I know it's Oscar night, but the show is 4 hours long. That's a ton of time that you could be doing something else.

I love the idea of having a game night on Sundays. It's one of those old tyme pleasures that is just right for our frenetic lifestyles.

Here are 2 games that will get you started. And don't forget the snacks!

**The Storymatic**

Finally you get your chance to tell a really good story.

The Storymatic was developed by Brian Mooney, first while he was teaching at Marlboro College and then he put the finishing touches on it at The Putney School Summer Arts Program.

This little box holds a host of possibilities - along with 250 gold cards and 250 white cards!

Each gold card contains a character trait or occupation. Each white card contains a situation or object. Wild Cards contain instructions about where and when your story takes place, and how it must be told.

The basics of The Storymatic could not be easier. As described on the website:

"First, draw two gold cards. Then combine the information on these two cards to create your main character. For example, if you draw "surgeon" and "amateur boxer," your character is a surgeon who is also a boxer.

Next, draw one or two white cards. Let the information on the cards lead you into a story. If, for example, your cards say "box of teeth" and "pair of pants that don't fit right," then perhaps after a night in the ring Dr. Boxer always scans the floor of the ring for the teeth of his opponents, but maybe Dr. Boxer has put on some extra weight due to his long days at the hospital, causing him to slow down in the ring, and then...

And that's all there is to it."

Ah ha - there is a catch. Two, actually:

1. Your main character must change from the beginning of the story to the end of the story.

2. You cannot kill your main character.

You can see how this can lead to absolute fun and hilarity. Just check out the cards I pulled out:

trucker, small town politician, Fourth of July and engagement ring.

Isn't that awesome? There's no way I could come up with something that good on my own!

And there is a accompanying booklet that gives you tons of ways to play with the cards. And not just for game night - for teachers, for illustrators. You can play a host of ways including "The 10-Sentence Collaborative Storymatic,""The Three-Minute Grab," and "The Dice-o-Matic."

The website has some areas of interest too . There's the Featured Artist Section, as well as Recordings that make the process that much more interactive.

Who knows? Game night could into a best-selling novel!

Buy your own set now.

**What's a Dame to Do?**

I know that it says that this is a game for women, but I played it with 2 fellas and we had a memorable night filled with laughter and surprisingly, revelations about one another!

The object of this board game is to correctly guess players' reactions to life's little "Dame Dilemmas."

So, each person takes a Hilarious Card, Score Folder and guessing chip. You are dealt 10 Reaction cards.

Let's say you pull this card:

"I'm standing up in a wedding and the bride-to-be is choosing a bridesmaid dress that's seriously unattractive, what's a dame to do?"

Out of your 10 reaction cards, you are considering:

- Act as if nothing happened.

- Say, "You've got to be kidding!"

- Use duct tape.

You can see where this is going. What's so much fun is trying to guess what you're opponents will do in these c-r-a-z-y situations.

was

- Do something with a scarf.

Oh Darren, you are hilarious!

Scott, Darren and I played 3 rounds of this! It's a little addictive.

Get What's a Dame to Do for your game night.