That a package of 42 classic games can captivate today's ADHD crowd says a lot for how classic the games really are.
There's no real plot, no real rhyme or reason to this collection of classics thrown together into several genres. From overly childish games like Spit, checkers, and Old Maid, middle-of-the-road games like Rummy, 9-ball, or Texas Hold'Em, to high-strategy games like chess, contract bridge, and a Stratego ripoff, the cartridge offers many somethings for everyone. It's all simple to navigate, and everything is done with the touch screen, as you'll use your stylus to drag cards to discard piles, move backgammon dots, and fling a bowling ball down an alley. And many of the games that at first seem unfamiliar by their name, you've really played before, but copyrights and 'family friendly' concerns necessitated a name change (ex. Turncoat is essentially Othello, while I Doubt It is Bull****). In addition to standard play, there's also a mission mode that sets out tasks in different games (like taking no tricks in Nap or playing Mahjonng solitaire in under three minutes), with success unlocking a new online avatar.
The sheer variety is the strongest selling point, and it's fittingly a part of the 'Touch Generations' series of DS games that all ages can enjoy. You can turn it on for a quick 15 minute fix of solitaire, or settle in for hours of online bowling, darts, poker, or Chinese checkers. There's also a 'stamp mode' where you move up a ladder, playing all the games and along the way unlocking a tiny handful of new ones not available from the start. While some may gripe it's a cheap way to make you play everything, I feel it was smart in that by forcing you to play everything, you see that some games you may be scared of are actually pretty fun and easy. One of the best features of the game is how Wi-Fi disconnects are handled. Anyone cheated out of a win by a disconnect in Mario Kart DS will appreciate that disconnecting players are replaced by CPU opponents, and even if everyone leaves, you can still collect your rightful victory.
There are a few negatives, but they're generally minor. Sadly, some people on bowling obviously use a ruler or other straightedge, ruining the fun for all, though blessedly the percentage of people who do is far lower than the people who've ruined Mario Kart's online play with 'snaking.' This is also counterbalanced by the fact that most games offer no way to cheat. That all the betting card games like poker and blackjack allow betting to continue into the negatives is just plain stupid. It just takes away any strategy from people with chip leads if everyone can continue betting the max well after they lost the chips they started with. And why they couldn't find way to allow for splitting of pairs in blackjack is a mystery. The canned-phrase chat over anonymous Wi-Fi can get irritating, and there really should be an option to turn it off. Some people just don't get that they don't need to send a "Nice!" message every single time you convert a spare or toss a bullseye, and (thankfully rarely) I've seen some obviously try to agitate leaders by endlessly repeating a message during their turns.
Everything flows smoothly in the game, since everything is handled with intuitive stylus motions. The graphics are what they are: nothing fancy at all, but they're just great for what they represent. Playing cards look like playing cards and dice look like dice. The sounds are very innocuous, all while many games almost wouldn't need sound, the 'ffft-ffft' of cards shuffling or smack of the bowling ball into the head pin are done well enough, though the default music that plays throughout gets repetitive after a while. As long as the game stays popular over Wi-Fi, the game will have high replay value, and while some less-popular games may present difficulty in finding an opponents, games like bowling, Texas Hold'em, and darts nearly always have people looking for a match. This is the sort of game you wish they'd packaged into the system because it's fun for all, showcases the DS' touchscreen capabilities, and offers so much variety to keep you busy for hours on end. This is a set of games all DS owners should add to their collection.