Playing multiplayer on the Switch in TV mode with your family works best when the game keeps everyone in the round and does not overwhelm the folks at home who rarely pick up a controller. The Switch 2 already has plenty of multiplayer titles that start quickly and let people jump in without a long learning curve, which is what families usually want on a weeknight or during a short living-room session.
These games stay readable on the same screen, give each player one small thing to focus on, and let younger kids stay involved instead of getting knocked out right away. The nice part is that they also get you talking in the room, pointing things out on the TV, calling for help, or laughing when someone sends themselves flying by accident. Here are the 10 Nintendo Switch family games of 2025 that tend to work really well when everyone is on the couch playing the same match.
1. Just Dance 2025 Edition
A Dance Party for 1–6 Players
- Price: $49.99
- Compatibility: All Switch Models (Software compatibility and play experience may differ on Nintendo Switch Lite).
Just Dance 2025 turns your living room into a full-blown dance party. It’s a rhythm game where players mimic on-screen choreography to popular songs, using Joy-Con controllers or a smartphone app to track your moves. The beauty of Just Dance on Switch is that up to 6 people can dance together locally, each with a controller in hand, following along to the music.
The tracklist is always a mix of the latest chart hits and family favorites, from Disney tunes to throwback classics, so there’s usually something for everyone. The game scores your accuracy, but honestly the score isn’t the point – it’s all about getting up and having fun moving to the music.
The game also offers a co-op team scoring mode and a Kids mode with simpler choreography for the littlest dancers. It’s pure active fun and tends to create lots of memorable family moments, and probably some hilarious video clips if you record yourselves!
2. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Co-Op in a Galaxy
- Price: $59.99
- Compatibility: All Nintendo Switch Models
The LEGO games have long been family favorites, and Skywalker Saga is the biggest and arguably best of them. This lighthearted adventure lets 1–2 players experience all nine Star Wars films in a sprawling, humor-filled game. You’ll play through famous scenes reimagined with the signature LEGO silliness, so you can expect plenty of goofy gags alongside the action. The game features over 300 characters and 23 planets to explore.
In co-op mode, one player might be Luke Skywalker slicing through stormtroopers with a lightsaber while another is Princess Leia blasting enemies, or any duo of characters you like. The entire story is playable in couch co-op, with drop-in/drop-out functionality. That makes it great for accommodating different schedules – e.g. a parent can help on a tough level, then hand control back to the kids.
3. Super Mario Party Jamboree
The Biggest Mario Party Yet
- Price for Nintendo Switch: $59.99
- Price for Nintendo Switch 2: $79.99
Mario Party works for families because it evens out the skill gap between kids and parents. Jamboree brings more mini-games than any other entry and keeps everything simple enough for anyone in the room to follow. Up to four players move across the same board, roll dice, grab items, and jump into short mini-games that take seconds to understand. Some rounds reward quick reflexes, but plenty rely on timing or luck, so kids aren’t automatically outmatched by adults.
The game also keeps everyone involved even when they’re not the one pressing buttons, since every dice roll, item steal, or sudden lead shift becomes a group moment. Families stick with Mario Party because the rounds move quickly, the rules never get complicated, and the chaos creates an even playing field that keeps the room loud and engaged.
4. Mario Kart World
Ultimate Family Racing Game
- Price (digital/physical): $79.99
- Compatibility: Nintendo Switch 2
No family gaming list is complete without Mario Kart! This new Nintendo Switch 2 flagship racer features a vast interconnected world of tracks and supports up to 24 racers in a single race, which makes competitions even wilder. And classic local multiplayer is as great as ever, up to 4 players can race split-screen on the couch, which is perfect for sibling showdowns or parent-kid matchups.
And since family sessions usually involve several players swapping controllers back and forth, you’ll want a few Joy-Cons fully charged before you even start. Longer Mario Kart nights drain batteries quicker than people expect, especially when four players stay in every race. With a docking station like the Dual Wield, you can charge up to four controllers at the same time and keep them in one spot, which saves you the hassle of charging them mid-race.
5. Drag x Drive
Fast-Paced Family Hoop Battles
- Price: $19.99
- Compatibility: Nintendo Switch 2
Drag x Drive is a family game you bring out when everyone wants to move around instead of sitting on the couch. It’s a 3v3 basketball game, so six people can jump in at the same time as long as you have enough Joy-Con 2 controllers. Each of you controls a robo wheelchair by sliding your hands on the table, then flicking your wrist to shoot at the hoop. The controls are simple enough that even family members who don’t usually play games can pick it up after a few rounds.
For a family, the fun comes from how loud and physical it gets. Matches are short, usually a couple of minutes, which works well when you have kids with short attention spans or cousins walking in and out of the living room. On top of that, the game pushes everyone to talk, yell, pass the ball, try goofy trick shots on the curved ramps and celebrate every blocked shot.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is stamina. The arm-pumping can tire out younger kids or older family members after a while, so it’s better for short bursts instead of long sessions. If you want an easy party game that gets the whole family playing at the same time instead of taking turns, Drag x Drive fills that spot nicely.
