In search of a small patch of fun time.

• Position: WHAT'S NEW? Holiday Gift Guide - Roll-It Tic Tac Toe - Brief article

What do you do when free time is hard to come by and family time is so important to you? When we want to take a small break from our busy schedule and spend it having quality time with our children, we pull out a game from Patch Products, Beloit, Wis. One of the things that draws us to these games--besides that they're fun to play--is that the boxes tell you how long it should take to play and most are over in 10 to 30 minutes.

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So, if we have a half-hour to spare, we might pull out Roll-It Tic Tac Toe ($14.99). This new twist on an old favorite adds a pair of dice and a game board with nine Tic-Tac-Toe grids. Each player rolls the dice and then puts a colored chip on the number on the grid that matches the sum of the dice. Get three in a row and score a tic-tac-toe. Opponents can use their chips to block you from scoring. Watch out for certain numbers: if you roll a "2" or a number that's already been taken, you lose your turn.

Younger children will get a kick out of Can-Do Roo ($19.99), a game that comes with a kangaroo and game cards that teach numbers, shapes, colors, and letters. Players take turns pulling cards out of the pouch and then demonstrate their understanding of the...