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Deluxe Scrabble by Milton Bradley

It's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, there's only one "X" in the whole box, and family feuds are increasing exponentially. But after 50 years, Scrabble has had a face-lift: a swivel base allows the board to turn so players don't have to work upside down, a plastic grid helps keep tiles in line, and a handy bag stores the letters when they're not in use. The premise hasn't changed at all--two to four players battle it out to make high-scoring words from seven little letters--so choose a dictionary before play begins to avoid ugly confrontations. --Lynne Sampson

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Beyond Balderdash Size (in inches): 12.13 x 8.25 x 3.25

Full of hot air? Get some mileage out of it! Test your knowledge (real and/or make-believe) as well as your bluffing ability in this creative word game. There are five categories of questions (words, people, initials, movies, and dates). A question is selected from one of the categories and each player writes down an answer, either trying to answer the question correctly or hoping to bluff the other players with an inventive, believable-sounding answer. You score points for guessing the correct answer or fooling the others with your phony answer. Thinking cap required. --Alison Golder

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Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Board Game Box Size (in inches): 3.0 x 10.38 x 14.0

Who Wants To Be A Millionare board game brings home the excitement and the tension of TV's hottest game show. Each player gets to act as host while the other players try to win more and more money by answering questions. The game includes 1000 cards, five question and answer card consoles, lots of fake money, lifeline tokens, and instructions.

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Cranium Hullabaloo This game is sort of like Twister meets Simon Says. Lay the Hullabaloo pads around on the floor about two 'kid's feet' away from each other. The pads are different shapes and colors and have pictures and words on them. Turn on the game console and the cheerful music begins, a happy voice welcomes you to the game and then gives the simple directions you'll need to play. "Jump on a square shape," "Slide over to a red shape," "Hop to a shape with an animal on it" and so on. Then it might tell you to freeze, or to put a body part on one pad, and then a different body part on another. Then, it'll tell you that if you are on a particular pad at the end of that round, you are the winner. We found it to be fun, and easy to understand--though we did wonder how long it might hold a child's interest. --Megan Sullivan

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Lord of the Rings Expansion Friends & Foes Friends & Foes adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay, giving you more choices, but making your task no less difficult or perilous. This expansion will truly enhance your experience of taking part in the extraordinary board game interpretation of J. R. R. Tolkien's great novel. Friends & Foes provides two completely new Scenario boards, Bree and Isengard, as well as 21 new Feature cards. Find new friends to help you conquer the challenges ahead: Tom Bombadil, Glorfindel, Treebeard, Strider and many more. In addition, this Expansion introduces 30 dark Foes ready to bedevil your journey. Face the evil Spiders of Mirkwood, Orcs of the Red Eye, Cave-trolls, Wolf Riders and Barrow Wights - to name but a few of your new adversaries. Requires the original game to play

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Standard Scrabble Size (in inches): 14.5 x 7.5 x 1.5

After all these years, it's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, and there's only one "X" in the whole box. The game of Scrabble has sparked feuds and a near-cult following. All the fuss is over a spelling game that hasn't had an upgrade in 50 years. It takes a little luck and a lot of skill to make high-scoring words out of seven little letters, sometimes with an overabundance of vowels and letters that don't go together--sometimes there's Q without U. Two to four players battle it out on the board, and while some players might be proud of impressive words ("I spelled gestalt!"), skilled players know how to use the premium letter and word squares on the 225-square board to their best advantage. This crossword game has strict rules (no names, no slang) and comes with a warning label: "Choose a dictionary first to avoid any ugly word disputes." --Lynne Sampson

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Crocodile Hunter Game Box Size (in inches): 10.5 x 15.75 x 4.0

Whether or not they are familiar with Steve and Terri Irwin's TV show, junior crocodile hunters will enjoy this toothsome board game. Agro the Croc--actually a rather friendly looking motorized critter on wheels--roams around an enclosed game board, looking for handy ankles to chomp. Depending on the cards they draw, players may be on a safe spot as they hop around the board... or not. People-shaped play tokens sit in spring-loaded holders, and they're sent flying into the air if Agro bumps into them. A fun twist on the ordinary board game for players aged 5 years and older. Agro requires two AA batteries (not included), and adult assembly is required. --Richard Farr

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Wise and Otherwise

Box Size (in inches): 10.75 x 10.75 x 4.25

Voted a Best Party Game of the Year by Games magazine, Wise and Otherwise belongs next to Pictionary and Scrabble in your arsenal of fun. This creative, interactive game (read: everybody shouting, flailing, laughing) revolves around 500 cards, each emblazoned with five obscure and long-forgotten sayings from around the world. For example, one old Chinese saying is, "Don't add salt to a boatload of salt fish." One side of the card states, "Don't add salt to..." and it is the job of the players to devise probable endings. "Don't add salt to salty soup," for example. Or, "Don't add salt to the open wound." (The actual endings are listed on the flip sides of the cards.) A player wins points when other players vote for his or her special ending, or when the player guesses the actual ending, so the goal is to finish the proverb as convincingly as possible given the geographic region in question. Each elegant box contains one game board, 500 cards, six writing pads, six pencils, one die, and six player pawns. People who love language, oddly hilarious translations, offbeat proverbs, or just making people look foolish by guessing their very clever answers will adore this game. We predict: The one who plays this game ... will hear the laughter.

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Loaded Questions Box Size (in inches): 10.0 x 10.0 x 3.0

A party game that tests players on how well they know each other with more than 500 creative and hilarious questions.

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Scene It? Deluxe TV Tin DVD Game

Scene It? Deluxe TV Tin. Now available in a distinctive tin, Scene It? Deluxe TV Edition contains 2 game DVDs with extra clips, trivia cards, token and puzzlers. From Leave it to Beaver and The Brady Bunch to Alias and Malcom in the Middle.

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Scattergories Size (in inches): 13.25 x 10.75 x 2.88

Scattergories is a fast-paced word game that's a real crowd pleaser. Each player takes a category list with 12 categories--such as vegetable, state, president, things you throw away--and must write down the name of one item that fits into each category. Sounds easy enough, but each item has to begin with a specific letter that is determined when the 20-sided die is rolled. For instance, you roll the letter "R." Your answer list for the above categories might look something like this: rutabaga, Rhode Island, Roosevelt, rubbish, etc. You have to think fast, because a round lasts only 3 minutes! Players score points for each unique answer. --Alison Golder

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Mindtrap Box Size (in inches): 7.7 x 3.9 x 3.9

"King Henry VIII gave his wife a bottomless container to put flesh and blood in. What did he give her?" "How could you give someone $63 using six bills, without using one-dollar bills?" Mindtrap's more than 500 riddles, mysteries, and trick questions will have you scratching your head as you puzzle out the answers. Two teams of one or more players try to out-reason each other as they respond to questions correctly and roll the die to advance around the score pad, which features entwined chains of light and dark squares that form an optical illusion. Play a long round or short, at home or in the car, or just tease your own brain by reading through the questions. The score pad, die, and cards are kept neat in a sturdy, travel-size cardboard game box.