At first glance (specifically the title) CDV’s Lawn Games seems to be the latest entry in the line of videogames imitating the most mundane portions of life. Though the game’s title evokes images of grass-cutting, hedge-clipping, and weed-killing, Lawn Games, thankfully, features none of those things. Rather than engaging players with a variety of agrarian, verdant chores, Lawn Games instead allows players to move from the dangerous outdoors and onto the expansive, safe confines of their living rooms.

Lawn Games offers a variety of popular games that people (sometimes) play on their lawns. Some games are certainly more well-known than others — croquet, volleyball, badminton, tetherball, horseshoes — while others, like lawn dice, bocce ball, and lawn darts, are either a bit more obscure or at first glance simply seem adapted to the lawn environment by the developers.

Like many Wii games, character customization is also featured. Players can also unlock a variety of lawn furnishings to further customize their Lawn Games experience. There’s an online tournament mode capable of supporting up to thirty-two players, which, of course, would be better adapted to a console where half of the fun does not derive from watching loved ones make fools of themselves.

Set — inexcplibily, considering the game’s scope — for an early 2009 release date, Lawn Games should offer players a sun-free, waggle-abounding good time when it hits store shelves.