Games should be for life, not just Christmas, but if you are looking for an alternative to charades then look no further. I've listed ten brilliant games that are all available to buy via mail-order and online. Some of the games are available in your local independent games shop, and some of them are only available from the inventors themselves. Loads of board games and party games are released every year, this is just a small selection of some of the ones that I think you might like, and there are different styles to suit all tastes.

The Toy Retailers Association chat to the stores and then list their picks for what's hot this Xmas. I've listed out the TRA picks on this site, with Hasbro dominant. You can read more about the TRA at www.dreamtoys.co.uk.

If your favourite, or your own game, isn't on the list for 2005, email me and I'll look at it next year. Cheers.   Mark

"Forget trivia, factoids and general knowledge, Blag! will help you with one of life’s true skills; the art of Blagging."
Priced around £19.95, Blag! is a party/family game best played with 4 or more players/teams ages 12+. Read more..

This game has won 'Game of the Year' type international awards twice now and is quickly taking off in the UK. It's a great educational shapes placing strategy game for 2-4 players ages 7+. Priced from around £20.00, you can also play it online first to test it out, and it is featured in the John Lewis catalogue and many others. Read more..

Launched at the games fair in Essen in October 2005, the object of Ca$h Trap is to move all your money bags from their starting places to your opposite side of the board 'The Bank', whilst not allowing the other players to complete the same task. Priced £19.95, this is a family board game for 2-4 players ages 11+. Read more..

Definition: 'cir' for circle, 'rondo' meaning a continuous piece of music. Cirondo has been around in one form or another since 1989, and is a variant of draughts or chess, played on a circular board. This is another game that you can try before you buy via the internet. Priced £29.95, this is an abstract strategy game for 2-4 players ages 11+. Read more..

Priced at £29.99, Go Mental is a family board game, that takes the idea of trivia questions and gives it a new twist. For each question you get a list of four things, which is the odd one out, and why? You can steal other peoples questions and dump your questions on others. Best with a minimum of four players, and preferably more. Ages 12+ Read more..

The rise in popularity of the logic puzzle Sudoku continues unabated. Plenty of games are on the market cashing in, and this one takes the basic premise and used pictures instead...hence Picdoku. Priced around £15.00, this is for logic fans ages 8+ and can be played competitively as a 2-player or in teams. Read more..

Imagine 3D Tetris, played in real life. That's Rumis. An abstract strategy game from Switzerland, where you take it in turns to place blocks on the game board. You start with eleven unique pieces each, and the winner is the player who has got the most surface area showing when you have used up as many pieces as you can. Priced £19.95, for 1-4 players ages 10+ Read more..

The famous person name game - recreate part of 'They Think It's All Over'. Played over three rounds, you try to get your teammates to guess the name that you have written on the card. Round 1 - anything goes. Round 2 - only one word allowed. Round 3 - no words, only mime! This rowdy party game is priced £19.95, and is best played with 6 or more people in 2 or more teams. Ages 12+ Read more..

Shiver your timbers, and steal the treasures, in this Family and Childrens board game from renowned game inventor Peter Burley. It's got a double sided board so you can limit the players and the time it takes, but you're going to need a big table for all the treasure cards and stuff. Priced at about £29.99, this is for mini-pirates [kids] ages 8+ Yo ho, ho..

Launched nearly 10 years ago, this classic from France is now establishing a fanbase across the UK. Three tiles must add to 15, two tiles together must be 15 or less, and you take it in turns to place your tiles on the board scoring points. If you can add up to 15 you can play, and it's like a trip to the brain gym for anyone aged 8+. Great for 'Scrabble® widows' and costs around £23.95 Read more..

The site is maintained by Mark @ Coiledspring Games, and you can buy three of the games on the 2005 list from us. If there are any mistakes please contact us, and we'll do our best to sort them out. All images and trademarks are copyright the respective publishers. Please support your independent, inventors, publishers and retailers. Thanks.