Most games these days will try to wow the player with gimmicks, be they flashing lights or wacky sound effects, but usually at the sacrifice of solid game play. Gobblet is a board game in the same vein as checkers and Connect Four, but with a clever twist. On a 4 X 4 grid, players use twelve pieces in various sizes to claim four spaces in a straight line (i.e. Connect Four). Not so easy, since your opponent can block your moves or us their larger pieces to "gobble" up your smaller ones and take them out of the game ($29.95).

Buy it online at www.gobblet.com