Nintendo switch game suggestions/advice needed

[Emba]

I had been thinking I wanted to get my kids a Nintendo Switch for Christmas along with 2 or 3 games. It will be a group gift for the 3 of them: Dd15, DS 14, and DS 10.  The boys spontaneously asked for a Switch tonight, and I thought “Great, it will be perfect.” But since it’s for all three and will be most of their Christmas, all three need to want/enjoy this, and DD declared that she is “ not really into video games”.

i think she might actually really like SOME video games, but not the ones her male peers are into/talk about incessantly. I was thinking of getting Animal Crossing. I also think she might like Mario Kart.  I think all three will really like Mario Kart.  But the boys might be more into something like Minecraft than Animal Crossing.

 She used to like to play a game (online, don’t remember the name) that was a lot of having a pet, decorating a house, buying things for the pet, getting more pets, etc. I have the impression that Animal Crossing would tick those sorts of boxes.

 Would Minecraft? I know next to nothing about video games. If I got Animal Crossing and Minecraft, would it be redundant ( s as my understanding of both is that they are sort of “building a world” games).

 Does anyone else have suggestions for games that a 15 year old girl who is not into sports or shooting might like?

[kristin0713]

Honestly, if she’s not into video games, I’d skip buying a game for her and get her something else entirely.  

[mathnerd]

"Ring Fit Adventure" is a good one for the entire family.

Edited November 17, 2021 by mathnerd

[Emba]

4 minutes ago, kristin0713 said:

Honestly, if she’s not into video games, I’d skip buying a game for her and get her something else entirely.  

I can’t do that in any fair way. The switch/games would take up too much of the budget for Christmas.  And like I said, there are games she has played and likes. She did say a Switch would be fine, but after, I think, the boys begged her to. If I’m going to get it, though, I really want to get at least one game she’ll enjoy.

[Emba]

2 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

"Ring Fit Adventure" is a good one for the entire family.

I saw that one. It did look fun. 

[JustEm]

Just Dance? Mario Party?

[PeterPan]

The problem is the boys are going to get pretty consumed with their games (Zelda, Splatoon, Mario Kart, etc.) that take a lot of time and she'll be left hanging. So at that point, she hardly got a present. 

Maybe the boys should save up over the next year doing odd jobs to try to get one since that's what they want?

She'll like Mario Kart, but I wouldn't expect it to be engrossing. The Switch is a bit different from the Wii, because the Wii had a lot more family friendly games. They haven't ported them over and it's a real shame. On the Wii my dd at that age enjoyed all kinds of games (Nancy Drew, Malgrave Incident, Epic Mickey, etc.) that you can't get for Switch. Maybe you could snag a Wii affordably to have games for her?

Also, I don't know if you've checked, but your library system may have nintendo games. I don't know that ours has Switch games, but they definitely have Wii and Wii U games. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by PeterPan

[Storygirl]

I understand the budget thing, but I don't think it's fair to expect her to enjoy a group gift that she has said she won't like. Can you get her something else that she would like, even if it's not an equivalent price? You can get some nice jewelry from Kohl's with their coupons, for example. If you could use the money that you would have spent on a game that you think she would like, and get one less game and use that for something SHE would like, I would recommend that.

[purpleowl]

My kids lost interest in Animal Crossing pretty quickly after we got it.

My oldest really likes Dragon Quest Builders 2. That might be worth looking into. DH says "it finds a midpoint between Animal Crossing and Minecraft, but it also has a story." Oldest also enjoys Bug Fables a lot - it's a turn-based RPG with a story throughout and a lot of humor. (For her, story is the most important aspect of a game.)

[MercyA]

My DD13 loves her Switch. Her favorite game of all time is Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's an open world game with both fighting and puzzle-solving.

She does like Minecraft. It involves animal husbandry, resource gathering, and of course lots of building. If you play it on Creative Mode, you don't have to worry about keeping yourself safe from monsters in the game.

She enjoys Mario Cart but it's too simple to be a huge favorite. It's MY favorite because it is simple and fun to play.  

She stopped Animal Crossing pretty quickly. She didn't like that you had to put a lot of time into it to be able to advance as far as other players. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by MercyA

[katilac]

I'd say most kids know whether they're into video games or not by 15. 

