Board game season finally has arrived!

Now that the kids are back in school and the days are getting cooler and shorter, a lot of our "family time" is spent indoors. In our home, we've just entered board game season.

We've picked up a few new titles from Blue Orange, San Francisco, Calif., the makers of one of our favorites, Gobblet! We love strategy games and they have a couple that are just right for play with younger children. First up is Zimbbos! Elephantastic Pyramids ($24.95). The object is to stack 10 wooden elephants into a sort of pyramid without crashing. This fast-paced game is easy to play and exciting for youngsters whether they win or crash. (Even if they win, they still like to make the pyramid crash.)

Topitop: An Avalanche of Strategy is played on a board with nine snowflake spaces. Players take turns moving hats and snowballs to create snowmen. This is another quick-moving game with simple instructions that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

In Ringgz ($29.95), players place rings on a board with 25 territories in the hopes of having enough rings on to capture the majority of the territories. Players must employ a strategy that includes patience and observation to beat opponents.

For more information on these hot games for a cool planet, visit www.blueorangegames.com.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

COPYRIGHT 2006 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning