The best ways to get 'board'

• Rolit (Goliath Games): Surround your opponent's playing pieces and switch them to your color. The one with the most pieces in their color at the end of the game wins.

• It's Alive (Reiver Games): Play mad scientist and be the first to create your monster by collecting body parts, but watch out for the wrathful villagers who may come after you.

PARTY GAMES

• Wits and Wagers (North Star Games): A multi-award winning trivia game for people who don't do trivia. Each player writes a guess to a question such as "In feet, how tall is the tallest recorded giraffe" or "In what year did the bikini make its first appearance." Then players wager on which answer is the closest. You can even bet on yourself.

• Time's Up (R&R Games): A new deluxe version of a previously published game, it involves guessing the names of celebrities or characters. In the first round, anything goes for clues; in the second round you can use only words; in the third round, it's charades.

• Loaded Questions: Political Party (All Things Equal, Inc.): The latest edition of the Loaded Questions games elicits creative, irreverent and revelatory answers. Your job is to guess who wrote which answer to questions such as: What government job is best suited to your abilities? What is America's greatest contribution to the world? Who would make a terrible first lady?

• Word Sweep (Start Space Games): Players use dictionary clues to identify consecutive words from a Merriam-Webster dictionary. Identify three straight words and that's a "word sweep."

KIDS GAMES

• Arthur Saves the Planet (Sophisticated Games): Based on the popular books and TV series, this empowering game allows kids to work together to make Elwood City a better place.

• The Adventures of Riley: Penguin Rescue (SimplyFun): Based on the award-winning book, the game features a race to Antarctica to rescue penguins. The first adventurer to collect five and return home wins the game, but along the way are informative facts, twists and turns.

• Pengolo (Blue Orange): Roll the dice, lift the penguins and try to find their colorful eggs. The first to collect six penguins wins. A good memory and a little luck will help.