Animal Crossing is an expensive game; I'd get a completely different gift just for her rather than a video game she may or may not like. You said the Switch and 2 or 3 games, so make it the Switch and 1 or 2 games, and she gets a nice gift in addition. She can play whatever game/games you do get, and there are also free games you can play online. Don't focus so much on dollar amounts that she actually gets fewer things she would enjoy, kwim? The Switch is clearly more for the boys than her, and I think that's fine.  Going all in on it and insisting that even more of her share of the money go to video games is less fair, imo, not more fair. 

I would tell the boys that, if Santa manages to bring the family a Switch and a game or two, that's the bulk of their gifts. Their sister wants it much less, so she will get a substantial gift or two in addition. They are all of an age to understand. 

 

[bookbard]

We have Ring Fit adventure, and it is fantastic. It is such a good fitness game while being really fun. 

[kristin0713]

8 hours ago, Emba said:

I can’t do that in any fair way.

But if she's not excited about it, that's not really fair, either. 

8 hours ago, PeterPan said:

The problem is the boys are going to get pretty consumed with their games (Zelda, Splatoon, Mario Kart, etc.) that take a lot of time and she'll be left hanging. So at that point, she hardly got a present. 

 

This exactly. 

8 hours ago, Storygirl said:

I understand the budget thing, but I don't think it's fair to expect her to enjoy a group gift that she has said she won't like. Can you get her something else that she would like, even if it's not an equivalent price?

And totally this.  Gifts don't need to equal the same amount. My 15yo DD has mostly books on her Christmas list, a $30 necklace from Etsy with a favorite book quote, and a $6 file download for a wall map hanging of a fictional setting. DS is asking for a gaming keyboard and a bunch of other expensive tech accessories. I will be spending less on DD, but it doesn't matter.  She'll be reading her new books on the couch all day. 

If you can't do this in any fair way, I wouldn't do it at all. Otherwise - can the grandparents or other family members contribute to the Switch for the boys and it could be from all of you? 

[kristin0713]

5 hours ago, katilac said:

I'd say most kids know whether they're into video games or not by 15. 

Animal Crossing is an expensive game; I'd get a completely different gift just for her rather than a video game she may or may not like. You said the Switch and 2 or 3 games, so make it the Switch and 1 or 2 games, and she gets a nice gift in addition. She can play whatever game/games you do get, and there are also free games you can play online. Don't focus so much on dollar amounts that she actually gets fewer things she would enjoy, kwim? The Switch is clearly more for the boys than her, and I think that's fine.  Going all in on it and insisting that even more of her share of the money go to video games is less fair, imo, not more fair. 

I would tell the boys that, if Santa manages to bring the family a Switch and a game or two, that's the bulk of their gifts. Their sister wants it much less, so she will get a substantial gift or two in addition. They are all of an age to understand. 

 

I agree.  The Switch and one game for the boys. Maybe other family members can buy them other games or they can save their money, wait for birthdays, etc. to add games. I would definitely spend the game money on something else for your DD that she will enjoy. 

[LifeLovePassion]

in addition to some that have been mentioned, we enjoy :Snipper clips

The untitled goose game

Overcooked

 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

We got the Switch two years ago as a family present. Honestly I wish we’d either gotten two or not gotten it at all.  I thought there was more two plus player family style games, like the Wii.  I also found it a pain to hook up to the TV because we had to unhook something else and then hook it up. So often it’s just two kids playing on a tiny screen.

It works great for long car trips though. Personally, I miss the Wii and wish they hadn’t stopped production.

[alisoncooks]

41 minutes ago, LifeLovePassion said:

in addition to some that have been mentioned, we enjoy :Snipper clips

The untitled goose game

Overcooked

 

We like these. 
We also spent many hours on Breath of the Wild and Splatoon (big splatoon fans!)

Ring Fit Adventure was one we purchased but was really boring to us. (And we still play those Wii fitness games, so…)

[cintinative]

My son's favorites :

Breath of the Wild

Super Mario Odyssey

Metroid Dread

Luigi's Mansion

Super Smash Brothers

[happi duck]

If I understand correctly, each person needs their own Animal Crossing.  I don't think it's meant to share.

[Dmmetler]

3 minutes ago, happi duck said:

If I understand correctly, each person needs their own Animal Crossing.  I don't think it's meant to share.

You can have multiple houses on one island,but yes, in order to have separate islands, you need separate copies of the game AND separate devices. I actually ended up buying my teen a switch light last Christmas so that my island wouldn't leave and go to college :). 

[LuvToRead]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

You can have multiple houses on one island,but yes, in order to have separate islands, you need separate copies of the game AND separate devices. I actually ended up buying my teen a switch light last Christmas so that my island wouldn't leave and go to college :).you 

You only need 2 switches but can use one game cartridge  between both consoles. 

