Boggle

Boggle is a timed word game in which players have 3 minutes to find as many connected words as possible from the face up letters resting in a 16 cube grid. When the timer runs out, players compare their lists of words and remove any words found by multiple players. Points are then awarded for remaining words, depending on how many letters are in the word. (In the original Boggle, all words must contain 3 or more letters to score points.)

Scrabble

In this classic word game, players use their seven drawn letter-tiles to form words on the game board. Each word laid out earns points based on the commonality of the letters used, with certain board spaces giving bonuses. But a word can only be played if it uses at least one already-played tile or adds to an already-played word. This leads to slightly tactical play, as potential words are rejected because they would give an opponent too much access to the better bonus spaces.

Scattergories

Published in 1988 by Milton Bradley, is a great game for any group to play. In the game each player fills out a category list 'with answers that begin with the same letter.' If no other player matches your answers, you score points. The game is played in rounds. After 3 rounds a winner is declared, and a new game can be begun.

Cranium

Cranium bills itself as the "whole-brain" game. It's a party game that borrows from a host of other popular party games of recent times. Players have to successfully complete activities in each of four sections to win:

• Creative Cat: A player must clue a word to his or her teammates by drawing it, sculpting it in clay, or drawing it with his or her eyes closed.

• Data Head: A variety of trivia questions.

• Word Worm: Players unscramble words, spell challenging words, guess definitions, identify words with letters left out, or spell words backwords.

• Star Performer: players must whistle a song, impersonate a celebrity, or act out a clue.

Trivial Pursuit

Trivial Pursuit is the original trivia game that started it all. Each player has a circular playing piece with six pie-shaped holes. The goal of the game is to collect a pie in each color. The colors correspond to different question categories.

The board consists of a circular track with spaces in seven different colors. Six of the colors correspond to question categories while the last color gives a new dice roll. Six spaces along the track are "pie spaces", and from these there are "spokes" of track leading to the middle of the board.

Players roll a die and move along the track in any direction they like. When a player stops on a color they get a question of the appropriate category. If the player answers a question correctly while on a pie space, they get a pie of that color (assuming they don't already have it). A correct answer on another square allows the player to roll again.

Once the player has one pie in each color, she can move along the spokes to the middle of the board to win the game.