Once I’d firmly decided to purchase a Wii, the challenge after that was to find a Wii for sale in stores. I searched and searched, fruitlessly, these past few months. I finally gave in and did what I said I wasn’t going to do – I bought one on EBay. (Note, right after my purchase – that very week – I discovered that Kmart had them in stock online.)

My Wii was incredibly easy to set up. I got things going and created my first two Miis – one for me and one for my daughter, who was also quite interested in this new contraption. Even though I’d gone out and bought two more games for the Wii while I waited for it to arrive, the first thing I popped in to play was Wii Sports. My exercise options were Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, Boxing, Training and Fitness Test.

Since I have enjoyed bowling for many years, I opted to try bowling first. I carefully tethered the WiiMotes to both myself and my daughter and finally moved the pointer steadily enough to set us on 2 player mode and select our Miis. The first few throws felt a little awkward, but a little practice brought increased confidence and a real feel for how I was throwing the ball. My daughter (she’s almost 7) figured out how to use the Control Pad to adjust the standing position and aim. She’s good that way. She did win our first match, but after a few more rounds, I was finally able to edge her out. My parents, who are in their 70s and not gamers at all, have both tried bowling with me. They used to bowl in leagues so have a lot of real life experience. They both had a great time with Wii Bowling!

Just a side note: My daughter was having a little problem with getting too close to the TV screen when bowling. I used the belt from a robe to put a line on the floor and have taught her to stay behind the line. It works well for us with all of the Wii Sports games.

Another side note: I did have to work out a deal to get my mom to try the Wii in the first place. She’s is a traditional exercise person – a lifelong fitness fanatic. I agreed to do a walking tape – watching aforementioned perky people in spandex and walking IF she agreed to play the Wii with me for an equal amount of time. I really think she got the better deal. My activity was FUN!

We tried tennis next. While I used to play tennis in junior high, my real life tennis skills were not that great to begin with, so it’s taken a lot more work to get the hang of my swing. My serve is good and my forehand isn’t bad, but on a backhand swing {shudder} – all I can say is, don’t watch from the first row. I’m sure I’ve hit Mii audience members with wild backhand balls more than once. It took a full week of about 30-60 minutes a day of tennis practice before I finally beat my computer opponents. I have to tell you, victory was sweet! The only real problem we’ve had with tennis is that with multiple players, player 2 has had trouble following the action on the right side of the split screen. If I had a say in anything, I’d like the option for setting up a singles game between players 1 and 2 or let players 1 and 2 play on the same side against the computer players, but that’s me. On the fitness side, I really get moving as I play and definitely break a sweat. Go Mii!

I found baseball to be fairly hard. The pitching side wasn’t bad, but timing a hit has been excruciating. It’s really hit or miss (pun intended). I think we’ll do better with practice, but I have to admit that baseball is not going to be one of my favorites.

My daughter loves the golf game in Wii Sports. She doesn’t have any real world golf experience, but she is really enjoying her virtual golf. She’s not particular good at it, but she sure likes whacking that ball as hard as she can. I can’t say that I blame her – the scenery is pretty in the golf game and it can be satisfying seeing that ball fly for major yardage. She’d do better if I could get her to understand that she needs to hit the ball gently when she’s close to the hole, but we’re not there yet. I’d try a game too, but she likes to golf alone and tells me to go away. Oh well.

The child is absolutely amazing at boxing. She has beaten the computer at least six or seven straight games in a row by KO. She has not, in fact, ever lost a game of boxing yet. She asked me to box. Yes, I lost too. After we finished, she apologized for hurting me. We had a little talk about real boxing versus pretend boxing and that we don’t ever hit someone like that in real life. I decided to have my own go at boxing. It was hard work! It was really hard work! But it was fun too. Boxing left me the most winded of any of the Wii Sports games. I did win a few bouts but I need a good rest break before I try again. My mom came over and watched both of us boxing. She thought it was pretty funny. She plans to bring a video camera next time….

So far I have only dabbled a little with the training modes – in tennis and bowling at this point. The training mode lets you practice specific skills in your sports. As you advance, you can earn medals for your Mii. The fitness test works once every 24 hours for each Mii. You get three sports tests and it gives you your fitness age. I have not braved the fitness test at all at this point. I feel old enough without it telling me I have the agility of a moose with a sports injury. Once I’ve gotten in a few more weeks of practice, then I’ll take the test and we’ll see.

I’ve only owned my Wii for a very short time, but I’m already in love. Wii Sports has succeeded in an arena in which many (many) other activities have failed. It has me up and moving and looking forward to the experience. Bring it on, Wii. I’m ready and getting better all the time.