Pressman Thin Ice

It's a very funny joke. You open the box containing the Thin Ice game--with its frosty blue coloring and pictures of top-hatted penguins--and one of the first things you see is a pocket pack of facial tissues. Well, the folks at Pressman don't guarantee you'll come down with the sniffles when you play Thin Ice, but a case of the giggles is assured. The tissues--or to be precise, one ply of the tissues--form the drum-like surface on which a series of damp marbles are placed, one by one. Players use the tongs to fish a marble out of the water trough and place it on the thin paper before passing the tongs to the next player as quickly as possible. But possession is nine-tenths of the thaw; if you're holding the tongs when the weakened paper rips, you're assigned the letter I. Spell "ice" and you're out. One package of Marcal tissues is included, though any facial tissue will work. (Don't play with any cheater who insists on using Bounty paper towels!) For silly, soppy, super-absorbing fun, the Thin Ice game raises play to new Gesund-heights. --Tony Mason