6. Overcooked! All You Can Eat
Chaotic Kitchen Co-Op
- Price: $39.99
- Compatibility: Nintendo Switch (*Incompatible with Switch 2: problems with game progression have been found)
Overcooked is a good family pick because players only have to manage one clear task at a time, and the team finishes meals together before the timer hits zero. The bundle gives you both Overcooked 1 and 2 with all their extra content, so you get a huge list of quick stages to play as a group of one to four players.
Each level follows the same basic loop. One of you will grab ingredients and the other will chop them. Then, someone will have to cook, plate the food and send it out. These jobs are simple, so younger kids can handle the easier parts while older players take on the steps that need more attention. The kitchens change a lot from level to level, so you might cook in two moving trucks, or in a kitchen that splits apart, or in one where the counters slide around. That keeps the game active without confusing anyone.
Families stick with Overcooked because everyone stays involved the whole time. You have to talk out loud, call for ingredients, warn people before you bump into them, and fix mistakes fast. The timer pushes the whole room to work together instead of letting one person carry the team.
And if you want to record these sessions and save the funny moments, a device like ShadowCast 2 Pro can capture your gameplay from the Switch 2 while you keep playing on the TV with no delay.
7. Pikmin 4
Cozy Teamwork Puzzle Adventure
- Price (digital/physical): $59.99
- Compatibility: All Nintendo Switch Models
Pikmin 4 is great if your family likes strategy and puzzle games but you still want something cute and gentle to look at. You control a tiny explorer with an army of plant creatures, and you send them out to carry treasure, fight monsters and solve little environmental puzzles. It stays approachable even for younger players, and the newer Relaxed difficulty makes enemies less aggressive, so kids can poke around without constant stress.
On the family side, you have a few ways to play together. There is a Dandori Battle mode where two of you share one system and race to grab more items than the other player on a split screen. It feels like a friendly treasure rush, which works well with siblings close in age or a parent who wants a quick best-of-three matchup.
You can also go into co-op from the main story and let a second player support you with a pointer that throws pebbles and items, which is perfect for a younger kid who wants to “help” without managing the whole squad. So this is a strong pick if your family enjoys thinking through problems together instead of just button-mashing.
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
All-Star 8-Player Brawls
- Price (digital/physical): $59.99
- Compatibility: All Nintendo Switch Models
Super Smash Bros works for families because the game keeps everyone in the round long enough to have fun. The nice part is that you do not need to know every button to play. You just pick a character, jump onto a small stage, and try to knock the others off the screen. Kids can press whatever buttons they want and still make their character move, jump, and attack in a clear way, so they do not feel lost from the first second.
What helps here is that the game allows up to eight people on the same TV. This means you can get siblings, parents, cousins, and whoever else is around into one match without waiting turns. Items also drop onto the stage, and they shake up the match enough that beginners can land strong hits by accident and stay involved. If you only have a couple of players, you can fill the rest of the match with CPU fighters to keep things busy.
Rounds move quickly, and it takes just a few seconds to start the next one. That keeps everyone in the room focused, and no one ends up staring at a loading screen. Older players can play with more control, younger ones can mash, and both sides still have fun in the same match.
9. Fae Farm
Shared Farm Life for the Whole Family
- Price (digital): $44.99; physical - $59.99
- Compatibility: All Switch Models
If your family leans toward cozy games, Fae Farm is basically a shared fantasy vacation spot. You get dropped on a magical island, build up a homestead, plant crops, decorate the house and poke around dungeons for loot. Up to four players can join in, locally or online on Switch, and you all live in the same world instead of separate saves, which makes it feel like one long family project rather than four different runs.
What works really well for families is how low-pressure it feels since there is no real “game over. On top of that, the combat is simple, and the worst that can happen is that your character pops back to town. Kids can focus on feeding animals or decorating the house while parents handle dungeons or quest text. Each player can wander off in a different direction, so one person mines, another fishes, another tidies the farm, and you all still help with the same shared wallet and storage.
10. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Four-Player Mario Mayhem
- Price (digital/physical): $59.99
- Compatibility: All Nintendo Switch Models
Rounding out our list is Nintendo’s latest 2D Mario platformer, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which has quickly become a family favorite since its release. Crucially for families, up to 4 players can team up locally in Wonder, each as a different character. All players work together to beat levels – helping each other snag power-ups, bouncing on each other’s heads to reach high places, and coordinating when those crazy Wonder effects flip the stage on its head!
And this game delivers that timeless Mario co-op chaos in the best way. It’s chaotic but in Wonder, Nintendo removed the old bumping-into-each-other collision, so family play is smoother. The result is a game where everyone can run, jump, and explore freely, which often leads to joyful moments: siblings racing to a flagpole or all four players bursting into laughter when a Wonder Flower suddenly turns the level into a musical stampede of singing Piranha Plants. The level designs constantly surprise you, so playing together is an adventure
To Sum Up
If you want to get everyone in the same room doing something together, the Switch 2 gives you an easy way to do it. These games do not require long explanations or perfect timing, and they hold up well when you have people of different ages sharing one TV. Some titles ask you to divide simple tasks, others push you to compete in short rounds, and a few let you build something side by side at your own pace. The point is that each game keeps the whole room involved without anyone drifting off or getting overwhelmed.
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