We have recently been given the Tracks Winter Wonderland Nintendo Switch game and it was an instant hit in our house! I was a bit unsure if my 9-year-old son would enjoy it as he doesn’t play with his wooden train set much anymore ( which has always been a big favourite as he was growing up) but he does enjoy his Nintendo Switch so I was happy to give it a go. The age range for the game is also 3+ so I wasn’t sure if it might be a bit young for him, but honestly, I have never heard him say ‘This is amazing’ so much in any game we have ever played!

If you have a child who loves trains, building their own worlds and using their imaginations I would highly, highly recommend this game! Oscar thinks he would have been able to comfortably play this on his own from about 6, due to needing to remember the different buttons.

To read my full review of Tracks Winter Wonderland read on

First, the presentation of this game was really lovely. It came in a beautiful box, including a Christmas wooden train with a carriage and 3 characters. This is such a great addition if your child has a wooden train track they can play with alongside the game. Our version was one where you download the game directly onto the switch, instead of using the game card. Oscar said he preferred this as it meant he could always play it, without having to find the game card each time!

My son loves being able to change the type of train he is driving. He could choose from a standard wooden train, a Christmas train, a gingerbread-themed train, a rocket or a tram. He also liked being able to look inside each train and loved tooting the horn. On further exploration he realised he could also customise the vehicle, changing things like the colour of various parts of the train (you can even change the shade of each colour, which is a really thoughtful detail), the pattern on it and also change the train toy - which is the best bit as this is the bit that makes the noise.

He had free rein of how he made his track, which enabled him to use his imaginative skills and creativity. He could also choose how the environment around the track looked, letting him decide if his track was on the surface of an ocean or stone for example. There were so many items you could add around the track, like houses and trees too. This full flexibility meant that this is a game that can be played again and again as you can create whole new worlds each time.

We even discovered that you can have different settings for your track. The first one you come across is a blank background that allows for a bit more creativity if you want to create your own world. My son particularly liked the nighttime bedroom setting, where it looks like you’re in a child’s bedroom at Christmas. It’s dark so you can see the lights on the Christmas tree and the train also has lights on. You can make the train track weave under the bed and around the room.

Passenger mode

There is also passenger mode which gives you a bit of a challenge. We did this in the apartment setting and there was a train station on the sofa then some passengers over on the tv table. Your objective is the build a track to the people, then take them over to the station. We didn’t read the instructions properly first so had to go back to the instructions to learn that you needed to get a platform from the toy box to put by the people so they can get onto the train. My son loved this addition to the game as you had the option of playing in a more relaxed mode or giving yourself a bit of a challenge.

Conclusion

This is such a relaxing game and my son really enjoyed it. As a parent I loved the calming piano music that played in the background as this helped create an environment that encouraged my son to use his imagination and creativity skills. We have lots of Nintendo Switch games that are fantastic, but most of them are bright colours, flashing lights and exciting music, this game has a totally different vibe and is one that I would be happy to see my son playing.

I would say this is a great game for children over the age of 5 who love trains/vehicles, building and creating and having a bit of a challenge too.

After 40 minutes of playing this game Oscar said he thinks it’s one of the best switch games he’s ever played! That's as good of a recommendation you can get for a game in my opinion.

You can buy this game here