You can learn other things, as well. "They are great mental exercise. Sometime you don't realize how little you use some parts of your brain," says Sartain. Numerous studies have shown that game playing can help with memory skills and may help prevent Alzheimer's.

Some of the euro-style games are not exactly cheap, but you are paying for quality, says Jones. Plus, adds Sartain, games have a long lifetime. "You can go back to games again and again, long after toys have worn out or lost interest."

This week, Nov. 18-24, has been set aside as National Games Week to promote the play "of nonelectronic games for their social, educational and entertainment values," says Jones. So it's a good time to look at some of the new and exciting things that are going on in the world of games:

Big award winners

One of the most prestigious awards in the game world is Germany's Spiel des Jahres, or Game of the Year award. This year's winner is a game called Zooloretto (Rio Grande, $44.95), based on the premise that each player has a zoo and must collect species cards according to certain requirements. "It's cute, friendly and plays well," says Jones.

Each year Games magazine names its top 100 traditional games and picks a Game of the Year. This year's winner is Pillars of the Earth (Mayfair, $49), a cathedral-building game that is based on the book by Ken Follett. "It blesses gamers of all levels with a tremendous number of choices, and it plays splendidly with any number of contestants," says the magazine. It also won the Deutscher Spiele Preis, an award for gamer's games (those who like more strategy and complex play).

Other games include:

Games with high wow factor

• 1960: Making of the President (Z-Man Games, $49.95). A two-player game where you control such things as issues, media, endorsements and other aspects of the Nixon-Kennedy campaign, and where either side can win. "The theme did nothing for me," says Jones, "but after I've played it, all I can say is wow! It's an amazing game that accidentally teaches about the American election cycle. It's an exceptionally cool game."

• Master Labyrinth (Ravensburger, $39.99). Fans of the Labyrinth game — and there are many — will be happy to know there is a more skilled, more deluxe version, says Sartain. "It's a great one."