4. Mario Party 8 - Nintendo; Wii

Mario Party 8 was panned in the press but the reviews missed the point -- Mario Party isn't for a group of adults hanging out playing a video boardgame with minigames tossed in -- this game is for a group of kids. And for that target audience it's really hard to beat Mario Party 8. Of course you can join in too, and I do, and I lose. It's amazing how adept an eight year old and her friends are at slapping the 'pro' gamer around like a rented mule.

The word from Ashley: I love the boardgame part where you have to find the star. The minigames are a lot of fun, too and I really like the one where you shoot the person off the roof with snowballs. My friends love playing this too. We bought more Wii remotes just for Mario Party.

3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo; Wii

A lot of beat 'em up violence in this one too but it's all cartoony and that Teen rating is really silly for this one. Ashley absolutely loves Super Smash Bros. and we played this co-op all the way through the story mode which took a long, long time. There is a LOT of game here and with so much variety it's easily one of the best games you can play with your kid if you don't mind seeing Peach bash Bowser over the head with a mallet.

The word from Ashley: Kirby is my favorite. Then Diddy Kong. Then Yoshi. I played this with my dad for a month at least every night after dinner. Dad called this bonding.