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Gutierrez Family: Super Young Gaming Fun With Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival

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In an era where the video games are often aimed at older players or  focused on a single player linear storyline it can be hard to find a game the whole family can enjoy.

Yes there are some games that have up to 8 players like Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U but those are not exactly junior child friendly.

For my wife and I one game shines above the rest: Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. It's the perfect for family game night.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival centres around a board game experience that requires amiibo figures in order to play. Animal Crossing amiibo are used as board game pieces that move along a map of a town and land on special spaces that either reward players with currency in the form of Bells or points called Happy Points or both.

Amiibo Festival

Players may also land on spaces that punish players by taking away Happy Points, Bells or both. The main point of the game is to play through a month of the year that consists of all players rolling a dice to constitute a day. At the end of the Month the player with the most Happy Points wins.

There is some strategy here as players can use currency to purchase cards that affect spaces effects and there is also a Stock Market type of aspect called the Stalk Market where players can purchase and sell turnips on their turn depending on how the market is doing they can lose Bells or make a profit. For the most part though the game depends on the luck of the dice and whether you land on a good space or bad.

The luck aspect of Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is what makes this title perfect for younger players as it really levels the playing field. My kids are 2 and 4 years old, at this age there are not many games we can play as a family even board games can be a trial.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival breaks the mould and combines video games, toys, and classic board games to create a unique experience. The children love to choose a different amiibo to play as each time and the youngest has no trouble placing the amiibo on the Wii U game pad NFC reader to have the in-game character roll it's dice.

We loved that the game originally came with two amiibo so multiplayer is encouraged right out of the box. The game supports up to 4 amiibo but that has not stopped us from playing with more players separated into teams of two or more people per amiibo.

Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is a fun experience when it's shared with friends and family but when this title is played as a single player mode it can become tedious and lackluster but that is not what I was here to tell you today.

Again in a world where the gaming landscape is oversaturated with titles that seem to focus on single player, co-op, or even online multiplayer modes it's nice to have a game like this where you and your little ones can play at their own pace and have a unique experience each time you play.

With that being said Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival is a great title for those with younger kids just getting into gaming and adults whom want a gaming session the entire family can enjoy.

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Andrew Robertson
Andy Robertson is the editor of AskAboutGames and has written for national press and broadcast about video games and families for over 15 years. He has just published the Taming Gaming book with its Family Video Game Database.