Carnival Games Family Console Game Review Age 3+ Sent by 2K (Plus Giveaway!)

2K are incredibly well-known in the gaming world and are the creators of 3 of my household's favourite games, Sid Meiers Civilisation, Borderlands and Bioshock, as well as a host of other sports and games titles. They've sent us the family favourite Carnival Games for review and I also have a copy to give away to one of my readers for the console of your choice...

Carnival Games is a compendium of 20 different sideshow games and an updated version of a previous, and incredibly popular, classic. It can be played by 1 to 4 players - although you need a controller for everyone who is playing at once. We have 2 controllers, played in pairs and swapped over. Games are very quick and mostly played individually, so swapping between players works really well and no-one is left bored waiting.

When you first play there are only a couple of very simple games available and by playing these you earn tickets to open up new games. It took under half an hour before we had 8 games available. Once you've opened up all of the games, tickets can be spent on clothing and music and other in-game items.

Some of the games are familiar to us and others new, but they're all very easy to play and the controls are intuitive and easy to master. You generally have a 'direction' joystick and an 'action' button and everything is down to timing and sometimes power - which is controlled by the length of time you press. Most have a time limit of around 60-90 seconds.

The 20 games are split into 4 different themed sections - Jungle Lane, Saturn Station, Vulture Gulch and Nuts & Bolts, and include among them:

Post Master - ring toss
Roll-R-Derby - alley ball horse racing/Camel Derby
Light Speed - drone racing
Cosmic Strike - cosmic bowling
Swish - shooting basketballs

Anyone can play from the outset and there is no advantage to age or strength, or really gaming experience. It's a light-hearted fun game and we've had a great laugh playing. Time commitment can be minimal, you can dip in and out, or you can challenge each other and play through a competition. Even so, a full contest can be over in 30 minutes.

We think Carnival Games is a great game to play with the family. It's fun and light and has just enough competition for you to get your teeth into, but not so much that anyone gets grumpy when they lose! There are hidden secrets and lots to unlock, so it keeps your interest very well, plus of course you always want to beat your previous best score!

Carnival Games is made by 2K Games, suitable for 1-4 players aged 3-99+ and available to buy now rrp £34.99 (but currently massively discounted) from all good game stockists, instore and online, including Amazon (*aff).

I'm delighted to have a copy of Carnival Games for one of my readers, which will arrive in plenty of time to entertain you for the school Easter holidays. The game can be for the console of your choice from the available options - Playstation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch.

Entry to the giveaway is via the Gleam form below. No entry is mandatory, but each extra task completed earns you more entries into the random draw. The giveaway sweepstake is open to UK entrants only and will close at midnight Sunday 24th March 2019. For a link to help if you are new to Gleam, or to find my other UK giveaways, see my Giveaways Page....

Carnival Games from 2K console game giveaway (age 3+)

We were sent our copy of Carnival Games for review. *Amazon links are affiliate, which never costs you any more, but earns me a few pence if you buy through my link. Sadly it will never make me wealthy, but it may just about feed the cat. It all helps keep the website running.