the next level.

Overcooked

Listening to the family play this game from another room is absolutely hilarious. You’ll hear “get a tomato”, “clear the dishes”, and “put out that fire” over and over again. Overcooked is surely a family win.

Four players (or less) must work together as odd little chefs to prepare a variety of orders before the customers storm out.

Working together players must journey through a variety of kitchens on their quest to conquer an edible evil which plagues the land. You’ll find kitchens with moving counters, changing floor plans and other exhilarating (and enraging) obstacles. But if it gets the kids in the kitchen and excited about cooking and cleaning, I’m all for it!

Super Mario Party

It’s a full 4-player game, so all of the girls can enjoy it, or our family can take turns playing. It’s also fun for just the grown-ups after the kids go to bed. We like having a quick game with the mini-games or a longer game using the board game to guide our play. Super Mario Party is a blast for the entire family.

80 mini-games mean you will likely not have the same experience twice.

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is great for the family because two can play cooperatively at the same time. We found that it helps for the player with more skill to control Mario, and the younger sibling can control Cappy. Mario and Cappy’s adventures are split into right-sized chunks to keep your young game player entertained and motivated with each power moon collected.

The “retro” sections of gameplay are a fun and nostalgic touch that last just the right amount of time to change it up and keep the gameplay interesting. The kids love Mario Odyssey, whether they’re playing together or solo!

Check out some of our other favorite Holiday Gift Ideas from Nintendo.