Carnival Games Monkey See Monkey Do is a great collection of minigames for Kinect, offering more than 20 different carnival-themed ways for families to compete

Each of the 20 mini-games requires slightly different ways in which players will need to use their body to control the action.  There are so many different styles of games to choose from, ranging from riding a roller coaster and using your arm to collect coins as you go to more traditional carnival fare such as Ring Toss or Ski-Ball.  In one game, you need to catch falling funnel cakes by holding your arms out and moving from side to side, while in another you launch as a rocket and lean from side to side with outstretched arms to avoid obstacles and try and land on Mars. We’ve included a full list of games below.

Depending on your level of success in each game, you’ll either collect tickets or earn a prize for your performance.  Tickets can be used to unlock new areas and mini-games, as well as to pay for prizes in one of the game’s four prize shops.

The great thing about Monkey See Monkey Do for families is that each mini-game is multiplayer for two players, either simultaneously or by taking turns depending on the gameplay action.  Players have the option before each selection to add a second player or play single player, making it very easy for players to jump in and out of the action.

Most mini-games are accessible enough even for young kids to play, but as with other Kinect games, you’ll need a big person around to help navigate the menus.

Despite some technical issues on start-up**, we really enjoyed playing Carnival Monkey See Monkey Do with our family, and definitely recommend it for families with kids of all ages.  In fact, Carnival Games Monkey See Monkey Do just might be the game that families will want to use to show off their Kinect to their friends.  It’s got a great variety of different types of gameplay, offers a healthy dose of competition, and is accessible for even pre-schoolers to play along with grown-ups.

FULL LIST OF GAMES IN CARNIVAL GAMES MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO:

Coaster Corner Games
Gold Rush Mountain (Single Player Only) – Roller coaster game in which players use their outstretched arms to collect coins while avoiding the red stars.

Hot-Air Balloon Race (Multiplayer Simultaneous) – Raise your arms up and down while avoiding obstacles in order to get your balloon as high as you can.

Wheel of Chance (Single-Player Only) – Requires tickets to play, but offers players a chance to win even more tickets by spinning a wheel.

Funnel Cake Falls (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Catch falling funnel cakes by outstretching your arms and moving side to side.  The higher your stack gets, the more points you get.

LaunchPad Lane
Rocket To Mars (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Jump to launch your ship, and then lean left and right with your arms outstretched to land on Mars.

Crash-Test Dummy (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Twist and Turn to match the pattern on the wall before you smash through.

Pop Darts (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Reach out to grab a dart to try and pop all the balloons.

Alley Ball (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Grab and roll the ball, stepping left and right to aim, in this version of Ski-Ball.

Carousel Junction
Ring Fling (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Reach out and grab your ring, and fling it onto the pegs to earn points.

Shark Tank (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – You get three chances to reach back and throw the ball in the target.

The Amazing Wodin (Single-Player Only) – Every carnival needs a wizard, and this one speaks in riddles.

Pig Race (Multiplayer Simultaneous) – Swat the pigs to make them go faster, and lean left and right to steer your pig through the barrels, mud and haystacks.

Whirligig Way
Monkey See, Monkey Do (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Dance with the monkey, matching his onscreen moves.

Down the Stretch (Multiplayer Simultaneous) – Flick the balls into the numbered holes to make your horse move forward in this classic carnival game.

Strength Test (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Raise your hands up and swing down as hard you can to try and ring the bell – but you have to have good timing, too.

Knockout Punch (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Follow the instructions to jab left, right or duck.

Tea Cup Court
Court King (Multiplayer Simultaneous) – Hoop it up by putting your hands over your head and shooting it at the basket.

Granny Shot (Multiplayer Simultaneous) – Throw different objects, each with a different weight through a basket.  You’ll need to get down low and jump up to make the shots.

Golden Arm (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Use timing and skill to knock down all the milk bottles.

Hitting Streak (Multiplayer Turn-Based) – Just like a batting cage, bat righty or lefty to smack as many balls as possible.

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**A little more about our problems getting this game started:
When we turned on the Kinect, Carnival Games Monkey See Monkey Do let us know it was "Identifying" us.  We then were asked to sign in, and were given three choices.  1) Create Profile.  Selecting this option would inform us that all users need to be signed out.  2) Our Xbox Live Gamertag.  Selecting this option caused the Kinect to think, and kick us back to the title screen, where it would let us know it was "Identifying" us and present us with the three choices again.  3) Sign Out - All this did was sign us out of Xbox Live.

We tried all our other Kinect games to make sure it wasn't a problem with our sensor, and everything else worked fine.  We even pulled in extra lighting and tried starting at different times of day.  Neither of the three selections would work.

We finally figured out that in order to get started we had to choose the third option - Sign Out, and then choose the first option - Create Profile.  We then had to make up a name and choose a generic avatar.  After doing this we were able to play, but it was a bummer that we weren't able to use our own Xbox Live avatar and profile.

Perhaps this was just a weird bug that only happened to us, but if the same thing happened to you, please leave a comment and let us know.

And as we said above, once we got past these issues on start-up, we greatly enjoyed Carnival Games Monkey See Monkey Do.

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INFORMATION FROM COMPANY WEB SITE:
If you’re up for a dip in the Shark Tank, a raucous ride on Gold Rush Mountain or a Cotton-Eyed Joe dance-off with the Monkey Barker, then you’re ready to step right up and INTO Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do -- exclusively for Kinect for Xbox 360. Developed by 2K’s Cat Daddy Games, the studio that created the original sensation, Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do is built from the ground up for Kinect. Twenty new games and attractions set the stage for gamers to swing into the batting cage, avoid twisting tornadoes in Hot Air Balloon Race, and more. Voice recognition technology even allows The Amazing Wodin, a wily wizard, to advise you of your future. All manner of interactive prizes and surprises abound, including pet dragons and robot cowboys. Designed for fun-seekers of all ages and skills, it’s is a perfect fit for families everywhere.