Videogame Birthday Party

[ClassicBoy]

My wife and I are throwing a videogame themed birthday party this weekend for our son that is turning eleven. There will be about 15 ten and eleven year-olds at the party. There will be pizza and sundaes for treats. We are planning on having 5 or 6 televisions going with different game systems and games. The idea is to provide a sort of "arcade atmosphere" and keep all the kids busy without too much downtime for them to get bored. On a 65" bigscreen, we're planning on having a gamecube hooked up with Mario Kart, Smash Bros, and maybe a Mario Party. On another fairly large TV we're planning on having a second Gamecube hooked up for more 4 player gaming with whatever games aren't being used on the bigscreen. We will also have an Xbox dedicated to Burnout with a steering controller and another TV with a PS2 playing multiplayer games (Tekken 5?). On a smaller TV, we'll have a dedicated Space Invaders joystick going as a competition game (Gotta show 'em some "roots"...I'd use my 2600 and Space Invaders cart but I fear for my vintage sticks in the hands of so many kids). The top scores win one of four dedicated X-in-1 joysticks (1 Sega Sonic, 1 Spiderman, 2 Space Invaders). I figured Space Invaders would be a good game since it kind of got the whole videogame industry rolling. Plus, I figure most of the kids haven't spent a whole lot of time playing SI and should provide a fairly even match amongst the kids. When they have some down time from the newer systems they can pop over to Space Invaders to play and have their score recorded for the prizes at the end of the night.

 

I'm kind of throwing all this out there in the hopes of getting more good ideas for this videogame themed party. We're a little worried that the kids will get bored and just stand around.

 

What would be the best kids multiplayer games on any of the three systems? I'm having a little trouble deciding which multiplayer games would be best for PS2 and Xbox. I don't want to use anything with a Mature rating. That's a headache I don't need when they go home and tell their Moms that they splattered so-and-so in a "deathmatch."

 

Any great ideas for keeping the kids busy and having fun? Good, fairly cheap ideas for giftbags for the kids?

 

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!!

 

[Jess Ragan]

What would be the best kids multiplayer games on any of the three systems? I'm having a little trouble deciding which multiplayer games would be best for PS2 and Xbox.

 

Katamari Damacy-he-he-he-heeee! The sequel, We Love Katamari, has both cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Crimson Skies on the XBox has a four player mode (as well as a system link option for up to sixteen players!), and it's only rated T, without a lot of gratuitous violence. It's set in the 1930's, so there are no drive-by shootings... just fly-by shootings!

 

There's not a lot of family-friendly fare on the XBox... that's really more the GameCube's territory. I'd LIKE to recommend Fuzion Frenzy, but I've never played the game myself, and the reviews of this XBox-exclusive party game were pretty unflattering.

 

As for freebies, well, you can't go wrong with video game-themed candy! Although not as common as it was in the 1980's and 1990's thanks to the increasingly mature video game audience, you can still dig up Nintendo jelly pops if you know where to look. The GameStop in my town always has them, but they cost about a buck apiece.

 

JR

[classicgamingguy]

Well, as far as little bags of videogame goodness, there has to be something out there that you can use with the themes imprinted on the bags (such as sonic, mario, spaceships, etc.). Go to your local dollar store and see what they have. You also probably have a party store near you that would be perfect for finding specific themes. Then buy some party goods at a dollar store to fill the bags with. Paper plates, napkins, etc. should all have the same theme to keep the kids on track.

 

Not sure how you feel about this, but what about cheap portable games? I'm not saying Gameboys or DS's or PSP's, but the Tiger handhelds or whatnot might be the ticket for a kid who can't seem to get to a machine to play. Hope this helps you and your wife, and have a fun time!

 

-Steve

[Flojomojo]

Can I come?

 

[maibock]

You're first inclination is to think the kids will enjoy the modern consoles, but trust me on this one. I was in a similar situation with about 7 kids over about the same age as yours. Halo2 was planned to be the signature game that night, but with a few of the kids owning everyone else, I sensed that it wasn't fun for the others, especially the 3 kids waiting for their turn.

