Name Game Jr.: The Family Guessing Game by Steve Crystal Ages 9-12 440 cards Chronicle April 2007 Paperback     This game is a sure hit for birthday parties, games nights with friends, or a night home with the family. The concept is simple and guarantees hours of fun. The tin comes with a sand timer (orange in color to go with the retro look), two boxes of non-fictional character cards and two boxes of fictional character cards. The game is played by splitting the group into two teams and giving each team one box of fictional cards and one box of non-fictional cards. Each team then has one person give clues to the other team members to get them to guess the character/ person they have on the card; this continues until the timer runs out and the play moves to a player from the opposite team. If a team is stumped on a name, they can pass that card to the opposition and carry on picking a new card. The object of the game is to get the most cards; play continues until each person on each team has gone twice. Name Game Jr. requires little setup and can be played anywhere from traveling in a car to gathered around the kitchen table. The only problem with the game is that once you start playing, you want to keep going until all the cards are gone. The only possible solution: hoping for booster card packs! This game is definitely a welcome addition for all game collections. I am always excited when I find a fun new game on the market, and this one definitely does not disappoint.   web reviews   Regan Windsor/2007 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)