Save energy as well as your hard-earned dollars by playing at home this season. Here’s a selection of board games that will get your kids to gather ’round the kitchen table and team up, talk, think and LOL! You can even consider hosting a Games Party Night and earn money the SimplyFun way (see below).

From Hasbro:
Games are available at most major retailers and online at www.hasbro.com.

Go Global, No Passport Required
The first international edition of the game, MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition ($38.99, Ages 8 and up, 2 to 6 players) contains cities from Sydney to Shanghai, Tokyo to Toronto, voted on by enthusiasts worldwide. The internationally recognizable game board now includes game pieces iconic to each continent – such as a Koala and a cowboy hat, international houses and hotels, updated Community Chest and Chance cards and “Wind Energy” and “Solar Energy” utility spaces.

Twist & Hop
TWISTERHOPSCOTCH ($19.99, Ages 4 to 6, 1 or more players) combines the classic Twister game with playground mainstay hopscotch. No concrete is needed for your child to create a colorful hopscotch course using nonslip Twister rings in the hallway, living room or on the patio. Players spin the wheel to find out whether they will wiggle, sing, clap or hum while jumping or hopping from one colored ring to the next.

Is There a Doctor in the House?
Steady hands and nerves of steel are still required to play OPERATION ($14.99, Ages 6 and up, 1 or more players). But the game now brings more fun and laughter to the “O.R.” Everyone will get a kick out of new multisensory features like squishy “Funatomy” parts and silly, quirky sounds such as croaking frogs, flushing toilets and loud sneezes.

Sorry … Not!
Do you love to say “Sorry!” and not really mean it? Here’s your chance in the new SORRY!SLIDERS ($ 22.99, Ages 6 and up, 1 to 4 players). This tempting twist on the original has all the fun but revs up the revenge factor. Kids will love that the pawns are now on ball bearings and, like my son, will ask to play again and again. Slide your pawns down a track to the center target and push your opponents away for maximum points. Slide, collide, and score to win!

When Foul Play Equals Fun
In the newest incarnation of CLUE ($15.99, Ages 9 and up, 3 to 6 players), a party of the rich and famous goes horribly wrong when the host is found dead. Everyone knows something, but someone knows everything! Was it Plum in the guesthouse with a candlestick? Intrigue cards come into play when a guest lands on the question mark tile. Clock cards add a sense of urgency, helping to eliminate guests and place them alongside the first victim. New special powers help players discover clues more quickly. Some Clue classic weapons remain, including the knife, the rope and the candlestick, but now Scarlet, Green, White, Mustard, Plum and Peacock must watch their backs for a dumbbell, an axe, a baseball bat, a trophy and more! New rooms such as a theater and a spa add square footage to the scene of a Cluesome crime.

From Hasbro/Cranium
Games are available at most major retailers and online at www.cranium.com.

Can You Cadoo?
With eight different activities created especially for kids, CRANIUM CADOO ($19.99, Ages 7 and up, 2 or more players) is packed with acting, puzzling, sketching, sculpting, code-cracking fun – plus 300 new cards, deluxe decoder goggles and loads of surprises! Get four tokens in a row on the board to win. Perfect for after school or a sleepover with friends, CADOO gets kids giggling and grinning. It’s the perfect stay-at-home, play-anytime game, and takes just five minutes to learn and about 20 minutes to play.

High Fivin’, Thinkin’ on Your Feet Fun!
Forget party entertainers! CRANIUM HULLABALOO ($24.99, Ages 4 and up – reading not required, 2 or more players) can host your child’s next birthday party. The ideal playable-right-out-of-the-box game, the new HULLABALOO introduces speeds for both beginner and advanced game play. The high-energy game encourages listening skills, shape and color recognition and active play as kids jump, spin and dance across 16 colorful pads. The funky music, fun sounds and friendly voice of Hullabaloo gets kids bouncing, twisting, clapping and more. “Swim to a square. Bounce to a blue. Now … freeze!” Everyone touching the lucky pad wins. Also great for kids – rounds are one to three minutes long, so winners and grinners are frequent.

