Family Trainer

In Log Leaper you must time your jumps precisely as logs roll towards you at increasing speed. Speed Roller sees you rollerblading, moving your feet to go faster and using the remote to steer. Lake-top Trampoline and Mountain Boarder both work on the same principle: time your jumps right to soar high into the air, then step on the shape icons shown on-screen to perform special moves.

There are a few more, but you get the idea. The good news is almost all the games are fun to play, and some are downright hilarious. The mat might not be a sophisticated piece of technology, but it works. The timing of jumps and steps is recognised precisely and accurately. Only a few games involve the use of the remote, and never in a complex way - plus you never need the nunchuk. All the game mechanics are very easy to understand, which will come as a relief to anyone who's had to spend 20 minutes explaining when you let go of the button in Wii Sports bowling.

One criticism might be that although the Family Trainer mat is larger than your average dance mat, it's still a bit of a squeeze when two people are playing. However, this is all part of the fun - and there's no doubt Family Trainer is more fun with friends.

Happily, all the mini-games are available for free play right from the start, so there's no tedious single-player unlocking to be done. Some can only be played in turn-based fashion but, as many of them are hilarious to watch, this doesn't matter. When it comes to games played by two people on the same mat, there's not a huge selection, but they're almost all highly enjoyable. Highlights include Seesaw Battler, where you kneel down and try to hit symbols before your opponent, and two-player Log Leaper, as you can pretend you're going to jump to mess up their timing. I also like Pushing Each Other Off the Mat, a secret unlockable game which isn't present anywhere on the disc.

There are a few games that involve working as a team. Sounds tiresome, yes, but they're nicely designed - such the one where you have to steer a mine cart round a track, lifting the relevant legs at the right time. Another sees one player jumping up a series of ledges on a cliff face, while their team-mate uses the remote to yank them up on a rope. It's surprisingly rewarding, though not as much fun as pushing each other off the mat.

After a couple of hours' playtime, the design of the Family Trainer box makes perfect sense. It's got that MB feel to it, the same sense of excitement and silliness you get with games like Buckaroo, Kerplunk and Hungry Hippos. And as with those games, you're not likely to get Family Trainer out more than a few times a year - but when you do, you'll have a great time.

However, unlike with those games, you could have a problem if you live in a flat that isn't on the ground floor. For grown-ups Family Trainer is best played while riotously drunk, and that usually means late at night. It involves a lot of stamping, running and jumping, and there's no way to avoid that. Along with urging you to "give your sofa a break", the box should warn you will "give your neighbours a migraine" not to mention "cause for legal action over damage to their ceiling". But so it's always been with mat-based games; you could always move house.

All in all, Family Trainer will not appeal to everyone. There's a definite novelty value here, and it's not the sort of game you'll be playing every day for a month, or even a week. Nor does it come bundled with a sophisticated piece of technology, or pretend to offer any health benefits whatsoever.

But as a toy - one designed for use for family with friends, and only on occasion - it's great. It's also a lot cheaper than Wii Fit, with a suggested price of GBP 49.99. That's still a bit much to ask for a big old dance mat and 15 mini-games, but when you consider our friends ShopTo.net have already knocked 12 quid off that price, it's well worth thinking about if you want something to while away a few hours on Christmas day. And probably a bit of Boxing Day. And maybe an hour or two of New Year's Eve. And quite possibly a wet Sunday afternoon in March.