The five best pre-school DS games

Playing games with a variety of different family members makes you realise that our existing methods of reviewing games don't really connect with a very young, or less experienced player. In this context, the obsession of the hardcore with visuals, realism, simulation and immersion turn out to be just that: an obsession. The average hotchpotch of family members who haphazardly encounter a game when visiting the grandchildren or after their meal at Christmas have very different concerns.

For them, issues such as simplicity, accessibility, safeness, cuteness and good old fashioned fun are most important. These casual players seem to treat a game much like other toys; as a play thing. They will pick it up, turn it around a few times, have a look at it and give it a poke or two to see what it does. Unless there is something particularly enjoyable about these first few minutes, they'll just as quickly move on to the next toy.

Because of this, we thought it might be useful to put together our top five games for these different audiences. And we begin by looking at those games best suited for enjoyment by pre-schoolers (one- to four-year-olds). But first, we should really have a run down of the important play-thing traits our selection should include for this age group:

Fun and Funny
For this audience, games must be amusing to play, but also amusing to watch. There's nothing as funny as watching mum and dad flail around like mad things trying to get to the next level, outmanoeuvre pesky AI opponents or score a home run.

One Button Rule
It is essential that things are kept simple for this group's little fingers. All the fun must ensue from no more than one button, along with the D-pad, and if the button press is accompanied by some loud noise, all the better.

Simple Characters
Simple cartoon-like characters are always popular. As with the majority of their TV show counterparts, the brighter and bouncier the onscreen action, the better.

Big Words
Large bright lettering is essential for the shouting out word fun. (My three-year-old loved shouting "Great Bear" for the "Great Spare" text in Wii Bowling.) It's kind of educational, too!

With these four golden rules in mind, then, here are the top five DS games that we feel should work a treat with the very young crowd.

The five best pre-school DS games

5. Nintendogs Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Although the main game is more suited to the older age group, some of the mini-games can provide a lot of fun. Particularly successful is the dog walking game; I can set up my four-year-old with a route and leave her to take the reigns as she leads her pooch through the suburbs. The shampoo and washing games are also real winners for the younger audience.
4. Animal Crossing: Wild World Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Another open game structure means that younger players can take their time wandering around the island investigating every last inch. Again, the tap-to-walk control scheme is so simple that it is pretty much a pick-up-and-play affair for any age group. The wide variety of interesting people and the cartoon sketch emotions are also fascinating to younger children learning about interacting with those around them in real life.
3. 42 All-Time Classics Developer: Agenda Publisher: Nintendo Although most of the card games in this collection are too complex for younger players, there are some simpler games with great touch interface that are ideal for little fingers. The favourite in my family is the balance game, where each player takes turns to stack blocks on top of each other until they topple over. Both my kids love the tension that mounts as the stacks get ever higher, and screech with laughter when everything finally falls over.
2. Electroplankton Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo The loose game structure lends itself to the haphazard play of my youngsters. Because there is nothing to complete or achieve, it means the game can continue regardless of their performance. This is complemented by the wide variety of different creatures on offer to play with and all topped off with perhaps the most popular feature with my pre-school children: voice recording. My two-year-old loves shouting at the DS and then tapping the different shapes to hear his voice sound all funny.
1. Pac 'n Roll Developer: Namco Bandai Publisher: Namco Bandai The simple control interface is the winner here: no buttons to press or D-pad to grapple with ensures almost universal enjoyment. Indeed, it's a testament to the directness of the control method that my four-year-old could pick this up and play it with very little instruction from me. She even seemed to grasp the idea of the turbo boost without much trouble. The easier early levels seem to provide her with almost endless replay value as she explores every nook and cranny – we probably wouldn't see her for days if we didn't control her play time!

So there we have it, five games that should go down a treat with the pre-schoolers in your life. Don't have any anymore? Don't worry. We'll be back soon to look at games that play best with a slightly older primary school audience.