For most parts of the country, this stir-crazy time of the year can be frustrating but being stuck inside today doesn’t mean jigsaw puzzles and Monopoly anymore. While Old Man Winter lingers, there are a couple of grown-up board and card games that can chase even the worst cases of cabin fever away for good. Here are a few that we loved.

Cranium 2009 Edition:  Cranium, the game that everyone hopes will be at your party, seems to be the unstoppable force in the land of board games. Back with a new edition and a new look, this version  includes a bonus card pack so that even the most dedicated “Craniacs” are in for a few surprises. Played in teams of 2, this party game gives equal time to each teams creative side. Cranium has teams up and out of their seats with categories such “Cameo” where players are asked to impersonate a celebrity by using only gestures and “Humdinger” where players are to hum a tune for their teammates to correctly guess. As this game quickly becomes a classic, the teams at Hasbro seem to be onto something by changing the card packs every now and then so players never get the same card twice (ok, maybe not more then 3 times). Cranium 2009 Edition can be found at most chain retailers and is decently priced at $24.99. (www.target.com)

The Game of THINGS: This game, designed for players ages 18 and up, is a great ice breaker at party’s and gathering’s where all guests may not know one another. The idea is simple-choose from one of the topics, have all players write their a response to one of the topic questions then guess who’s response is whose. The topic questions are things such as “THINGS…you never want to hear your parents say”, “THINGS…that you shouldn’t do on your way to church.”, etc. One downer of the game is that playing with too many players (8 or more) seems to make the game confusing and super slow paced.  But for game players within a smaller group, the responses to the questions are revealing and usually hilarious. Plus, priced at just $17.59 (www.kmart.com) it’s worth every penny for hours of game time.

Scrabble Slam: This new version of the classic letter games has even the most dogmatic “Scrabble Haters” pulling up a seat at the table. Simple in rules, easy to grasp and super fast-paced, Scrabble Slam seems to be changing the way players see word games. Played in lightening fast rounds, players are dealt cards and asked to make as many 4 letter words as they can and in no player order. Because of it’s fast pace, this game allows players to jump in and out of the game at will which makes it perfect for parties where guest don’t want to dedicate themselves to the table for hours. A steal at $6.99, (www.walgreens.com) this new version of a classic can’t be beat.