 

[mlktwins]

My boys each got their own switch for Christmas one year.  I can’t imagine them having to share.  I would definitely get something different for your daughter - something that she would like.

[KSera]

12 hours ago, MercyA said:

She stopped Animal Crossing pretty quickly. She didn't like that you had to put a lot of time into it to be able to advance as far as other players. 

This is not what I wanted to hear. I got an Animal Crossing switch to give as a group gift to my kids, thinking my dd will like that (she likes other animal games), but I don’t want her on it a ton. I was going to suggest the Animal Crossing themed one, because OP’s dd might find it “cuter” than the black and red and blue ones. It costs the same amount and comes with Animal Crossinf. 

3 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

You can have multiple houses on one island,but yes, in order to have separate islands, you need separate copies of the game AND separate devices. I actually ended up buying my teen a switch light last Christmas so that my island wouldn't leave and go to college :). 

This isn’t what I want to hear either! We are definitely not getting more than one Switch. I bought it on impulse because  I was afraid they would sell out and figured I could return if I change my mind. Now I have to think about this.  I know my ds will like it and they will all like Zelda. Maybe I give Animal Crossing to dd specifically and it is hers. I expect she would happily let siblings share her island. 

[MercyA]

26 minutes ago, KSera said:

This is not what I wanted to hear. I got an Animal Crossing switch to give as a group gift to my kids, thinking my dd will like that (she likes other animal games), but I don’t want her on it a ton. I was going to suggest the Animal Crossing themed one, because OP’s dd might find it “cuter” than the black and red and blue ones. It costs the same amount and comes with Animal Crossing.

I checked with DD and I didn't explain it quite right. You have to put in lots of *days* to advance further in the game, not a lot of time per day. Everyone apparently gets a daily reward, regardless of the hours spent on it. She felt she should be able to advance further in one day if she put in more time, if that makes sense.

She said it was too relaxing for her. She likes some combat. 😉 

[MercyA]

DD13 also really enjoys Splatoon 2 and Smash Brothers Ultimate (or something like that). :) 

[Dmmetler]

12 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I checked with DD and I didn't explain it quite right. You have to put in lots of *days* to advance further in the game, not a lot of time per day. Everyone apparently gets a daily reward, regardless of the hours spent on it. She felt she should be able to advance further in one day if she put in more time, if that makes sense.

She said it was too relaxing for her. She likes some combat. 😉 

This is actually why I like it. I can go in daily, check my garden and fruit trees and harvest what is ready, talk to my villagers, sell stuff, visit another island, fish or catch bugs, and design a new home for someone in about 30 minutes. It's a nice break. But no, unless you time travel (reset the date on the switch), you can't make your garden grow faster, or make a house be constructed more quickly. It's actually really nice that way-the speed of the game basically matches the speed of life. 

 

I will say that it is more fun when you have friends to play with (most of mine are other hive moms) and you need the Nintendo membership to do multiplayer. 

[kirstenhill]

2 hours ago, mlktwins said:

My boys each got their own switch for Christmas one year.  I can’t imagine them having to share.  I would definitely get something different for your daughter - something that she would like.

I have three boys sharing a Switch (full version, not the Lite), and my DD17 has her own.  She does do animal crossing and it's a relaxing activity for her, but it would be hard to share that experience on her brothers' switch because she likes having access for those little bits of play time here and there to fit in the daily rewards. (I should note, she bought her own with her work earnings).  

It works pretty well for the three boys to share, because most games they play aren't like animal crossing and you can have separate profiles for each game.  AND, we also have a WiiU, a Retron5 (plays old school games), and a couple desktop computers they use for minecraft.  So even if they are doing screen time all at the same time, they just take turns who gets the Switch.  Someone can be playing switch on the small screen while someone else uses the WiiU or Retron5 on the TV.   We also sometimes do Mario Kart, Mario Party, and Overcooked as a family on the Switch...we can only do 4 a time but when all six of us play, we just swap controllers around and take turns.

[KSera]

33 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

I will say that it is more fun when you have friends to play with (most of mine are other hive moms) and you need the Nintendo membership to do multiplayer. 

Do all Switch Games require a membership in order to play online with friends? I’m thinking I should’ve researched this purchase further. 

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

Do all Switch Games require a membership in order to play online with friends? I’m thinking I should’ve researched this purchase further. 