Chilling, Spelling and Swimming With The Bear
In CRANIUM POLAR BEAR A, B, C, ($9.99, Ages 3 and up, 2 players) parents explore Polar Bear’s Icy Letter Lake and make magical learning moments with their preschooler. Children will learn early reading skills and have fun fishing, too! Polar Bear loves nothing more than swimming in Icy Lake and helping players match the letters they find in the lake with the letters and pictures on the 15 POLAR BEAR A-B-C word cards. Spell a word and – splash! – Polar Bear gets to take a dip.

Quacky Counting Fun
Cultivate your child’s early learning skills by playing CRANIUM DUCK DUCK 1, 2, 3 ($9.99, Ages 3 and up, 2 players). Mama’s ducklings are loose in the park – on the playground, at the picnic and in the pool. Can you help round them up and count your way to the pond for a Mama Ducky reunion? DUCK DUCK 1, 2, 3 helps little ones with counting skills and turn-taking as they spin the spinner, count spaces around the board and gather Mama’s three lost ducklings.

A Barking Good Time
WALK THE DOGS ($32, Ages 6 and up, 2 to 5 players) is “perhaps SimplyFun's most popular product,” says SimplyFun co-founder and Chief Marketing Funster Matt Molen. “Kids love to play it because of the cute doggies, and adults really get into the simple, yet compelling, strategy of the game. Most of all, I love that it only takes 20 minutes to play!” Guaranteed to get your “Best in Show” lined in a row, a spiral, an “S” shape or zig-zag. Watch out for dogcatcher cards, because all your pooches will go ka-poof! A portability plus: WALK THE DOGS comes with a handy Doggie Bag, making this a great bring along for family outings or vacations.


Paddling Pandemonium
“Just when you think you've got this game mastered, somebody plays a crazy twist on you,” says Matt Molen about KAYAK CHAOS ($28, Ages 8 and up, 2 to 4 players). “Plus those little kayaks are pretty cool.” Be the first to maneuver your kayak up, down, and across a river that you build as you go. But be careful – rocks and competing kayakers are bound to stir up chaos! My 7-year-old son sure gave me a run for the money, playing with a vengeance and almost beating me to the river’s end.

To the Antarctic and Beyond!
Get out your anoraks and get ready to travel across Antarctica with Riley and his family. Play ADVENTURES OF RILEY: PENGUIN RESCUE ($32, Ages 4 and up, 2 to 6 players) and race to rescue five penguins in danger and return them home safely! The first adventurer to collect all five penguins and make it back home again wins the game. Packed with informative facts, twists and turns, PENGUIN RESCUE is based on the award-winning book Adventures of Riley: South Pole Penguins.

And Turtle Wins the Race
Inspired by the ancient Chinese game of Mahjong and created by Huntington Beach resident Cynthia Pickens, TURTLEMANIA ($49, Ages 6 and up, unlimited number of players) is a fast-paced game, playable in just 10 minutes. The goal: Dismantle 135 colorful, unique tiles by matching identical pairs as fast as you can. Move quickly to make the most matches and earn more points.

From Perseus Books
Available at www.perseusbooksgroup.com/runningpress

Way Out Wishing Star Whimsy
Bed time! Bath time!
Hello, Moon!
Night has come,
But it’s too soon!

Rated 10 out of 10 by my 7-year-old, DREAM MACHINES (Mark Rogalski, Running Press, $15.95) ponders that age-old question, “What’s a tyke who can’t tucker out to do?” With this innovative combination of board game and colorfully illustrated book, children will clamor to climb aboard the Dream Machines and blast off for adventures through sea, land and sky in search of a special star – the Wishing Star! Want more? Unfold the cover to reveal a board game that takes this quest to a whole new dimension jam-packed with breath-taking sights and startling discoveries for restless minds of all ages.

From Disney Stores
These toys are found exclusively at Disney Store locations. Call 800-757-5933 or visit www.disneystore.com for information.

Hop Into Number Fun
LITTLE EINSTEIN’S HOPSCOTCH FUN PLAY SET ($14.50, Ages 2 and up, 2 or more players) will help little ones take fun steps toward learning numbers and gaining coordination. The 10 colorful, interlocking foam squares feature Little Einsteins Leo, June, Quincy, Annie and Rocket, and other images, as well as numbers to make playtime smiles just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Tossin’ and Turnin’
TIGGER TOSS ($12.50, Ages 3 and up, 2 or more players) is an interactive, plush 6-inch Tigger head that responds to kids (like hot potato) or for older kids, use the cards for a variety of fun games. They'll enjoy delicious fun with Tigger's Hot Potato Game. Press cuddly Tigger's nose and pass him on quickly before he stops going “Boing!!!” There are special category cards with fun color identification and categorization activities.

