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Nintendo Labo contest champions include a solar accordion and teapots
If it wasn't already apparent that you can do much more with Nintendo Labo than what comes in the box, it is now. Nintendo has unveiled the winners of a Creators Contest that challenged them to produce games and musical instruments, and the results go well beyond what you might expect. One of the more inventive examples is Momoka Kinder's solar-powered accordion. It uses the Joy-Cons to both play notes (when you cover one of the holes with your finger) and change volume based on tilt, while pressing buttons on the Switch screen controls the octave. You probably won't serenade someone with it, but it's complete and relatively easy to make (you can use tissue boxes if you like).
Nintendo's next Labo kit should include these laser tag guns
If you wish Nintendo's Labo projects did more to help your friends partake in the fun, you're in for a treat. Japanese tinkerers Miyuki and Ran have developed a homebrew laser tag system that uses a Switch for some two-player blaster action. The duo used Labo's Toy-Con Garage to turn pairs of Joy-Cons (which have infrared sensors and emitters) into both light guns and targets, with the Switch itself both recording hits and reducing a player's "health" as they take shots.
Now Nintendo's cardboard Labo controller works with 'Mario Kart'
If you have the Nintendo Labo cardboard Variety Kit and a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, then you can play the game in a new way. Build yourself the Toy-Con Motorbike controller, and you can use it as a steering wheel. It should work whether you're playing on the TV or with your Switch inserted directly into the controller and, assuming you have enough kits and Joy-Cons, can be used by up to four players at once. We already thought the game was basically perfect, but if what you really needed was a motorcycle-style pair of handlebars, then this is exactly the upgrade you were looking for.
Here's a $20 arcade cabinet made of cardboard and a Switch
Where Nintendo goes, others follow. Off the back of Nintendo's popular Labo cardboard kits, accessory maker Nyko has concocted its own cardboard creation -- the PixelQuest Arcade Kit. Like Labo, it comes flat-packed as cardboard sheets. Where it differs is that the Arcade Kit doesn't come with any software. It's instead meant to act as a miniature arcade cabinet for games that support play on a single Joy-Con. That's a lot of games -- including major titles like Mario Kart 8 -- but the PixelQuest Arcade Kit is going to be at its best when paired with something like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection or Metal Slug 3.
Watch Ariana Grande and The Roots make music with Nintendo Labo
Nintendo Labo presents new and innovative ways to use your Switch, and the musical aspect of this is on display in a video from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, along with The Roots and Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande sings "No Tears Left to Cry" and is accompanied by Fallon and members of The Roots on Nintendo Labo instruments. The sound is coming from the actual Switch instruments and the music is being played live. You can see the video below.
Nintendo Labo review: A labor of love
Over the last week, I've spent more than 20 hours folding and assembling cardboard, and I've learned a few things. One: You don't want to follow exactly in my footsteps. And two: Nintendo's Labo is ingenious. It's something few other companies could have produced and turns the Switch into so much more than a game console: With Labo, it's an engine powering a whole new world of DIY creations. The only downside? Building Labo kits can be a pretty huge time sink. But for some, that might be a good thing.
