Nintendo Labo's First Creators Contest Winners Include a Solar-Powered Accordion, and More

I've been watching a lot of The Great British Baking Show lately, and I've been enamored with the incredible ways bakers are able to decorate their cakes and pies and sponges and whatever other fancy pastry things. The results of Nintendo's first ever Nintendo Labo Creators Contest evoke the same sense of wonder; that pervasive thought of "how the heck is that even possible?"

Today, Nintendo revealed the first contest's winners. The contest was announced back on April 20, 2018, when Nintendo Labo was first released. A second contest kicks off on July 19 at 11a.m. PT, with the prize being a special edition Nintendo Labo-themed Switch that looks like cardboard. (A part of me is envious of future winners because of this.) For this particular contest, each winner will receive a framed certificate signed by Labo's developers, a special Labo-themed jacket, and a free Labo kit of their choice. The contest winners are split into three categories: Best Decorated Toy-Con, Best Toy-Con Mod Using Toy-Con Garage, and Best Original Invention Using Toy-Con Garage. The results are an amazing mish-mash of creativity, from a Legend of Zelda-themed Toy-Con Piano to a fully programmed analog alarm clock.

While all nine winners are commendable, the most endearing category is the Best Original Invention Using Toy-Con Garage section. Within it creative people cooked up not only original designs, but original ideas too. The winners in this section include a solar-powered accordion, a time-management game about making tea with cardboard teapots, and a game called Don't Break the Line that rewards the player with candy.

The Nintendo Labo has been one of the coolest projects to watch evolve over the months as players have gotten more and more thoughtful with it. With the recent patch for Mario Kart 8 to use the Motorbike Toy-Con with it, we can only hope that more games get patched with functionality to take advantage of more cardboard creations in the future. To see all the winners and read the judges' comments on why they won, head over to the Nintendo Labo Creators Contest winners page.