 

So, what's a dad to do but break out the 2600 with Warlords? It was an immediate hit and that turned out to be the game that was played the most that night. It's easy to learn, easy to play and a whole lot of fun for kids.

[ClassicBoy]

Hey! Thanks everyone for all the good ideas. I picked up some Nintendo character suckers at Gamestop to start the party bags with. I'll probably also throw in Warlords from Atari Anthology on Xbox as a 4 player game. Great idea! I don't have enough working paddles for my 2600 so the arcade version will have to do. I've been trying to figure out how to squeeze more classics into the evening than just Space Invaders. I also like the idea of tossing a few portables around the room. We've definitely got a few SPs that could be played.

 

And, yes, Flojomojo...of course you're invited.

[ClassicBoy]

I thought I'd give a quick report on how the party went for anyone that's interested. Everyone had a great time but it was a bit chaotic. There were 17 kids at the party...which ended up being a lot more to wrangle than I expected. The games were a big hit. Although, I found that I had to switch the games in the systems much more often than I expected. My buddies and I can spend 5 hours on Halo and say "Where did the time go?!" Not so with 10 and 11 year olds.

 

After about two hours of games the party split into two groups. We decided to play a movie (The Longest Yard)on the big screen for those that wanted to watch a movie which knocked out one of the 5 game stations. About half the kids watched the movie and "popped in" on the game area to play a few games here and there. The other half were gaming diehards and played the games for hours straight. Pizza and ice cream sundaes also helped fill the time.

 

The big hits were MarioKart, Warioware, Smash Bros., Soul Caliber 2, and F-Zero on the Cubes. The PS2 had Tekken 5 on it for quite awhile which gave way to NFL Blitz. Blitz stayed on and was played constantly for the rest of the night. About half the kids at the party were from my son's Little Guy Football team so Blitz was a "no brainer" that I hadn't planned on using originally. Burnout 3 on Xbox was played continuously all night. I didn't even have a chance to introduce another Xbox game as it seemed that there was a constant line to get on the steering wheel and play Burnout.

 

The classic Space Invaders competition also went very well. We used the Radica plug in stick and it held up just fine. Most of the kids hadn't even heard of Space Invaders. After a quick explanation of how to play, they each played two games of SI with the highest score of the 2 being recorded. They really got into the game and all gathered around to see if their score was going to be beat. We ended up having a tie for first place so we had to have a tie-breaker game that was pretty intense with all the kids cheering on the players. It was fun to see all these kids having so much fun with such an old classic. In fact, after the competition, Space Invaders was played constantly the rest of the night as the kids tried to better their scores. Of course, by the end of the night, the high score for the competition had been completely blown away.

 

I've included a few pictures. By the point the photos had been taken, many of the kids had moved downstairs to watch the movie. My wife didn't get any shots of the gaming on the big screen. Also, the pictures just can't convey how neat it looked and sounded in the room with all the games going. The camera flash took all the "arcade mood" out of the scene.

 

It was a fun party but exhausting when all was said and done.

Edited October 10, 2005 by ClassicBoy

[Famicoman]

Nice, is that the normal purpose of that room?

[ClassicBoy]

Nice, is that the normal purpose of that room?

945679[/snapback]

 

No, we had to move everything out to make it a "game room" for the party. Although, I did mention to my wife that it might be a good idea to just keep it this way.

 

She wants her living room back. Go figure.

[+Random Terrain]

Holy Christ! That kid has red eyes! Someone grab the holy water! Shit! He moved! Try again! Shit! This is going to be one soggy double-wide before the day is over.

[ClassicBoy]

Holy Christ! That kid has red eyes! Someone grab the holy water! Shit! He moved! Try again! Shit! This is going to be one soggy double-wide before the day is over.

945713[/snapback]

 

Nice work!

