In today's world of 3D movies, intricate video games and complex electronic toys, an evening spent playing board games has become something of a novelty -- a nostalgic moment to tackle the same pastimes our grandparents might have enjoyed back when they were kids.

And having been developed around the middle of the 20th century, that's about as far back as the majority of today's classic board games go. But if you're sitting down to play
one of a handful of genuinely historic board games -- like backgammon, Go, or
chess -- you're following in the footsteps of countless generations. Humans
have been playing board games since the dawn of civilization. Here are some of
the oldest and most

Top Board Game Moneymakers

High-tech video games might get all the headlines these days, but when was the last time you sat down with the whole family for a good Call of Duty session? From familiar
classics like Clue and Monopoly to the new wave of European hits like Settlers
of Catan, board games remain big sellers -- and here are eight of the biggest.

John Madden Football - EA John Madden might have his name splashed on the cover of every Madden football release of the past two decades, but he didn't actually make the first version of the game.

The man who did? Illinois resident Robin Antonick -- and he believes he deserves some serious compensation.

Credited as the co-creator of the original John Madden Football for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and MS-DOS, Antonick has filed suit (PDF) in a California District Court against publisher EA for what could amount to billions in past royalties and damages.

Antonick claims that he signed a contract with EA in 1986 that entitles him to 1.5 percent of profits from Madden and any "derivative works." He further alleges that

Games are creeping into TV habits. The Nielsen Company, that arbiter of television ratings, has released a study breaking down American gaming habits. The study, part of its
March 2011 State of the Media report, finds that Americans spend an average of 13 minutes
playing video games on a television each day.

That might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that the data was taken from Nielsen homes, which are made up of a wide swath of people, many of whom are not core gamers - and many of whom don't even own a gaming
console.

Nielsen further breaks it down by ethnicity. According to the study, African Americans are the biggest gamers today, playing, on average, 16 minutes per day. Caucasians were second, spending 13

Hottest Games of April

April showers don't just bring May flowers -- they also bring a great reason to hide away from the intermittent rainclouds with some sweet video games. Here are some of the biggest titles arriving this month.