Play Crash Boom Bang! Online

Crash Boom Bang! came out for the Nintendo DS in 2006, developed by Dimps and published by Banpresto. It was part of that wave of party games that really tried to use every feature of the DS, from the touchscreen to the microphone, and it fit right in with the system's focus on casual, social multiplayer. It's a Crash Bandicoot spin-off, but it's not a platformer; it's a digital board game where you roll dice and move around themed maps with up to three other players.

You control one of several Crash characters, moving around a game board by rolling virtual dice. The main objective is to collect the most crystals by landing on special spaces, winning mini-games, or sabotaging opponents. Signature mechanics include using the touch screen to draw obstacles that block other players' paths and shouting commands into the microphone during certain frantic mini-games. The pacing is fast and unpredictable, with the lead changing constantly thanks to event spaces and player interference; it's not a difficult game to understand, but winning requires a mix of luck and opportunism. It feels like a silly, chaotic playground where any sense of strategy is constantly upended by nonsense.