13 replies to this topic

[StephenJ]

Hi everyone,
I was thinking about getting Pulg'n Play games for my mother-in-law. She's a great lady and likes card games and going to Atlantic City.
Here are couple I found that look interesting.

This one for the card games:
http://www.searchama...sino-System.htm

This one for the casino games:
http://www.dkoldies....play-casino.htm

I know that Plug'N Play games can be a crap-shoot in regards to quality. I welcome your opinions on these games and/or your suggestions on others.

Thanks,
StephenJ

[bomberpunk]

an elderly person probably won't care about accurate graphics and sound. the ease of use and everything in one unit makes it a perfect fit for an older crowd. you should get her Ms. Pacman.. everybody loves Ms. Pacman!

[StephenJ]

The hand-eye coordination is just not there for arcade-type games.
Plus, her interests are Card and Casino games. If I get her anything, it will be those types of games.

Thanks,
StephenJ

[onmode-ky]

Both of the systems you linked to appear to be generic Chinese productions OEM-created for packaging and distribution by other firms.  In the cases of those two, I've seen the first one branded by Techno Source, and the second one is branded by Excalibur Electronics.  I believe the Golden Nugget casino plug-n-play put out by Majesco in 2004 was also of this type.  None of these are systems I have first-hand experience with, but based on past, similar products, there's a pretty good chance that the games will look ugly and feature annoying sound.  Still, maybe their basic gameplay is decent; they're just reproducing existing games with straightforward rules, after all.  And, maybe graphics are not a concern, while sound can always be muted.  A.I., though, that could be a crap shoot.

The only card/casino plug-n-play system that's coming to mind which is definitely not an OEM product is the World Poker Tour system developed by Digital Eclipse and released by Jakks Pacific in late 2004.  I believe it is strictly poker, though.

I would have responded to this topic sooner, but since I have neither first-hand experience nor personal interest in these types of games, my advice isn't particularly sound.  Still, in light of the lack of input you received, I thought I might try to contribute something.

onmode-ky

[StephenJ]

onmode-ky,
First off...thanks for taking the time to reply!
I wound up buying the following games:

http://www.dkoldies....play-casino.htm
This one is really bad...in every way!

http://www.shopping....ur-12-in-1/info
This one has a very cheep feel to it...super light-weight plastic, flimsy buttons and controls.
However, surprisingly, the graphics are pretty good (for a PnP), and the menus and game interfaces are easy enough for my Mother-in-Law to navigate.
Bottom-line...She likes it!!...Success!!
It makes me happy to have found an enjoyable diversion for her. She spends most of her time tending to my sickly Father-in-Law.

I saw the World Poker Tour system you mentioned. You're right...It is just a Poker game, but it has gotten pretty good reviews. Also, I found a YouTube video on it.
I think I'm going to get it for her.

Again, many thanks for your reply,
StephenJ

[Chuck D. Head]

Stephen, there are also a number of plug and plays for game shows, like Wheel of Fortune, Deal or No Deal, Price is Right, if she might like those. I have a big collection of these and they can be found in great condition at thrifts for $3-4 each in great condition.

[StephenJ]

Chuck D. Head,
Excellent idea. I know she likes the Price is Right. Maybe after the Poker game.

Thanks!

By the way, Decapattack was one of my favorite games.

[onmode-ky]

StephenJ, on Tue Sep 4, 2012 3:53 PM, said:

http://www.dkoldies....play-casino.htm
This one is really bad...in every way!

http://www.shopping....ur-12-in-1/info
This one has a very cheep feel to it...super light-weight plastic, flimsy buttons and controls.
However, surprisingly, the graphics are pretty good (for a PnP), and the menus and game interfaces are easy enough for my Mother-in-Law to navigate.
Bottom-line...She likes it!!...Success!!
It makes me happy to have found an enjoyable diversion for her. She spends most of her time tending to my sickly Father-in-Law.

Heh, yeah, it really is a crap-shoot with the generics.  One is awful, while another is okay.  I'm glad you managed to find one that was the latter.

