The great thing about board games, said Beth Pederson, manager of The Game Keeper store at Crossroads Plaza, "is that you buy them once and you can play them over and over. You get great value for your entertainment dollars."

You can easily spend $30-40 dollars going out to a movie, she said. "For that same money, you can get something that you can get together with over and over." Plus, she added, "games are great for making memories."

So it's not surprising that gamemakers are continually coming out with new and different ways to play. Here's a look at some of what's exciting and new for 2003:

Trivia games

• Hear Me Out has a political theme. Players must answer "survey says" or "brainstorm" questions or perform "sound-bite" rants while maneuvering around a board that offers party changes, White House visits and stock-market interactions.

• Teams of Enemies is for those people who always seem to get on the wrong team — not to worry. Teams change every round. But at the very end, you'll have only yourself to rely on.

• Odds'R — All questions are odds-based or deal with most-likely places or events. Players place bets on how others players will do in answering. You can throw your answer — but it'll cost you.

• Beat the Experts pits you head-to-head with the likes of Danny Glover, Willard Scott, Dr. Ruth and Bill Nye to see who answers the most questions correctly.

• Scene-It — A DVD-based game where players are shown a film clip and then must answer questions.

Popular icons

• Lord of the Rings — Two adult trivia games (one based on the movie, from the makers of Trivial Pursuit) and one based on the book are available. A children's board game (ages 6 and up) and "Lord of the Rings" chess are other options.

• Peanuts — The popular cartoon characters show up on Monopoly (complete with six collectible pewter playing pieces), chess (with Charlie Brown as king and Lucy as queen) and Uno (with its very own "Good Grief" card).

• Simpsons — Homer, Marge, Bart and the gang get involved in the Battle of the Sexes.

New variations