Games run the gamut.

This season's crop of games are designed for all ages, with a distinct nostalgic touch. In addition to the memory-trivia versions that have been proliferating in recent years, there is a flashback to one's school cafeteria days that definitely will strike a familiar chord.

Endgame Entertainment, Inc., Portland, Ore., favors the trivia approach with the self-explanatory Movie Mania and Music Mania. The former asks cinemaphiles to identify quotes from films in the action/adventure, drama, comedy, classic/western, and science fiction/horror categories, ranging from Bogie's "Here's looking at you, kid" to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back!" The music questions in the latter are less simplistic and require a wider range of knowledge. The appeal of both, of course, depends on interests. Meanwhile, Noggin Nosh is designed for those who would rather use logic than memory. Beware, though, the element of trickery built into such questions as "How many bluebirds were baked in the pie?" An instant reply of "four and twenty" will leave you with egg on your face since the pastry contents were blackbirds.

Reel Schpeel from Game Geste, Inc., Lincolnwood, Ill., is a movie trivia game requiring more interactive participation as you try to extract the answer by acting out the appropriate line in the specified manner--i.e., in a confused tone, "Houston, we have a problem." If that's not enough to have everyone shouting "Apollo 13," there are a series of hints that follow to aid those who are not about to award your performance with an Oscar. You have to be a real (or reel) film buff to achieve top scores, though, since you frequently have to know not only the movie, but the actor, character name, and director.

PiQuadilly from Chatham Hill Games, Inc., Chatham, N.Y., is a crossword puzzle-board gamemind bender filled with deviousness...