ShareThisYou may have noticed the recent ad campaign from some of the larger game and toy companies pushing "family game nights." The thinking, I'm guessing, is that the family that plays together, well, refrains from satanic sacrificial rites together.
The range and quality of board games out there today far surpass anything we may have grown up with as kids, and in spite of the competing allures of online gaming, there is still something elementally satisfying about the roll of the dice and the click-clack of little wooden counters.
Plus, in these tough economic times, can you really afford to go out anymore? Of course not -- which is where board games come in. One quick purchase amortizes nicely over many nights of brainy or brainless fun, as you prefer.
Here, then, is a consumer guide to some of the year's new releases, along with a couple of holdovers that I couldn't resist throwing into the mix.
FAMILY GAMES
DOMINION (Rio Grande, $44.95; two to four players; ages 8 and up; 30 minutes): This elegant, addictive card game is the runaway hit of the year; talk to any game enthusiast and he or she will start bending your ear about it. For good reason, too. The goal and play mechanism are beguilingly simple: You build a growing deck containing money, victory-point and action cards, and hope that your deck's virtues will allow you to outmaneuver your opponents. The gimmick is that, out of 25 types of action cards, only 10 are used in any one game -- which means that Dominion is actually 3,268,760 games in one box.
WITCH'S BREW (Rio Grande, $39.95; three to five players; ages 9 and up; 45 minutes): This is that rare success, a game that plays just as well in a casual family setting as it does among more serious strategizers. You get 12 cards depicting various characters -- alchemist, warlock, monk and so on -- and compete with your opponents to use each character's powers to create spells and potions.
QWIRKLE (MindWare, $24.95; two to four players; ages 6 and up; 30-60 minutes): This is actually a leftover from last year, when the game proved so popular that nobody could keep it in stock, and even eager game reviewers couldn't find a copy. It's not a life-changer, but it's a deft blend of dominos and Set passing itself off as an educational toy.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Parker Brothers, $34.99; two to six players; ages 12 and up; 60 minutes): Trivial Pursuit holds up pretty well at the quarter-century mark, especially considering some of the creakiness built into the game-play mechanism (three spaces forward, four spaces back, sigh). The new wrinkle this year -- not a bad one, all told -- is that the questions are divided into easy, medium and hard, and your roll determines which level you have to answer.
YAHTZEE FREE FOR ALL (Parker Brothers, $18.99; two to six players; ages 8 and up; 30 minutes): In this new variant on the classic dice-rolling game, you turn up three cards with the Yahtzee combinations on them and score only for getting the rolls on those cards. Alternatively, you can steal opponents' cards by beating their rolls.
STRATEGY GAMES
STONE AGE (Rio Grande, $44.95; two to four players; ages 10 and up; 60 to 90 minutes): This is easily the finest new general-admission strategy game of the year, boasting a combination of elegance and depth that few can match. In this prehistoric setting, players compete to forge a civilization through a variety of possible strategies -- you can win by mastering agriculture, developing religion, amassing material wealth, diversifying your cultural output or simply out-populating your neighbors. Game play depends on a delicate blend of luck and foresight, and the physical design is beautiful.
VIKINGS (Rio Grande, $34.95; two to four players; ages 10 and up; 60 minutes): This terrific game actually surfaced last year, but we're sneaking it in now because it hasn't received the attention it deserves. Vikings combines geographical placement and resource management, as players lay out islands populated by Norsemen of various abilities (goldsmiths, warriors, fishermen and so on). What sets the game apart is the ingenious auction mechanism, which ensures that the pieces you want will eventually become affordable -- usually right after an opponent has snatched them up.
WASABI (Z-Man, $34.99; two to four players; ages 10 and up; 30 to 45 minutes): The physical design of Wasabi, in which players act as sushi chefs racing to complete both elaborate and simple creations, is over-the-top beautiful; the game even comes with little dishes for the dabs of wasabi that serve as extra points. It's too bad the game itself isn't more appetizing. The goal is to follow recipes by placing ingredient tiles on a shared central board, which is easy enough at first. But as the board fills up, the game bogs down.
PARTY GAMES
GIFT TRAP (Gift Trap, $29.99; three to eight players; ages 6 and up; 30 minutes): The surprise hit of the season. This looked like one of those "how well do you know your friends?" yawners, but turned out to be addictively delightful. You lay out an array of possible gifts, ranging from economical (toe socks) to extravagant (luxury Peruvian adventure), then secretly rate their desirability for you, and give one to each player. A welcome gift scores points for both giver and receiver, so you have to be considerate to win -- and also not be a diva.
BACKSEAT DRAWING (Out of the Box, $24.99; four to eight players; ages 12 and up; 20 to 30 minutes): If you're a fan of the drawing game Pictionary, this ingenious variation on the game will double your pleasure. Once again, you use a quick sketch to get your teammates to guess a simple word or phrase; the catch is that you don't draw it yourself. Instead, you have to instruct someone else -- who doesn't know the target phrase -- using only basic geometrical shapes. A rectangle here, some ovals there, and -- yes, you got it, it's the Lincoln Memorial!
HUMM BUG (Outset Media, $19.99; three or more players; ages 14 and up; 30 to 45 minutes): The entire category of "name that tune" is challenging enough in its basic form; imagine trying to identify pop songs based on the toneless humming of your friends and family. This lively party game is built around that premise, with a diverse bunch of titles spanning the 1950s through recent hits, plus a miscellaneous handful of show tunes, folk songs and seasonal favorites.
WHERE TO BUY
Most of the games listed here should be readily available online, either from the game site www.funagain.com or from other retailers, such as Amazon. But your first try should be an independent game store. Even more than books or music, board games represent an area where expert advice can be indispensable.
(E-mail Joshua Kosman at jkosman(at)sfchronicle.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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