Hands-on with the Nex Playground. One of the hottest toys for a good reason

As a parent and technology writer, the Nex Playground video game system is a collision of worlds. The small cube plugs into your TV and then aims a camera at your living room. Instead of controllers, it uses movements to play the games. It’s one way to keep kids active, even while playing games. To some surprise, it’s currently outselling some more traditional video game consoles.

I’ve spent some time with the Nex Playground, and it’s hard not to be reminded of Nintendo’s Wii or the Xbox with its Kinect sensor. In this case, however, the Nex Playground is simple enough for the youngest of kids with no online play or violent games for parents to worry about. This won’t be the video game system for every family, but its appeal is surprisingly wide-reaching.

What can you do with the Nex Playground?

The Nex Playground might not look like much, being about the size of a Rubik's Cube. But the device has a camera on board and is fully capable of tracking multiple people on the screen, instead of using hand-held controllers.

The device comes with five games to start—Fruit Ninja, Starri, Whack-a-Mole, Go Keeper, and Party Fowl. If you want more, you'll need to buy a Play Pass, which costs $50 for three months of access or $90 for a year.

Fruit Ninja was the obvious initial draw of the included games. It’s a game recognizable from its early mobile days. Both of my kids found the different modes of swinging their arms to cut fruit on the TV entertaining.

My teenage son got into Go Keeper really quickly. He was never satisfied with his high score and wanted to keep blocking more goals. The most fun, however, was probably Party Fowl. This is a collection of mini games that instantly provided laughs from those playing and those watching.

Is the Nex Playground safe for kids?

I was initially hesitant about a camera pointed into our living room. But the Wi-Fi connection is simply used for downloading games and doing system updates. It’s possible to play all the games offline once they have been stored on the device. That means the video feed isn’t constantly streaming to the company’s server. There is a camera cover for extra assurance.

Other points of interest that parents might like include no online chatting or playing games with strangers. There aren’t even any parental controls that need managing because all the available games are friendly for all ages. Some kids might find the lack of first-person shooters a negative, but parents might disagree.

There aren’t any ads in the games or on the system. The only nudges you’ll get are to purchase the Play Pass for access to more games.

How does the Nex Playground work?

My kids have done most of the testing for the Nex Playground, while I observed. I did, however, jump in a few times to test it out myself. One of the mini games in Party Fowl, where you mimic shapes on screen and then get a score, was surprisingly fun, even for an adult.

There are a few considerations about how well the camera works. For example, lots of backlight will make it harder for the Nex Playground to see you. The reaction times for detecting when someone blocked a soccer ball were okay, but not completely accurate. It’s good enough to have fun with, but someone looking for an instant reaction time will probably get frustrated at some point.

One other consideration is the amount of space you have to move around in front of the device. If you don’t have a 10 by 10 open space, or can’t make one by moving a coffee table, then trying to dance around furniture will also get tiresome.

While you don't need any controllers to play games, there is one included to navigate the menus. This is good because trying to wave your arms or gesture to select games would be untenable.

Is the Nex Playground worth spending money on?

The Nex Playground retails for $250. That’s not exactly cheap, when a Nintendo Switch costs $340, a Switch Lite costs $230, or an Xbox Series S costs $400. The biggest downside to the Nex Playground is its limited game library. It has around 50 titles, a number that pales in comparison to Nintendo and Microsoft.

Of course, I would argue that most of the appeal is that it isn’t a typical game console. There are no mature, shooting games. You don’t need to address online gameplay or having kids chat with strangers. To actually play games, kids also need to stand up and get off the couch.

You’re paying a premium for the Nex Playground at full retail price, but I think a lot of parents will see the cost as worth it. The system can work for kids of all ages, but I think those between five and 12 will enjoy it the most. It’s not a powerful gaming system or even the best for a lot of things, but it’s just plain fun.