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The Players
1) Jack (10) is an avid gamer who enjoys football games, racers and shooters.
2) Simon (34) is Jack's dad and hasn't played a video game since he was his son's age.
3) Pam (52) has never played a video game in her life but enjoys puzzle games like sudoku.
4) Claire (23) has played her sister's Nintendo DS but mostly spends her free time with friends.

Warming up - Making a Mii
One of the best things about Wii Sports is that you can actually become the star of the game. Built into the Wii console is the Mii Channel that lets you make caricatures of yourself or friends and family, and then import them into certain games.

We begin by giving our players five minutes to make their Mii. However they're having so much fun playing around with different combinations of eyes, noses, mouths and body shapes that the time soon stretches to 10 minutes, then 15. Eventually we have to step in and politely hurry things up. The Wii Sports arena awaits!

Round 1 - Tennis
Apart from father and son Simon and Jack, our four players don't know each other yet so we decide to warm things up with a quick tennis doubles match.

Simon and Jack want to play together, so Pam and Claire become their opponents. Despite the group asking us to explain how the Wii Remote works, we stay silent and simply hand them a controller each. We want to let them work it out for themselves.

Jack is first to serve. He asks us which button he needs to press. We explain that he doesn't need to press any buttons; he simply has to raise the Wii Remote up quickly and swing it forward, like a real racquet. He does it first time but Claire, on the receiving end, is so busy watching Jack that she forgets to return the ball.

Soon our players are getting the hang of it; their Mii characters comically running around the screen to keep up with the ball (you only need to concentrate on hitting the ball, not controlling your character). The room begins to sound like a real tennis match as the players grunt and shout while the 'thwack' of the ball comes through the speaker in each player's Wii Remote.

In fact, Simon is getting too into it - jumping around and swinging the Wii Remote like he's at Wimbledon. We explain that he doesn't really need to be so physical with his actions - small movements work just as well as big ones - but he says it helps, so we leave him to it.

As it turns out, Simon's hard work is in vain, as Pam and Claire clinch the match with a 2 sets to 1 win. Each player receives some Rank Points for playing, which increase each time you play a particular sport. For now, the ladies are in the lead but there would be more chances for the guys to catch up.

Round 2 - Baseball
Baseball might not be the most popular sport in Europe but everyone knows the basics of batting and pitching, which form the basis of Wii Sports Baseball.

In this game, one player throws (pitches) the ball while the other player is the batter. To pitch, you simply make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote. We make sure Pam, as the pitcher, is wearing the Wii Remote's strap around her wrist, as we don't want her chucking the controller across the room. The same goes for her opponent Simon, who needs to clutch his Wii Remote like a bat and make a swinging motion to hit Pam's incoming shots.

After a few test throws, Pam soon gets into it and is flinging fastballs at Simon, who seems to have a problem with his timing. He either swings too late or too early but the game tells him where he's going wrong and after a few minutes of swinging at thin air he suddenly hits the ball hard, signalled by a satisfying 'thwack' sound from the Wii Remote speaker. While Simon's Mii makes its automatic home run around the field, the batter switches to a new one. Again, Simon punts another shot out of the park. It looks like he's a fast learner.

Round 3 - Boxing
For this two-player game we needed players who were willing to go to blows with each other and what better warring pair than a father and son! We give Simon and Jack a Nunchuk each, which they connect to their Wii Remotes by a short cable, and they're all set.

By holding the Wii Remote in your right hand and the Nunchuk (which is also motion-sensitive) in your left, you have full control over your Mii boxer's gloves; each punching motion you make is copied by your Mii on screen. You can even dodge blows by moving from side to side and block by raising your hands in front of your face.

This is the first time any of our players have used the Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment together so we let them practise first in the game's training mode. Each of the sports has three training mini-games that you can play at any time to sharpen your skills. Tennis includes a target-shooting game, Baseball has a batting practice game and Boxing has a punch bag game; onto which we let Simon and Jack loose.

After a few minutes spent beating up the punch bag, we think father and son are ready to take on each other. Jack begins with a few swift right jabs but they have little power and Simon blocks them easily. After a while, though, Jack works out that he can make a one-two combination of punches with a swift right hook followed by a left jab; and his dad's Mii is soon on its knees.

As the referee counts Simon out, Jack raises his controllers in victory but he's spoken too soon; Simon's Mii is back on its feet and back in the action. As more furious blows are exchanged, we spy sweat dripping off the faces of both the characters on the screen and the players in front of it. A minute later, Simon is knocked down again and this time his wobbly-legged Mii refuses to get up again. As Simon mumbles something about never living this down at home, Jack is declared the winner.

Round 4 - Golf
Up to four players can take turns playing Wii Sports Golf but judging by the flushed faces of Jack and Simon we thought it best we let them sit this round out; giving Claire and Pam a chance.
Golf is a little more complicated to play than the other sports, so we step in to demonstrate. You begin by holding the Wii Remote in your hands as if you are gripping a golf club. When you make a swinging motion, a bar on the screen increases to show the power of your shot. The clever thing is that you can practise your swing before you take the shot, just like in real life, by making a few test swings to judge how much power to use.

Claire is first to tee off and she manages the first hole in four shots. Not bad for a beginner. When Pam's turn comes, she fares even better; making it in just three.
After a good 10 minutes of slicing and putting, what's the verdict from our lady golfers? 'I like it more than I thought,' said Claire. 'Yeah,' added Pam, 'I usually think golf is pretty boring but this makes it much more fun.'

By now, Simon and Jack have had time to get their breath back so we finish our Wii Sports session with one last group game.

Final round - Bowling
Whether you only visit the bowling alley on your birthday or are a regular at your local lane, everyone knows how to bowl a ball; becoming an expert is what takes practice.

Wii Sports Bowling is no different. To bowl you simply raise the Wii Remote up in your hand, hold down the B button as if gripping the ball, then swing your arm back and then forward, letting go of B to release the ball.

Simon tells us he takes his family bowling quite often, so he's keen to try it out on Wii. He lines up his first shot, lets the ball go and it heads straight down the middle - only to veer off wildly at the last second and miss the pins. It's time we explained how to control the ball.
You can press left and right on the +Control Pad to change the angle of your swing and, like in real bowling, you can put spin on the ball by twisting your wrist as you release the B button.

Jack is a keen bowler too but, being only 10, he gets tired after throwing the heavy balls around, he tells us. This doesn’t matter in Wii Sports Bowling so he can concentrate on simply enjoying the game. It seems like his dad's tutoring has rubbed off because, after listening to our quick explanation, he adds a little spin to the ball and scores a spare on his first try.

As Claire waits for her turn she comments on how funny the Wii Sports bowling alley looks. While you play, other Mii characters go about their business in the background; stepping up to bowl and milling around; making it look like a busy bowling alley. The realistic sound, too (a background hum of chattering voices and the crashing of falling pins) adds to the experience.

After a few tries our players have become used to bowling with the Wii Remote; now they're trying to perfect the angle of their shots. Like the real sport, it's a case of trial and error until you get it right. And when you do, it's worth it!

Fifteen minutes later and the game - and our preview session - is over. By now, everyone's forgotten about keeping score; they've been having so much fun; and the question on everyone's lips is the same: 'Where can we get a Wii?'