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Spell a word backwards, hum a tune, answer a multiple-choice question, draw with your eyes closed, and more when you play Cranium. Unlike games that focus on only a few skills, Cranium offers 14 talent-tapping activities designed to bring out the best in you and your friends.

This compact version of Scrabble, the old-fashioned family favorite, will make a long train commute or cross-country plane journey pass more quickly. The 10-by-11-inch plastic board with its raised squares holds the tiles securely while you play, then folds up to become a neat, sturdy, 6-by-11-inch carrying case for the clear plastic letter racks and the cloth bag of tiles (you can use the bag for drawing letters).

Play a card from your hand, place a chip on the corresponding space on the game surface... when you have 5 in a row, it's a Sequence. Learn to block your opponents, remove their chips. Watch out for the Jacks--they're wild! With a little luck and strategy you're the winner!

Black and oyster white molded plastic pieces each indicate which directions pieces can move. Perfect for the beginner or young enthusiast. The "American Chess Foundation" is using Cardinal Chess Sets for their chess in schools program throughout the country.

Move over Lara Croft, there's a new cybergirl in town. She's tough, she's mean, and she can make a grown adult cry in seconds. She's Anne Robinson, appearing in all her black-hearted glory in the new interactive PC game The Weakest Link. Up to seven players can play at once with any combination of human or computer-controlled players.

Monopoly is a multiplayer game that is based on a very simple concept, buying, trading and selling properties. It allows 8 people to play at a time, and lets the people, who are playing, have choices of 26 properties (22 properties and 4 railroads.)

Hasbro Interactive has managed to make an old-time favorite even better. This version of Monopoly includes the features we have loved for years--Boardwalk, Community Chest, Go Directly to Jail cards--but enhances enjoyment with some new features. Players can completely redesign the game board by importing their own images or using the included clip art.

Sure, this real estate trading game has been the world's most popular board game for more than six decades, but what makes this edition "deluxe"? For one thing, it brings back the sturdy wooden (not plastic) houses and hotels of years gone by. It also features an extra gold-colored train token, a handy holder for the Title Deed cards, and a banker's tray to keep your cash on hand.

Most of us have played the Monopoly board game. Have you ever wondered who lives in Marvin Gardens? According to Monopoly Tycoon, the answer is voters. All of the elements of the family-favorite board game have been turned into a 3-D city-building simulation.

Fans of Harry Potter (especially the Harry Potter movie) won't want to miss a chance to explore both the Chess Room and the Room of the Winged Keys in LEGO form. And although this 175-piece playset doesn't exactly give you a lot of square footage, it does include some neat extras: keys with wings, a shingled roof, a spider in its web, a broomstick (a must), a chess piece, and--of course--Harry himself, joined by his good pal Ron Weasley.

It's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, there's only one "X" in the whole box, and family feuds are increasing exponentially. But after 50 years, Scrabble has had a face-lift: a swivel base allows the board to turn so players don't have to work upside down, a plastic grid helps keep tiles in line, and a handy bag stores the letters when they're not in use.

Chess set for muggles like the one the students at Hogwarts play.