Snatch - this word based game allows you to be extremely sneaky and steal your opponent’s words and use them for your own diabolical needs. It’s a tiny bit like Scrabble, but on steroids, and with a high-speed rocket attached to it. Mix things up as much as you can, and try to steal as many letters and words as possible. As a bonus, it comes in a really spiffy tube that carries the whole game, making it portable and fun, all in one.

Abalone -  No, it’s not a fish — instead it’s a extremely simple, yet very fun game using black and white marbles. Basically, you line up your marbles and use them to “push” your opponent’s marbles off of the playing grid. It’s based on Sumo wrestlers and their movements, but you won’t have to bulk up to play this. It’s also one of those games that you can leave lying around to make you look smart, like a chess set.

...continued: D'oh! Snow? Give Those Dice a Roll, It's Game Day!

Take a look around ThisNext and you’ll see that many shopcasters have a soft spot for a guy named Fred and his super cool designer water.

Just like the groovy square bottle that has people like Fred Wilson,  o0, and our own Sean Timberlake drinking up; Fred’s FredSpot eclectic blog/website/magazine is equally as charming.

So charming in fact, that Fred put together a list of super cool still-yet-to-be-duplicated classic board games.

So for those of you looking for something charming to wow that despot in your life, look no further than one of the all-time greatest board games ever….RISK. 

For under $25 your recipient is guaranteed hours, if not days of un-digitized entertainment.  And while the final outcome may cause a temporary rift in the affections of your fellow players (ok, so I hate losing Risk) all involved are certain to have many fond memories and lots of laughs.

Not to mention a confirmed knowledge of who really has the major control issues.

Available at Amazon

via FredSpot 

* need more ideas?  bookmark my full shopcast >>  Holiday Gift Ideas on ThisNext

 

Dubbed “the sport where you are the search engine,” this adventure game involves individuals or groups setting up caches throughout the world and sharing location of each on the Internet. With the help of a GPS unit, other players then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Inside the cache, you’ll find a logbook (which, according to game rules, players must use to write about their finding) and - according to The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site - possibly items such as “maps, books, software, hardware, CD’s, videos, pictures, money, jewelry, tickets, antiques, tools, games, etc.” In addition to taking something from the cache, you’re required to leave something behind as well.

A recent post Jestcaching, a blog that’s all about geocaching, offers this guide to finding your first cache. Among the advice:

“You probably want to dress appropriately for the area you are visiting and pack a few essentials to take with you. As a minimum you should take some paper and a pen/pencil and extra batteries for the GPS. If you are going during the week after dinner you should take a flashlight or headlamp along in case it gets dark while you are in the woods. Things look a whole lot different in the dark than they do in the light. A bottle of water is always a good thing to take along and if bugs are prevalent in your area some Deet is a good idea. You might want to bring a small trinket along to trade when you find the cache.

Matthew is a husband, a father, and – surprise! – has a life as well. Included in his list of passions: card games, particularly RPG and “battle” card games. So when you visit his wonderfully named blog, Defective Yeti, you’ll find – sprinkled among the proud-dad stories, wry observations, and movie-reviews – recommendations and referrals on some of the best new card games around, including this one: Colossal Arena from Avalon Hill. “Despite the RPG trappings,” Matthew says, “it’s a traditional card and gambling game, albeit an exceptionally clever one.”

Wine at parties is nothing new, but wine as party is another thing altogether. ChefsLine shows us the way with this nifty (and oh, so style-conscious) Wine Party Presentation from Smartsco. Cover your bottles with the colorful labels, then pour and follow the six S’s of wine tasting: See, Sniff-and-swirl, Sip, Spit, Side-by-side and Scribble. (Wait, wasn’t that eight S’s?) We think this sounds like a great way to demystify wine while enjoying the company of good friends.

Well, what do we have here.  A Limited Edition Jack Spade Travel Scrabble Case which is stylish, well designed, and infinitely entertaining.

And if that’s not  enough, 30% of proceeds from this fabulousness go to First Book, which gives “children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.”

 
Says master shopcaster Something Glorious:

…the zippered case is made of camo waxware  and comes with everything you need to Scrabble on the road (sans challenging dictionary) including a sturdy, built-in board.

Get it at Jack Spade for $95 — 212.625.1820.

And you wonder why it’s always so easy to go shopping. 

Twelve praline-filled milk chocolate bullets. One has chili pepper in it. Spin the wheel, pick your bullet and …

… no matter where it falls, that’s one bullet I’m willing to bite. 

Via The Thorngrove Table. 

The solution to a feral hog problem two million strong: Makin’ bacon. It may sound exotic, but this Wild Boar Bacon is almost more bacon-y than its grocery-store counterpart — streaky, meaty and sweet. The bacon mavens at I Heart Bacon dish up a mouth-watering description (yes, with pictures) of this porcine pleasure. With an aggregate rating of 4.67 out of 5, it’s got to be hog-lickin’ good. We didn’t think bacon could get better, but I Heart Bacon showed us the way.