This is one of those games designed to level the playing field between gaming enthusiasts and those who just showed up at the party for the liquor. When you play WiiParty U it doesn’t matter if you have logged over two hundred hours in Skyrim: it won’t help you. The over 80 mini-games don’t respect your game prowess, they are designed to make you look foolish if you think you are in for a cake walk.

WiiParty U has a few main games to choose from. They are set up board game style, with characters moving along spaces on a map for the most part, with a healthy dose of mini-games to jazz up the experience. Or, if you don’t have the better part of an hour or if the board game setup bores you, you can just play mini-game after mini-game. The game uses the ol’ Wii remotes while sometimes making use of the gamepad for one player, opening up the field to asymmetrical game-play with one player facing off against the others.

The mini-games themselves have a wide variety of different objectives and play styles. Most are pretty entertaining and some challenge the mind. There are mini-games that leave everything to chance and some that will leave you scratching your head, like trying on hats or remembering what ingredients a chef put in the pot. If you and your friends prefer a more traditional game experience there are offerings like billiards as well.

What makes WiiParty U a game worth buying is the chance to play with your friends and family. As a one-player game it can be a bit tedious. When you are playing the extended games against three computer characters you start to wish there was some way to fast-forward over their turns, and because much of the game is a matter of chance, it isn’t very fulfilling to win or lose against the computer. Also, many of the events and games require at least two players, further limiting the solo player experience.

WiiParty U is a pretty fun game but it isn’t for the lone wolves out there. It offers plenty of fun, accessible to players of all ages and skill, and it gives them a pretty even field to play on. It’s just too bad there are not more options for a single player to enjoy. If you are the kind of person who hosts game nights or are trying to get your friends and family onto the gaming scene, this game may be just what you are looking for. So dust off the Wii-remotes and make sure your guests strap on a wrist strap, because this is the game that can and will send them flying.