Cranium

The idea of board games that test your brain isn't new; ever since Trivial Pursuit became popular, board games that focus on exercising the ol' gray matter have been extremely popular.  The problem is, games like Trivial Pursuit only reward one type of knowledge, the long-term memory "information sponge."  Those who pick up every little factoid they hear excel, and the more forgetful don't do so well.  But there's a new game, that rewards players for not only their memory, but other active parts of their brains as well. Cranium seeks to exercise your entire mind, not just your knowledge.

Similar to most games in the genre, teams must reach the goal by moving along a track, and along the track are challenges that must be overcome.  In Cranium's line of games, there are four basic types of challenges.  In Creative Cat, a player must convey information to teammates through their artistic ability, for instance, creating an item out of clay.  Data Head is similar to Trivial Pursuit, focusing on knowledge and the ability to guess whether a factoid is true or false.  Word Worm exercises your language skills, and Star Performer forces the player to sing, hum, or imitate a famous person.

There are a number of different Cranium editions for various age levels, and the variety of tasks that must be performed in each game to ensure that everyone can have a good time and show off their own individual strengths.  The game has proven to be a popular family title, and can be found at retailers nationwide.