Moms love their Wii Fit workout routines but if their kids see little purpose for the exercising, the adult allure of the game-meets-workout device and its Wii Balance Board seem lost. Thankfully, the sturdy little board does have more functionally than mere exercise, several Wii games use the board for skiing, drums, doing a catwalk and even sledding.
We Ski & Snowboard
Undoubtedly the second best Wii Balance Board compatible game, We Ski & Snowboard uses the board as a set of skis or snowboard in a virtual snow park of challenges. With arcade-like accuracy, highly detailed environments, a ski school and 14 courses filled with obstacles, jumps and edges to grinds, you'll quickly see why We Ski & Snowboard is the perfect compliment to Wii Fit.
Wii Music
Nintendo's first music game, while reviled by reviewers, sold millions as families learned to play over 60 instuments including banjo, trumpet and even the drums. Players, while using the Wii Remote and NUnchuk as drumsticks, can use the Balance Board as a foot pedal. The experience my not be as robust as those with Guitar Hero World Tour or Rock Band but for families looking to get more use out of the board, it's a fun option.
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Ubisoft's kid-focused party game that comes stuffed with bunny-like rabbid creatures also comes with a sledding mode where players sit on the Wii Balance Board and use their bottoms to steer. You know how the Balance Board figures out one's balance based on their feet? In the sledding game, the board uses the left and right sides of "that part" to navigate. As with all potty humor, kids love it.
Imagine Fashion Party
For homes with budding fashionistas, Imagine Fashion Party let them design hot clothes and display them on their on-screen models. With the Wii Balance Board, they can even walk down the catwalk to show their stuff. Sure, it's only used for the one task but given the amount of times pre-teen and teen girls change outfits, you might want to make sure there's a clean set of batteries in there.
Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge
Currently hovering around the $20 range, Winter Sports 2 brings players to the snowy realms. Despite some unintuitive controls, the game's Balance Board support in ski jump, slalom and snowboarding make it worth the purchase.
Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip
Miss carving up the slopes with your snowboard? Shawn White, aka the Flying Tomato, takes Wii Balance Board owners to hills for a surprisingly realistic game that's still fun to play. With the added sensitivity of the boards sensors, shifts in weight will either move you forward, slow you down, or move you to either side. But that's not the fun part, Shawn White Snowboarding: Road Trip's lets players perform flips and other tricks through an on-screen tutorial.
Skate It
Easy on-screen tutorials make Skate It's brand of video game skateboarding a pleasure to experience. Based on the tight controls of the Skate series of games, the Wii Balance Board here feels very skateboard-like and players without real-world skating time might find the Balance Board to be more difficult than needed.
