Family games

• Settlers of Catan (Mayfair, $42). There's a new version of this classic game with a frame to hold pieces and upgraded components. "Settlers of Catan was the first euro-style game to make a big splash," says Jones. This version takes a best seller and makes it better."

• Ticket to Ride: Switzerland (Days of Wonder, $25). This is another expansion of a best-selling franchise, this time set in a different country.

• Incan Gold (Sunriver Games, $19.95). This is a push-your-luck game. Go for more treasure but risk losing what you have. "I take it everywhere I go," says Jones. "It's really a neat game. It has a very high fun factor."

Gamers' games

• Talisman (Black Industries, $50). This also is a new reprint of a classic game that a lot of adults will remember playing as kids, says Jones. It's a fantasy game featuring the use of special powers to fight monsters.

• StarCraft (Fantasy Flight Games, $79.95). A computer game that has been turned into a board game. "It came out as a beautiful game," says Jones. It's an epic fantasy-adventure game that can take three hours to play.

• Hannibal Rome vs. Carthage (Avalon Hill, $64.95). Another out-of-print game that has been selling for up to $200 on eBay, says Jones, and now reintroduced. "It's a fantastic little game, one of the best war games ever."

• Tannhauser (Fantasy Flight Games, $59.95). An alternate history game based on the premise that World War I didn't end, but the Nazis still came along and now are trying to unlock the dark cornerstones of hell, while union forces try to stop them.

Party games

• FlapDoodle and Quelf (Wiggity Bang Games, $24.95 and $29.95). You may have to take off your shoes and make your toes talk to each other in this crazy Cranium-like game. FlapDoodle is for the younger set; Quelf for the older ones.

• Attribute (Z-Man Games, $15). Similar to the popular Apples to Apples but preferred by some gamers. It adds a new twist in that you can play a card with an opposite or a matching theme, depending on the sheep cards you have.