The games less traveled.Along with eggnog hangovers and credit card debt, tiresome train, plane, and automobile rides are all too often part of the holiday season experience. Turn any lengthy voyage into a high point of your holiday festivities with this selection of travel-appropriate family games that'll make your trip fly by.

CLICK TO SEE MORE >>>

Zynga's FarmVilleZynga's debut on Wall Street Friday is the largest from a U.S. company since Google went public in 2004 — and it has been one of the most widely anticipated stock offerings of the year.

But if early trading is any indication, anticipation doesn't translate into interest.

Though shares of the social games maker began trading at over $11 Friday (a 10 percent increase over the stock's IPO price), they almost instantly reversed course when wide trading began. By mid-afternoon, the company was down roughly 9 percent.

It's easy to be tempted by low prices, especially during the holidays. Often times, deals are so good that you grab an item without thinking it through just so you can check someone off your shopping list.

The problem? Your friend or loved one winds up with a gift that sounds great in theory, but ends up having a shelf life shorter than a piece of bread. It might be good for a day or so, but you're not going to be real happy with it after that.

With that in mind, we've put together a cautionary list of gaming choices that might sound tempting to bargain-hunting shoppers, but may not be the wisest use of your money this year.

Chalk up another bragging right for Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)Fresh off becoming the fastest game to reach $1 billion, the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise has been named the year's top video game rental by film and game rental service Redbox, beating out dancers, zombies and Pixar.

Redbox only started game rentals in June, but jumped into the market in a big way, adding video games to 27,000 kiosks nationwide. The company says more than two-thirds of the country is within a five-minute drive of one of its kiosks, and customers have already rented more than 6 million games. That Modern Warfare 3, which has been out for just over a month, topped all other games is another testament to its popularity.

Nintendo Entertainment System, Deluxe SetIn 1985, you could buy a brand new Nintendo Entertainment System Deluxe Set, complete with the console itself, two controllers, the awesome R.O.B. robot, a Nintendo Zapper light gun, and cartridges for two games (Gyromite and Duck Hunt) for a mere $199.

Today?  It'll cost you a little more.

Total fun zone.There's nothing like a good board game to keep the kids entertained and happy for a few hours, but what if you want them to get a little more out of their effort than just a good time? Look no further than this set of classics old and new, all ideal for honing key skills like shape recognition, numeracy, reading, and fair play. And they're all great fun to boot.

CLICK TO SEE MORE>>>

Click for a photo tour of The Old Republic!It's been a whirlwind holiday season.  We've seen Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword storming onto store shelves, making this one of the most memorable gaming years in a long time.

So that's gotta be it, right? Surely 2011 has nothing left in its bag of tricks?

No.  There is another.

May the Force be with you.Releasing December 20th, Star Wars: The Old Republic is as anticipated an online game as there has ever been. And for good reason -- the massively-multiplayer role-playing epic set in that galaxy far, far away is being crafted by ace developer Bioware (Mass Effect, Dragon Age) and goes above and beyond what we've seen in any Star Wars game to date. Set over 3,000 years before The Phantom Menace, it's a dream come true for fans, as familiar faces — and places — abound in the upcoming game.

CLICK TO SEE MORE >>>