Top 10 Video Games
In our annual roundup of the best video games for families we added another voice to the conversation this year: we asked Andrew S. Bub, also known as GamerDad, to help choose the 10 best family-friendly video games published in 2006. A video game reviewer for the past 10 years, and parent of 6-year old Margaret and 3-year old Henry, Andrew is a passionate gamer who prides himself on being able to cut through the thicket of titles flooding store shelves to help parents make the best decisions. Armed with the results of a FamilyFun survey on video game purchasing habits, Andrew happily holed up with his game equipment and a slew of titles to arrive at the year's 10 best that will thrill kids and please parents. Enjoy!

How did he choose this list of 10 titles?

	Brain Age	Read review
	Brain Age bucks the assumptions about "edutainment" by concentrating on gameplay, and offering a whole lot of addictive thinking fun. The game is innovative, educational, and players will enjoy seeing how their skills stack up against their parents, friends, and siblings.

	Chibi-Robo	Read review
	Chibi-Robo is a special birthday gift given to Jenny, and now this tiny robot, and his flying sidekick "Telly Vision," must make the family happy. Chibi-Robo is innovative, educational, and players will enjoy seeing how their skills stack up against their parents, friends, and siblings.

	Kingdom Hearts II	Read review
	Friendship, loyalty, and "doing what's right in the face of despair" are the lessons imparted here. Kingdom Hearts 2 is a creative, challenging, fun and unique adventure for fans aged 10 and up.

	LarryBoy and the Bad Apple	Read review
	This clever puzzle game, based on the cartoon spin-off videos by Big Idea Entertainment, challenges our bathroom plunger-wearing hero to defeat and counter the persuasive effects of a bad apple. The focus is on being a good person, learning life lessons, responsibility, and respect for others.

	LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	Read review
	This sequel to LEGO Star Wars follows the plots of the original trilogy (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi). Families can use the game to re-live the Star Wars experience, or to introduce tweens to the Star Wars universe, while enjoying superb gameplay and a belly laugh or two.

	Madden NFL Football '07	Read review
	Madden '07 features new animations (players move, get tackled, and make plays more spectacularly than ever before, especially in the new high-powered Xbox 360 version), and at times you'll be half-convinced you're watching a real game on television.

	Miss Spider's Scavenger Hunt	Read review
	Miss Spider's Scavenger Hunt is based on the children's show and the Miss Spider books. The game lets players as young as four explore a colorfully animated world and play arcade and educational games and does a great job of engaging children with color matching, simple math, counting, and logic.

	Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave	Read review
	This Nancy Drew adventure game sees our intrepid teenage sleuth jetting off to Hawaii to intern for an entomologist and, of course, to investigate some strange goings on. Some boys might object to playing Nancy, which is why the inclusion of Frank and Joe Hardy is so welcome.

	Wii Sports	Read review
	Wii Sports comes with the Nintendo Wii system and showcases the new control scheme. This game offers everyone a chance to get off the couch and play videogames the way they were meant to be played -- with your own physical skills!

	New Super Mario Bros.	Read review
	Many parents today have fond memories of the original Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. New Super Mario is fully updated with terrific graphics, solid innovations, new levels, but also some familiar settings.

More Video Game Reviews >>