Gift Guide: Games

Alright, I've decided to start out my holiday gift guide with a list of awesome games.

*Regarding all the holiday gifts I'm going to talk about this season (which hopefully will be a lot) - most, if not all, of them will be things I can personally vouch for as being wonderful products/services. I get a little nervous recommending something I haven't tried out myself, so if you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment for other readers to see!

Okay, onto awesome games!

Apples to Apples: This is a fantastic game of comparisons. I feel it is best played with a large group (at least 5 people) and even works well when you have little ones around. We played it tonight at my dad's birthday party (observed), and my son was well-attended to even though all the adults were playing. The game changes every time you play and can spark some interesting conversations.

Blokus: This abstract board game involves setting tiles down into a grid, hoping to use up all your tiles and block your opponents. It comes in a regular square block version as well as a "trigon" version; I have played both and have found them to be equally enjoyable. It reminds me a lot of the tangrams you get to play with when you're a kid and can be equally as mentally stimulating.

Settlers of Catan: This board game originally hails from Germany, though it seems to have acquired quite the following here in the States. I like to think of it as a combination of Monopoly and Risk, and though I don't really care for either of those games I do love this one. Expansion packs and other add-ons are available, but the original is classic all on its own. One caveat ... when played amongst very, very competitive people this game has been known to cause a little conflict; beware, and play at your own risk.

Trivial Pursuit: This is a perennial favorite at our house; we have probably four or five versions of it floating around. I personally prefer the Genus versions of the game that encompass all time and genres; I find the specialized ones a little too difficult. We had the 20th anniversary edition and it only took on the previous 20 years, causing most of the questions to delve into the insanely obscure. That said, I received the Easy-Medium-Hard edition last year and have really enjoyed playing that.

Bananagrams: Wonderfully portable and easily molded to your time and player constraints, this game is similar to Scrabble but turns it up a notch by adding in the speed factor. No need to count up points and worry about how you are going to best use your high-scoring tiles; this game focuses on making the most words in the least amount of time. Bonus: it can really help you become a better speller!

Scrabble: We love Scrabble at our house and play it more than pretty much any other game around. Our travel version, in particular, gets a lot of use because we can tote it from room to room while we get other things done without worrying about whether the tiles are going to shift. Combine the travel version with a Scrabble dictionary for a great gift!

Yahtzee: As this classic is a bit on the noisy side, we don't often get a chance to play it at our house (we play most games while Little B is asleep), but when we do play I remember how enjoyable Yahtzee can be! It is great to use to teach children about odds and strategy and can be so much fun for adults as it closely parallels poker.

Sequence: Yet another fun game that is wonderful for teaching the nuances of strategy. This board game combines Connect Four with traditional playing cards, and the result is fantastic fun for the whole family!

I highly recommend these games, both new and "classic", for the game-lover in your life!