Nintendo Wii Pool Games

Wii Play

• "Wii Play" is a Nintendo-developed mini-game collection intended, much like "Wii Sports," to show off the Wii Remote's technical capabilities. It even comes bundled with a Wii Remote so you'll be instantly ready for two-player action. Among the mini-games you'll find a simple rendition of Nine Ball. You can line up your shot from a helpful top-down view before dropping down to a behind-the-stick view to take the shot. Hold in a button, draw back your Wii Remote, and then thrust it forward to shoot. The Wii Remote's accelerometer can tell how much force you're putting behind your shot and the cue stick on screen will respond accordingly. Since it's a Nintendo-developed game, you can use your Mii characters in the game.

Party Pool

• "Pool Party" features 13 different pool games, including classics like Eight Ball or more elaborate games like Snooker. You can implement a range of customizations, from patterned tables to different venues. As you play through the game you'll unlock new pool cues and balls to play with, although they serve solely as aesthetic enhancements. When shooting, you can choose to use the analog stick on the Nunchuk attachment to set your power or use the Wii Remote's accelerometer (as in "Wii Play") to judge the power of your shop. While critics at GameSpot dislike the game for its annoying music and tendency to block your view with power meters, they praise it for letting the player set up intricate trick shots and its wide selection of pool games.

Midnight Pool

• "Midnight Pool" is a WiiWare game downloaded over Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel, so you'll need Internet access if you want to purchase it. It features a story mode where you can choose from seven characters to progress through various pool games. You can make bets to earn money for new cues. "Midnight Pool" features three different pool games, as well as a series of trick shot challenge modes where your aim is simply to complete the designated trick shots.