What's with all the hubbub?

As people continue to reclaim family time and stay closer to home, board games have made a come-back. Hubbub: The Game of Sound, Mind & Body ($29.95) from Hubbub, Inc., Northfield, Ill., is a newcomer to the field which looks to have some staying power.

In this party and family game designed for teens and adults, the object is to be the first team to collect three different colored rings by competing in three sub-games. In Calling All Players, participants have 45 seconds to list everything they can think of within a given category, such as fast food restaurants or phobias, and teammates score a point for each answer in common. During Three Perfect Words, players can use up to three words to describe something to elicit a one-word answer from the team. Cliche Care uses sound effects and pantomime to act out well-known phrases such as beating a dead horse, barking up the wrong tree, etc.

It's not as simple as that, though--a special Twist & Turns deck is designed to shake things up even more. For example, there's a Robin Hood card, where the player with the most rings must give one to the player with the least.

This enjoyable game requires four or more players and takes a very manageable hour or so to play. To locate a copy, visit www.playhubbub.com

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group