Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
A compilation of 51 classic games from around the world.
NDcube and Nintendo brought a collection of 51 board, card, tabletop, and toy sports games to the Nintendo Switch in 2020 with Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics. This party game, known as 51 Worldwide Games in Europe and Australia, followed up on the earlier Nintendo DS title. By April 2022, it had sold over four million copies.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Atsushi Nakao
- Producer
- Toshiaki Suzuki
- Toyokazu Nonaka
- Takashi Tezuka
- Katsuya Eguchi
- Designer
- Makoto Eguchi
- Hiroyuki Seki
- Ryou Yokomizo
- Yuya Rokuyama
- Programmer
- Tadao Shoyama
- Artist
- Takahiro Karino
- Composer
- Toshiki Aida
- Released
- June 5, 2020
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Upon starting the game, the player chooses a toy figurine as an avatar and assigns a favorite game to it, allowing other players to see a globe where they can pick that game. These figurines act as guides for the games and offer trivia such as history. A bonus Piano game is included. Various games allow motion control through Joy-Con controllers, and an unlockable Mario-themed card deck can be used for certain card games. In solo play, the player plays against CPU opponents with adjustable difficulty. Multiplayer games can be played locally in single-system play or via local wireless depending on the game. Mosaic Mode allows multiple Nintendo Switch consoles to link together to display one larger multi-monitor picture in games like Slot Cars. Most games can be played online with matchmaking or friend lobbies. A free application called Clubhouse Games Guest Pass includes all 51 games but only Dominoes, Four-in-a-Row, President, and Slot Cars in single player mode, and allows lobbies with other free app users or full-game owners.
Development
NDcube, the studio behind Super Mario Party for the Nintendo Switch, created Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics. The collection was first shown during a March 2020 Nintendo Direct Mini, where a trailer listed every included game. Later that year, a more detailed overview trailer came out in Japan and North America. Some of the game’s visuals echo the Wii U’s E3 2011 reveal, which featured Renegade, Checkers, and Chess on the Wii U GamePad. The Golf mode’s nine holes are direct recreations from Wii Sports, which themselves drew inspiration from the NES game Golf.
Reception
Critics gave Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics mostly favorable marks, with 82% of reviewers on OpenCritic recommending it. Reviewers liked the clean presentation, the broad selection of games, the strong single-player mode, and the online matchmaking. The computer opponents were noted for being unexpectedly challenging. Polygon’s Ben Kuchera highlighted the simple package and helpful tutorials, while Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan praised the polish and atmosphere. Nintendo Life’s Chris Scullion appreciated that the matchmaking let players see what others had chosen to reduce wait times. On the downside, some critics pointed out the lack of support for three- or four-player local multiplayer, missing classic games, and limited compatibility with all Switch play styles. Nintendo revealed in July 2020 that Dots and Boxes had been played by 1.5 million people. In Japan, the game sold 64,443 copies during the first week of June 2020, ranking second behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
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