Regarding Jakks Pacific's World Poker Tour system, another plus about it is that it (originally, anyway) came with a DVD that gave a tutorial or something on the form of poker used in the game (Texas Hold'em?).  So, even if she's unfamiliar with that form of the game, there's a bit of help available.

StephenJ, on Tue Sep 4, 2012 4:33 PM, said:

Chuck D. Head,
Excellent idea. I know she likes the Price is Right. Maybe after the Poker game.

Indeed, that was a good idea.  The The Price Is Right system was discussed here a few years ago, and it got good reviews.  It has the voices of Drew Carey and Rich Fields in it (the contemporary console renditions of the show didn't) and supports up to 9 players passing the controller around.  Instead of licensing actual products, the developers opted to use fake product names based on real products, which I thought made for a fun meta-game in and of itself.  I think the only complaint I ever read about it was that you couldn't always tell how high-end an item was, which could make price guessing difficult.

If you're curious, here are the Jakks TV Games systems that were based on game shows: Wheel of Fortune (2 models of this), Deal or No Deal, Jeopardy!, 1 vs. 100, Smarter than a 5th Grader, and The Price Is Right.  Toymaker Senario LLC also released some plug-n-play systems based on game shows a long time ago: Win, Lose, or Draw, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and The Apprentice, though I really know nothing about them at all.

By the way, Jakks made a Bejeweled Deluxe system; I don't know if Bejeweled's gameplay depends on reflexes and timing, but I know it's a popular casual game, so maybe it's simple and easy to follow.

onmode-ky

[StephenJ]

onmode-ky,
If I find that she continues to enjoy the Casino game, I'm definitly  going to get her the Poker game (hopefully still with the DVD) and Wheel of Fortune. Based on your descriptions, they seem like quality games. I don't think she would like Bewjeled. Her eyesight isn't the best, so trying to focus on lots of objects at one time may cause fatigue.

It's great having a source of knowledge about these products...and people who are willing to share it.

Thanks again,
Stephen

[onmode-ky]

StephenJ, if you're still here, I'm kind of curious how this ended up.  Did you ever get any other games for your mother-in-law?  If so, did she enjoy them?

onmode-ky

[StephenJ]

onmode-ky,
Yes...I'm still here.
Well...I gave my Mother-in-law a hand-held Solitaire game for Christmas. It had a big display so I thought she would like it.
Unfortunately, she was intimidated by the interface and graciously asked me to return it.
I think she is hesitant to try new things because she is afraid of finding out...yet another thing..she can't do because of her failing senses.
I feel sorry for her...and all older folks, for that matter, going through the same thing.
Anyway, I did pick up a new World Poker Tour PnP. Even though it has a small (hard to see) display on the controller, if you are playing by yourself, you don't use it.
Plus, once you do the initial set-up, it's pretty much a two-button game.
The next time she is over my house, I'm going to show it to her...acting like the game is mine. If I can get her to try it, and likes it...then I'll set it up on her TV.

Many thanks for asking...and all the best,
StephenJ

[onmode-ky]

That's unfortunate, though understandable, what happened with the solitaire game. :(

StephenJ, on Sat Feb 23, 2013 8:25 AM, said:

The next time she is over my house, I'm going to show it to her...acting like the game is mine. If I can get her to try it, and likes it...then I'll set it up on her TV.

If you can pull it off, maybe you should try playing poorly when you show it to her.  My reasoning is that if you can make her think, "Well, gee, I can at least do better than him," perhaps that will give her greater confidence in her abilities.  Personally, I couldn't pull it off, since I know squat about poker (i.e., I couldn't control how well or badly I did), but I thought I'd make the suggestion.

Good luck!

onmode-ky

[Vic George 2K3]

My opinion should be that you need to fix the grammar of your topic title, which should read:
Opinion for Plug'n Plays for an elderly person

[StephenJ]

onmode-ky
"...what happened with the solitaire game..."
I'm not sure. Maybe it was too high-tech looking. She really wouldn't say...and I didn't want to push it, for fear of getting her upset.

Vic
Thanks for the suggestion...but since I already have two games on-hold, I think I'll stop there for the time being.