Domestic blast

Win, lose or drink

Friends, booze and these new board games are a winning combination.

Cineplexity
($25 at otb-games.com)
The setup is simple: Draw two cards, each of which features a movie-themed category (example: “Theme: Damsel in Distress” and “Setting: Asia”). Each player has to name a flick that fits both categories (we came up with Memoirs of a Geisha and Lost in Translation for the above categories). The first to come up with a title wins a point.

The good Although there are plenty of mind-blanking moments—especially if you’re drinking while playing—you’ll find that you know more film titles than you think.

The bad You might get tired of the simplicity after more than three or four rounds. It also gets tough when some cards are paired together (we couldn’t come up with a kung-fu film featuring gay, lesbian or bisexual characters).

Smart Ass
($25 at amazon.com)
Players move around a game board (the goal is to be the first to get to the donkey’s ass—it’s not as gross as it sounds) by being the first to yell out the correct word as a series of clues about a person, place or thing are revealed. The clues (ten total for each answer) go from obscure to obvious. For example, one card begins with the clue, “I was born in Chicago in 1947,” and ends with, “I believe it takes a village to raise a child” (duh, Hillary Clinton).

The good It’s fun to blurt out hilarious answers, but you’re never going to win that way, numskull. But if you’re drinking while playing, you might not care about winning anyway.

The bad If luck isn’t on your side, moving around on the board can take awhile. When one player kept getting sent back three spaces over and over, it started to feel too much like Chutes and Ladders—a game we never dug even as kids.

Movie Scene It, 2nd Edition
($40 at screenlifegames.com)
Just like the original, this classic DVD game features clips and questions focused entirely on movies. Even if you’re not a huge cinephile, playing the game is still fun because many of the questions focus on observation and puzzle-solving skills, rather than film-history knowledge.

The good It’s nice to see an updated version of this popular game with fresh clips. You’ll still see the classics (E.T., Jurassic Park), but many more recent releases (Walk the Line, The Devil Wears Prada) are thrown into the mix.

The bad Some of the clips are so fun to watch, you might be tempted to just throw in a DVD instead of playing another round of the game.

Wits & Wagers
($30 at amazon.com)
This game combines two of our favorite things: gambling and trivia. Players write down a numerical answer to a question, and then they bet on which player is closest to the correct answer. Examples of questions include: “How many points did Michael Jordan average per game?” and “In what year were women in the U.S. granted the right to vote?”

The good Up to 20 people can play at a time (players can double up and form teams), so it’s the perfect party game.

The bad We finished each game in a fast 20 minutes, leaving us wishing each round required extra time. We could play this game all night long.

— Kevin Aeh