 

In less than 2 lines you've managed to offend me no less than 3 times...gotta be a record. Keep up the good work.

[+Random Terrain]

Nice work!

 

In less than 2 lines you've managed to offend me no less than 3 times...gotta be a record.  Keep up the good work.

945726[/snapback]

Are you saying there is something wrong with children who have red eyes? Are you saying there is something wrong with people who live in double-wides? For shame!

[ClassicBoy]

Nice work!

 

In less than 2 lines you've managed to offend me no less than 3 times...gotta be a record.  Keep up the good work.

945726[/snapback]

Are you saying there is something wrong with children who have red eyes? Are you saying there is something wrong with people who live in double-wides? For shame!

945735[/snapback]

 

 

No, my problem is with red-eyed kids that also happen to live in double-wides. There should be a law...

Edited October 10, 2005 by ClassicBoy

[Zeptari1]

Thanks for sharing the pictures of the Birthday party!

 

What a great idea! You are a true saint... that many kids would have put me over the edge. But in the end I bet I would have had a great time too.

[Atarifever]

I'm just happy to see that today's youth are still being taught that if rows of aliens start advancing in a predictable manner toward you, you had better open fire. I know that lesson has saved my life more times than I can count.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Atarifever

[keilbaca]

That's awesome!

 

I'm glad everything went well. Tekken 5 is always a good choice, you could also have played SFA3 and Capcom vs SNK 2.

 

That's awesome how everything worked out, I just wish I would have been there to enjoy some of the action

[classicgamingguy]

I commend you and your wife for being so innovative during this birthday bash. With all those games going, I really wanted to attend myself. I don't remember any of my more current birthdays being this fun.

 

For example: Last birthday (Sept. 6) my wife didn't even remember to say "happy birthday" until the END of the day!! LOL! Well, that's okay. The prior month of August she kept buying me autographed Star Trek goods (especially Jimmie Doohan pictures).

 

But I digress. Congrat's on a successful party.

 

Steve

[n8littlefield]

That's a great idea for a party. So good, in fact, I think I'll steal it when Luke gets older!

[ClassicBoy]

That's a great idea for a party.  So good, in fact, I think I'll steal it when Luke gets older!

946838[/snapback]

 

 

My son, who the party was for, is also named Luke.

[Atarifever]

That's a great idea for a party.  So good, in fact, I think I'll steal it when Luke gets older!

946838[/snapback]

 

 

My son, who the party was for, is also named Luke.

946898[/snapback]

Star Wars fans perhaps?

[n8littlefield]

Perhaps.

.

.

Ok, I'll admit it, his name is Lucas, after George.

[ClassicBoy]

Perhaps.

.

.

Ok, I'll admit it, his name is Lucas, after George.

946905[/snapback]

 

 

That's hilarious. I'm not trying to be a "me too," but my son's full name is Lucas also.

 

I am a Star Wars fan which is why I was adamantly against the name "Luke" when we were going through names. I knew I would get a lot of ribbing over Luke's name if we named him that...and I do. However, my wife won out (don't they always ) and our son is named Luke. As a Star Wars fan, tho, I'm secretly happy his name is what it is. I'll never admit it, tho.

[ClassicBoy]

Thanks for all the nice comments about the party. I really wish the photos were taken earlier in the night when things were in full-swing. We were pretty happy about how things turned out. There was a lot of "buzz" about the party among my son's friends days after and days before the party. Several have asked him if he will be doing the same thing next year. Also, my 8 and 6 year olds want the same type of party on their birthdays. I think we really opened a "can of worms" with this one.

 

We left the tvs and systems hooked up for a couple of days after the party. We had tons of kids from the neighborhood coming by and wanting to come in and play games. Having everything set up ended up being a lot of fun for longer than we expected.

 

I've included an attachment of what the party invitation that I put together looked like. I've blurred out the personal stuff.

Edited October 12, 2005 by ClassicBoy