For our anniversary, I think I mentioned that I got Wii Fit for us. We aren’t using it enough yet, but it is a lot of fun and can actually provide a reasonably good workout if you use it right. Also for our anniversary the missus got me Professor Layton and the Curious Village for the Nintendo DS. This is a bizarre, very European feeling adventure / puzzle game with the emphasis on puzzles. Everyone you talk to in the game wants you to solve a puzzle. Some puzzles have you moving a couple matchsticks to transform one picture into another, other puzzle have you moving chickens and wolves across a stream. We’ve all done these brain-teaser puzzles, but this game collects something like 130 puzzles in one package and wraps them in a story. I have completed about 25 of the puzzles so far. The puzzle difficulties ranges from easy to devious. I am playing it during my commutes and am having a great time with it. All of the puzzles have hints, but to get a hint you must find and use “hint coins” which are in relatively short supply. I can easily imagine almost anyone of any age who enjoys puzzles would just love this game. The game imposes no time limits that I have encountered so you can take your time and think about the solutions.
This missus had trouble finding the game locally (the local Gamestop told her it was discontinued) but it is currently available on Amazon. If you have a Nintendo DS, I would put this game in the “must have” category.