I think so. We had to get a membership (which even the family plan is reasonably priced) to play Splatoon 2. There are some small things to play but the bulk of the game play is done online. 

And you’re going to want multiple Nintendo accounts to play Breath of the Wild. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t do multiple saves within one account. (ie: each of your kids will want to have their own world/game play. It’s not a cooperative game.)

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

Do all Switch Games require a membership in order to play online with friends? I’m thinking I should’ve researched this purchase further. 

The online membership is inexpensive ($20 a year). The real snag is that these games are DESIGNED to take time and keep you coming back. I haven't played much Animal Crossing, but I think it has some buy/sell time mechanisms, fruit/harvest mechanisms, etc. that keep you coming back. Ie. They're intentionally being addictive.

Splatoon takes that even further and *penalizes* players if they withdraw from games. For my very rigid ds, it's a huge hurdle because it basically means he doesn't ever want you to tell him to leave a game. And mind you those games are 3-5 minutes, meaning he could start something and then be dragging out putting it down.

 

[bookbard]

One thing to be cautious of with the Switch - kids can download youtube onto it. So definitely get the free Parent Control app for switch - that way you can see what they are doing on it. 

I forgot to mention my 10 year old loves Spirit of the North, which is a no-text, quiet, story of a fox travelling northward (I believe to save the world). 

 

[TheReader]

A similar-ish game to Animal Crossing, that doesn't move in "real time" like that (ie., moves faster) is Stardew Valley. I'm enjoying that one a lot. 

But, like others have said, if the 2 boys are going to mostly play the Switch, and you are going to mostly get games they can play together (like Mario Kart, etc.) (which they *can* play on the TV, as long as they dock the switch and use the controllers as controllers instead of as the 2 sides of the Switch), then your DD who does not actually even want it, won't get much time to play "her" game anyway if they are using it a lot. 

There are  not a lot of options that are 3+ players, at least, not ones that she'd likely enjoy (well, you *can* play Stardew Valley as a co-op, with up to 4 people, but they'd have to work out among themselves as to whether that means they only each play it when they all can be on, or whether they can play it w/o each other, as long as the solo player pops over and waters whoever's crops, feeds the animals, etc.).  

 

If you do find some 3 player games for them all to play, keep in mind you would then need at least one more pair of Joy-Cons or other controller to pair with it; the 2 that come on the Switch can be split and used as 2 separate controllers (very small), but that still leaves the 3rd player needing something. So factor that in to the cost as well; the JoyCons are about 70 or 80. So really by the time you get the Switch, and game(s), and extra controllers......if you skip the extra JoyCons, skip the extra game(s) for your DD, that should leave money for getting her something she'll enjoy, even if it's not a "big" gift. OR the addition of the extra controllers might mean you have an "excuse" to nix this idea and go with something different that each kid will enjoy, instead. 

To answer the original, are Animal Crossing and Minecraft redundant -- no, not really, I don't think so. 

[Emba]

To everyone talking about needing two Switches, or four controllers, or whatever, is there something makes old-fashioned taking turns not a good option for these games? 
 

and the boys aren’t going to be using it all the time and not letting their sister on. I mean, they might if left to their own devices, but everyone has screen time limits and I enforce them.

The thing about DD declaring she doesn’t care for video games is that I’ve lived with her all these years and seen that she does enjoy playing some video games, and also that her opinions on things like this (entertainment) sometimes change diametrically from week to week.  So I think if I pick the right type of game, she’ll enjoy it as much as any of the other things she’s asked for, and probably more.

[Dmmetler]

3 minutes ago, Emba said:

To everyone talking about needing two Switches, or four controllers, or whatever, is there something makes old-fashioned taking turns not a good option for these games? 
 

and the boys aren’t going to be using it all the time and not letting their sister on. I mean, they might if left to their own devices, but everyone has screen time limits and I enforce them.

The thing about DD declaring she doesn’t care for video games is that I’ve lived with her all these years and seen that she does enjoy playing some video games, and also that her opinions on things like this (entertainment) sometimes change diametrically from week to week.  So I think if I pick the right type of game, she’ll enjoy it as much as any of the other things she’s asked for, and probably more.

For Animal Crossing, only one player gets to control things like the island layout. While the other player can have a house on the same island, they're far more limited. Taking turns on the same account means that whatever one person did that day, another can't do. It's not a case of needing to share the physical device, but literally that game play is not the same for the second player as for the first. 

