Jones' personal all-time favorite is called Tikal, which won the Spiel de Jahres (a German award considered the game-world's Oscar) in 1999. In this game, each player is the director of an expedition intent on exploring secret paths that lead to the temples and treasures of Tikal.

Sartain's personal favorite is called Labyrinth, which has also been out for quite a few years. In this game, you lay tiles randomly to create a maze. The goal is for each player to collect certain treasures. An extra tile card lets you change the maze on each turn, to help your marker move or to block your opponents.

Many dedicated gamers agree that the area where the most exciting developments are occurring these days are in the European and European-style games. "U.S. sales of these games are definitely trending up," says Jones.

For the most part these games share several characteristics, he says. "They play in about an hour. There's a lot of player interaction. When it's not my turn, there are still things for me to do. No players are eliminated. There's relatively little luck involved. And there's beautiful artwork."

While these games may cost a bit more, he says, "it"s worth it. They are fun to play with. If you're going to sit there for an hour, you want something nice to look at."

Some of the newest trends and games Jones has noticed in the area of Euro and Euro-style games include:

Box as board: Some of the newest games incorporate the box into the layout of the game, which adds another dimension to play.

In Niagara, for example, the box becomes part of a flowing river. Players move canoes along the river, trying to collect crystals. But the players can control the speed of the rivers, which may sweep some players overboard.

With Cleopatra, the objective is to build a palace around and over the box. Players collect cards with powers and must come up with the right combination of resources to help with the building.

Great graphics: Rich colors, quality pieces, thick card stock all add to the aesthetics. The winner of this year's Spiel de Jahres, Thurn (pronounced "turn") and Taxis, is a prime example. In this postal-delivery game, players try to control various areas of Bavaria. "There are lots of ways to collect points and so many ways to play. It's a lot of fun," says Jones.

"Middle-weight" play: Many of the new games have light and fun themes that don't involve building new worlds or saving universes. Shear Panic, for example, involves a flock of sheep. The goal is to avoid getting sheared, while getting as close to possible to the Romeo-like ram. "It looks simple, but there is a lot of strategy involved," says Jones.