Wii curling: Let the giggle games begin

Wii curling combines the obscure Canadian pastime with Nintendo's mega-popular video game console.

Every four years, the winter Olympics reminds the world of the curious Canadian sport of curling. But take the game off the ice and into the living room, and you get something even more peculiar: Wii curling.

Nintendo's waggle-inducing wonder machine asks players to get off their rumps and wave their arms. With Mario Kart, that means turning the Wii's motion-sensitive controller like a steering wheel. With The Legend of Zelda, that means swinging the "wiimote" like a sword to attack. And with Deca Sports, that means shaking your hands 'til you're red in the face – exhaustion or embarrassment will do.

Wii curling, one of several virtual events packed into Deca Sports, can be a tiring experience. After giving your digital curling stone a solid push, you must shake the controller at paint-mixer speeds. But don't get overzealous, or the pixelated stone will drift off target.

Deca Sports is apparently not a good game. GameSpot gave the Wii title a 3.5 out of 10. And with Nintendo's own Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort – both excellent armchair Olympic trainers – there's little reason to dive into this off-brand minigame collection.

However Wii curling is worth watching. Here are two YouTube videos, one reflecting the delightful absurdity of curling at home, the other bringing an ice-cold seriousness. But, really, the latter is still goofy in its own way. Enjoy.

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