From Haba
Available from Acorn Store, 1220 Fifth St., Santa Monica, 310-451-5845; and Three Cheeky Monkeys, 10800 West Pico Blvd., #264, L.A., 310-470-7060, www.Moolka.com.

All Aboard Your Broomsticks
Take a bewitching ride when playing LITTLE THUNDER WITCH ($14 Ages 5 and up, 2 to 4 players). Finally it’s the night of the witches! In this fun game, Little Thunder Witch flies for the very first time to the Witches’ Mountain. She is so excited that her lightning keeps confusing the other witches. Who will land first on the Witches’ Mountain?

A Raven Good Time
This is a slimmed down version of the original ORCHARD game we’ve had at home for at least 10 years. LITTLE ORCHARD ($22, Ages 3-8, 1 to 4 players) is popular because no player ever feels like they’re losing. And that applies to mean old hungry raven, too! In this game the children harvest all the cherries before the raven has reached the tree. It’s really a co-operative race using color dice, plus the kids all love setting up and playing with the 3D cherry tree.


Have You Got the Touch?
The secret of GRAB BAG ($20, Ages 4 and up, 2 to 4 players) is in the fingertips. Players have to guess what’s in their bag by feeling its shape from the outside. The first to “get the feeling” gets the prize. An exciting and variable game for players with talented fingers.




Mutineers and Buccaneers, ahoy!
So, Mateys, ye be wantin’ to go to sea? Play PIRATE BLAST ($22, Ages 5 and up, 2 players) and hobble aboard. A stormy wind buffets the vessel of the black pirate toward an island – a treasure island! Vladimir Windjammer, however, has already pillaged the treasures and positions his cannon ready for “The Duel.”

Calling All Knaves!
Like in many other Haba games, the goal in CASTLE KNIGHTS ($40, Ages 5 and up, 2 to 4 players) is working as a team because, all you Castle Knights out there, “Together We Are Strong!” King Duncan is coming home, so move quickly because the construction of the castle towers has to be finished. A cooperative building game that gets you inspired as you build spires.

From Educational Insights
The company’s products are in use in elementary schools across the country.
Products are available at www.educationalinsights.com.

Cloudy With a Chance of Word Storm
The forecast is fun in WORD STORM ($29.99, Ages 8 and up, 2 to 8 players), a fast-paced, crossword-building game where all players simultaneously attempt to make intersecting words. Create words both vertically and horizontally then, on another turn, throw caution to the wind and rearrange your words. Players who have used all their letters yell “Word Storm,” and everyone takes four more letters. Points are accumulated based on the value of letter tiles each player has at the end of game. The person with the lowest point total wins. WORD STORM teaches word formation, problem solving and strategic thinking and is bound to unleash a torrent of word-building fun in your family. I loved the ability to completely change my crossword and constantly create new words.

From Imagination Games:
Available online at www.wiggitybang.com.

A Silly Doodle
Great for gigglers, FLAPDOODLE($20, Ages 6 and up, 3 to 6 players) calls itself a game of totally silly nonsensical fun. Players compete as one of six characters including Super Ninja Monkey, Pirate Luigi Pepperoni and The Platypus. Just pick up a card and do what the card tells you to do. “Name eight different crayon colors.” “Take off your shoes and socks and pretend that your big toes are named Gus and Earl. Make them talk to each other about potato chips.” Landing on a Ms. Goody Gumdrops space gets you a Ms. Goody Gumdrops card, which can help you move ahead during the game: “The next time you pass another player on the board, you may move ahead one extra space if you remember to say, ‘Beep. Beep! Coming through!’” But watch out for Mr. Sourface, the cranky old man who tries to slow you down with crotchety demands and remarks such as, “Mr. Sourface says that all the lettuce fell out of his taco! Move back one space.” The first player to make it through the FlapDoodle factory and reach the finish wins the game!