 

Two switches came in for us because the Switch was going away to college, but had my island on it. And, since we got a second switch, my teen was able to have a separate island. 

[JustEm]

11 minutes ago, Emba said:

To everyone talking about needing two Switches, or four controllers, or whatever, is there something makes old-fashioned taking turns not a good option for these games? 
 

and the boys aren’t going to be using it all the time and not letting their sister on. I mean, they might if left to their own devices, but everyone has screen time limits and I enforce them.

The thing about DD declaring she doesn’t care for video games is that I’ve lived with her all these years and seen that she does enjoy playing some video games, and also that her opinions on things like this (entertainment) sometimes change diametrically from week to week.  So I think if I pick the right type of game, she’ll enjoy it as much as any of the other things she’s asked for, and probably more.

Having two Switches in not necessary.  We have 1 for 5 kids and there has never been an issue.  We have a lot of multiplayer games that they all play together but also 1 player games.  For something like Animal Crossing, there is no need for everybody to have their own island which is why you'd need multiple Switches.  My kids do just fine sharing an island.

We do have 4 joycons though.  That is unavoidable if you want people to play together in games like mario kart or mario party.  I would say all 4 of our controllers get used daily.  

[JustEm]

I can see wanting more than 1 Switch if multiple people are going to spend hours playing Animal Crossing.  But in my house one dd could play for hours while a few of the other kids just play every few days

[prairiewindmomma]

I don't know if you have checked pricing yet, but when you're talking about a Switch, you're talking about $300. Adding a joy con (the controller, so people can play) is another $70 each.  Minecraft is only $30, but Mario Kart 8 runs $50-60, Animal Crossing runs $60....like most games cost $60.There is this version at Target that comes with Mario Kart 8 deluxe: https://www.target.com/p/nintendo-switch-joy-con-neon-blue-red-mario-kart-8-deluxe-3-month-online-bundle/-/A-81279742#lnk=sametab for $299, but if you are adding in two additional joy cons, you're talking about $440 just for the three of them to play together.  The whole fun of MarioKart is that you play and race against each other. With Animal Crossing, you have the primary island owner (who gets to decide where amenities are placed, and so on). Most Switch games are aimed at the 12 and younger crowd. You might find it helpful to watch people play the game a bit on YouTube so you have a sample of what gameplay is like. By the time they hit their teen years, our kids and most of the others we know switch over to other platforms.

My older teens, who are game oriented, prefer Steam games on a laptop.  They can play with other friends through Discord.  If you're wanting something more age appropriate that she still might enjoy, on a budget, I'd point you in that direction. A basic game there is $25-30.  If the entire family got Steam games instead of a Switch, there would be room financially for other presents as well.  

FWIW, my younger three kids are in the rough same age range as yours....so perhaps that is flavoring my opinion a bit.

 

[TheReader]

23 minutes ago, Emba said:

To everyone talking about needing two Switches, or four controllers, or whatever, is there something makes old-fashioned taking turns not a good option for these games? 
 

and the boys aren’t going to be using it all the time and not letting their sister on. I mean, they might if left to their own devices, but everyone has screen time limits and I enforce them.

The thing about DD declaring she doesn’t care for video games is that I’ve lived with her all these years and seen that she does enjoy playing some video games, and also that her opinions on things like this (entertainment) sometimes change diametrically from week to week.  So I think if I pick the right type of game, she’ll enjoy it as much as any of the other things she’s asked for, and probably more.

 

8 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

Having two Switches in not necessary.  We have 1 for 5 kids and there has never been an issue.  We have a lot of multiplayer games that they all play together but also 1 player games.  For something like Animal Crossing, there is no need for everybody to have their own island which is why you'd need multiple Switches.  My kids do just fine sharing an island.

We do have 4 joycons though.  That is unavoidable if you want people to play together in games like mario kart or mario party.  I would say all 4 of our controllers get used daily.  

It's the bold above. If they are going to play multi-player games together, like Mario Kart, etc. as you mentioned, then they will need enough controllers for each player to be able to play. You don't need 2 Switches for that, at all, but do need to be able to dock the Switch & hook up to the TV, and then do need a 3rd set of controllers (the Joy Cons come in pairs, so you'll have 2 available as part of the Switch itself, and will need a 2nd pair or an alternative type of controller for the 3rd player). 

If they won't ever play the games together, which really removes a lot of the fun for a game like Mario Kart, then you are fine with the set-up as it comes. 

