My Child Wished Video Games. I Was In opposition to It. This Console Gave Us Each the Win

Pros

• No controllers (simply your physique)
• Gets children transferring
• Games aren’t addictive or overstimulating
• 50+ recreation library covers all ages

Cons

• Less “cool” to children than a Switch or Xbox
• Remote is slim and straightforward to lose
• Not as many gaming choices for 3+ gamers

When our 8-year-old began asking for video video games, I knew we have been about to interact in an uphill battle. Anytime we have been to pals’ homes with gaming consoles, he goes full zombie mode, then has an epic meltdown as soon as the sensory overload wears off. And since he inevitably ropes his 6-year-old brother in, we’re primarily sealing each their fates.

So when our neighbors began raving a few movement-based gaming console referred to as Nex Playground, my first intuition was to close it down. The phrases “gaming console” alone have been sufficient to place me in a psychological block. Add in my very own reminiscences of Wii tennis classes the place I almost took out the ceiling fan, and I used to be firmly within the “no” camp.

But after doing a bit of extra analysis, I used to be intrigued sufficient to strive it out. The Nex Playground really launched again in December 2023, however like numerous busy mother and father, I did not begin listening to about it till a lot later. Then it appeared to pop up in every single place, even topping Amazon’s Best Sellers record throughout the 2025 vacation season, and extra video games preserve being added to its library.

Screen time is not one thing I take flippantly. With my children aged 2 to eight, my husband and I’ve at all times been intentional about how and what they watch. They do not have their very own tablets, and most of their display time occurs on our household TV, which suggests regardless of the oldest is uncovered to shortly trickles all the way down to our toddler. So something we carry into the home has to work for all of them. Tall order, I do know, however the Nex Playground will get surprisingly shut.

Getting began is simple

The console itself is refreshingly easy. It’s a small dice, barely bigger than a Rubik’s dice, with a round digital camera and movement sensor, a lightweight indicator and two ports for energy, and an HDMI connection to the TV. There’s no controller past a fundamental distant for navigating menus. For most video games, your physique is the controller. 

The solely draw back of not utilizing the distant a lot is that it typically goes lacking. It’s simply slim sufficient to vanish into sofa cushions, turning it into a daily recreation of “find the remote.”

Setup is fast. Plug it in, join it to your TV, and also you’re able to go. It would not retailer video or add footage to the cloud, which was a right away plus. It additionally comes with a magnetic privateness cowl that you would be able to placed on the lens when it is not in use. 

At $250, it is not low-cost, but it surely’s lower than among the standard gaming consoles for this age vary, just like the Nintendo Switch 2. That will get you a five-game starter pack: Fruit Ninja, Go Keeper (soccer), Starri (assume Guitar Hero on your entire physique), Party Fowl (an AR emoji frenzy) and Whack-a-Mole. Additional video games require a subscription: $89 a 12 months or $49 for 3 months, which unlocks a library of 50-plus video games and counting. New titles dropped at the same time as I used to be scripting this.

The library spans a surprisingly wide selection. There are board recreation diversifications like Connect Four and Candy Land, character-driven video games with Peppa Pig, Bluey and the Ninja Turtles, and sports activities like baseball and, sure, tennis — minus the ceiling fan hazard. There’s even parent-friendly content material like Zumba exercises, which I’ll or might not have absolutely dedicated to on a wet afternoon.

Even my toddler has gotten in on the motion, principally bouncing her means by way of Hungry Hungry Hippos when her brothers lastly concede. 

Gameplay is the place it wins

The actions vary from swinging your arms to maintain a ball in movement, hopping or full-body launches which might be way more aggressive than what the sport really requires. (I’m not about to inform the youngsters in any other case.) After a 45-minute session, my children are drained and generally even drenched in sweat. The Nex Playground entertains and burns vitality in a single fell swoop.

The graphics additionally appear deliberately easy and arcade-like, which inserts the minimalist play expertise. There’s no POV storyline to get misplaced in, no leveling up into a brand new world at 9 p.m. on a faculty night time. Some video games preserve rating, which awakens my children’ aggressive streak, however the vibe is extra collaborative and hasn’t been the catalyst for extra preventing like different video games. If something, it is performed the alternative. 

I nonetheless do not love defaulting to a display when my children are bored, so we attempt to use it sparsely. In our home, piano observe is the one factor that unlocks weekend play time, and the truth that they will sit on the piano for a full hour tells you all the things you must know.

The verdict that issues most 

But the actual take a look at: Does it maintain as much as an 8-year-old who was useless set on a Nintendo Switch?

Short reply: sure. At least for now. He’d nonetheless choose the Switch for those who requested him, however not for the explanations you’d count on. 

“The Playground is more tiring,” he instructed me, which solely helped seal the deal for me. His present favourite is Homerun Hitters. “It’s basically a baseball game where you go against ranked global players. Me and my brother are really good at it.” 

This from a child whose major passion is annoying his youthful brother. The proven fact that he mentioned “me and my brother” as a collective was an surprising bonus.

The Switch 2 should present up on the Christmas record this 12 months. And realistically, I do know I’m on borrowed time. As children become older, “cool” turns into the foreign money, and a motion-based dice in all probability will not maintain up towards an Xbox or a Switch 2 as soon as playdates flip into side-by-side gaming classes.

The Nex Playground is not a alternative for these. It’s extra of a detour; it provides them a style of gaming with out all the standard uncomfortable side effects. Even if I do finally cave, I can nonetheless see it sticking round for the occasional household recreation night time or as a rainy-day sibling diffuser.

In the meantime, I’ll relish this easier model of gaming whereas I nonetheless can. He’s not precisely dashing me to return this assessment unit. More importantly, neither am I.