3. Montage

Word games never have done a whole lot for me. You'll notice Scrabble isn't anywhere on this list. Of course, Montage is not you average word game. I really enjoy games that encourage creativity, wit, and imagination. I haven't found any that fit that bill so well as Montage. Anthony Rubbo and Dave Arnott introduced me to this game in 2004 and it thoroughly delighted me. The gist of the game is that you have to think of a word that fits on the board, and then devise a crossword puzzle clue for your partner to be able to figure out that word. However, your opponents can also chime in and steal, so you can't make the clue too easy. Each chip on the board is one of five colors, and each color can represent up to 6 different letters. For example, yellow represents an A, B, C, D, or Z. The restrictions on clue-giving and the opportunities for clever wordplay are what make Montage a winner for me. It's long out of print -- the board pictured is one that I made myself by caniballizing several Scrabble sets.