Something like Animal Crossing is weird, and I'll leave that to those who've explained it already. Stardew Valley is a good option that is similar but does not have the same constraints as Animal Crossing. You can have multiple files, farms, profiles, etc. per each version of the game as far as I know. (I just realized I play that one on Xbox, so perhaps the Switch version is different, I'm not sure). 

But for multi-player games, each player has to have their own controller as they are playing simultaneously.....and the switch only comes with 2 controllers. 

 

[PeterPan]

54 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

but if you are adding in two additional joy cons, you're talking about $440

To play mario kart they only need one half of a joycon pair or one entire pro controller. I thought those ran $70. Tehcnically she could get by with one for $40. Then buy wheels for a splurge (cheap).

Edited November 18, 2021 by PeterPan

[prairiewindmomma]

You are right. I shouldn’t do math after my caffeine runs out. My kids have pro controllers. I was mentally doing switch at 300 plus two additional pro controllers at $70 each to get to $440.

[PeterPan]

Btw, if she can get a good price on it, my dd's favorite nintendo game as a teen was Go Vacation. That was on the wii, but they have it for the Switch too. It's conducive to group play and fun for all.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Emba said:

To everyone talking about needing two Switches, or four controllers, or whatever, is there something makes old-fashioned taking turns not a good option for these games? 
 

and the boys aren’t going to be using it all the time and not letting their sister on. I mean, they might if left to their own devices, but everyone has screen time limits and I enforce them.

The thing about DD declaring she doesn’t care for video games is that I’ve lived with her all these years and seen that she does enjoy playing some video games, and also that her opinions on things like this (entertainment) sometimes change diametrically from week to week.  So I think if I pick the right type of game, she’ll enjoy it as much as any of the other things she’s asked for, and probably more.

Your situation sounds really similar to mine, and your approach similar to mine as far as kids just expecting to share and is having game limits in place and my dd not being a big gamer, but  being pretty sure she’ll like the animal stuff.

50 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

For Animal Crossing, only one player gets to control things like the island layout. While the other player can have a house on the same island, they're far more limited. Taking turns on the same account means that whatever one person did that day, another can't do. It's not a case of needing to share the physical device, but literally that game play is not the same for the second player as for the first. 

 

It’s so frustrates me when the developers make decisions like this. Clearly they didn’t have to design it this way, but they did it because they can and it makes them more money. It’s like all the consoles that have no backward compatibility so your games are obsolete if you upgrade, and if you don’t upgrade, you can’t get any new games.

40 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I don't know if you have checked pricing yet, but when you're talking about a Switch, you're talking about $300. Adding a joy con (the controller, so people can play) is another $70 each.  Minecraft is only $30, but Mario Kart 8 runs $50-60, Animal Crossing runs $60....like most games cost $60.There is this version at Target that comes with Mario Kart 8 deluxe: https://www.target.com/p/nintendo-switch-joy-con-neon-blue-red-mario-kart-8-deluxe-3-month-online-bundle/-/A-81279742#lnk=sametab for $299, but if you are adding in two additional joy cons, you're talking about $440 just for the three of them to play together.  The whole fun of MarioKart is that you play and race against each other. With Animal Crossing, you have the primary island owner (who gets to decide where amenities are placed, and so on). Most Switch games are aimed at the 12 and younger crowd. You might find it helpful to watch people play the game a bit on YouTube so you have a sample of what gameplay is like. By the time they hit their teen years, our kids and most of the others we know switch over to other platforms.

There’s an Animal Crossing one that is the same way—$299 for the console plus game. Plus it’s cute colors ☺️. I actually decided to finally get a switch because of the fact that there are a lot more family friendly games. We have trouble finding enough games on the Xbox, because we don’t do first person shooter types, and generally try to stick with ones that are okay to be played with younger kids walking through the room. My ds have had had a lot of negative interactions online on the Xbox too. People are rude. 

[Clarita]

I liked Zelda Breath of the Wild. It's a beautiful game. You can play it like a regular video game and do the story fight the baddies, but during heavy lockdown I also spent a lot of time enjoying the world. I fished, cooked, build relationship with horses, etc. The world is expansive enough that you could explore it all and avoid the monsters for the most part. After wasting time exploring, cooking, etc. it's really easy to get back to actually going through the story because those random things make you money which you can spend to upgrade your equipment (some will require you to gather materials off baddies or kill baddies to obtain, but you get decent stuff with just game money). 

My husband and I were successful in taking turns using the Switch but I'm not sure he bought any play together games.