DVD games

Traditional board games may be the ultimate enablers of family bonding time, but in today's digital age, kids may find them too old-fashioned to be cool. Enter the latest trend in gaming: DVD games. These new, often trivia-based games usually require little more than a standard DVD player and offer the possibility for hours of fun. In the past couple of years this niche has grown from a novelty to an emerging industry mainstay, which was apparent by the number of manufacturers offering their own variations on the genre at this year's Toy Fair. Below are just a few of the many DVD games currently available.

1. This summer, SBG/b Equal, Santa Monica, Calif., is launching its Discovery Channel TV DVD Game, which takes families on a virtual road trip across the United States. The game is targeted at players ages 6 and up and retails for $14.99.
2. Riff: The Music Trivia DVD Game, distributed by University Games, San Francisco, is targeted at adults who want to challenge their knowledge of popular music through questions based on music videos, songs, lyrics, album covers, photos, trivia puzzles and more. In addition to the six hours of game play on the disk and a bonus tour of the Hard Rock Vault for a look at famous music memorabilia items; it also comes with a poster of icons from the Hard Rock memorabilia collection. The game is designed for team play and has a suggested retail price of approximately $22.
3. Endless Games, Jersey City, N.J., is adding some retro flavor to this fairly new realm of play by introducing a line of DVD games based on licenses from popular TV shows from decades-past. Among the new titles is Password DVD Edition, for players ages 8 and up, which gives players a revitalized chance to master this classic word-association game; best of all, players still find the correct answer by wearing 3-D glasses! The game will reach stores in time for the holidays and has a suggested retail price of $24.99.
4. This fall, Screenlife LLC, Seattle, is offering players ages 13 and up the chance to have a “blast” with its new line of trivia games. The DVD Blast! line features games based on properties like Family Guy, Austin Powers and Survivor. Each game is played entirely with the remote control, features on-screen scoring and has a suggested retail price of $15.99.
5. With all of the DVD players popping up in mini-vans and SUVs across the country, it was only a matter of time before a toy company jumped in to target the niche of consumers seeking new ways to keep their kids entertained while on the road. Snap TV, Santa Monica, Calif., introduces its line of Game Snacks with games targeted at both kids and adults. Titles for kids ages 6 and up include Kids Trivia and Family Showdown: Kids vs. Parents; for ages 13 and up look for Pop Culture Trivia and Gender Wars. Each game retails for $9.99 and features six games on one DVD.