How to Play Wii With Someone Else

Turn on the power to your Nintendo Wii gaming console and make sure your television is turned to the proper input. If the Nintendo Wii is on a different input than than the television display, you will not be able to see the screen. Insert your Nintendo Wii game disc into your gaming console. The disc label should be facing the right side of the console when inserted, while the disc information will be read from the left side of the console.

View the options on your Nintendo Wii main menu display screen. When your gaming disc is inserted, you will see the box in the upper left corner of the screen turn to a display screen for the gaming disc title. Point your Wii remote toward the title display and select the "A" button to play. After a short pause to allow the game to load, your game will start. Most games have a brief cinematic introduction followed by a prompt to select the "A" button to continue. This prevents the game from starting before you are ready to play.

Use your Wii remote to move to the title screen of the game, following the instructions given. Wii games generally have two different ways of starting. The first method is to start in a single-player default mode, where additional players must be added manually. To do this, press the "+" button on your Wii remote. This should bring up a menu asking if you would like to add additional players. In games like Super Mario Brothers, the single player must then press "+" again, followed by the additional players activating their Wii remotes by pressing the "1" and "2" buttons on their Wii remotes simultaneously. Other games might have multiplayer game modes, but players share a controller. This is true of games like Wii Sports Resort or Redneck Jamboree.

Use the single player Wii remote to indicate how many players will be participating in the game. With multiplayer modes sharing a single Wii remote, most games will allow up to four players to play at one time. To start the game, players will proceed in numerical for the first time through. If you have four players, this means that Player 1 will start the game and Player 4 will end the first round. Depending on the game, the order may change in subsequent rounds, but the active player will always be announced prior to taking a turn. Wii also helps to identify characters by showing a player on screen rather than just viewing a first person point-of-view camera angle.

Use the Wii remote for Player 1 as the master remote. In most games, this is the only remote that allows the game to be paused during game play. It also navigates menu interfaces, and has the authorization to add and drop additional game players. For example, if four players are playing a game and one has to leave, the player with the master remote can usually drop that player from the game without having to abandon the game being played. This is especially helpful in role-playing games where levels often take several successive attempts to conquer.