Although beloved, family-friendly board games like Scrabble, Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit bring in millions each year, the road to success isn't always smooth. In some cases, it's downright bumpy.

Ill-advised relaunches, misguided rules changes, and even accusations of plagiarism are just a few of the missteps that almost derailed some of gaming's biggest hits. Here are a few of our favorites.

Those brave enough to dive into the early morning insanity of Black Friday can find TVs, computers and smart phones for mere pennies on the dollar.

(Getty Images)This year, though, some of the best bargains will be found on video games. As the industry struggles to boost retail sales and consoles hit middle age, the discounting on some of the year's best titles will be hard to resist -- assuming you're willing to wake up early for the doorbuster specials.

If you're hoping to find the year's biggest game -- Modern Warfare 3 -- on sale anywhere, though, brace yourself for disappointment. The game is such a strong seller throughout the year that it's perhaps the only title in the industry that doesn't typically see price cuts in its first six months.

That said, here's a rundown of some of the best deals from some of the biggest stores at the local mall or shopping center.

The NFL has blitzed Blitz.

NFL Blitz (EA Sports)Late hits, one of the signature features of the bone-jarring arcade football franchise, won't be a part of its next iteration. The league has asked EA to remove them from the game.

That's a call likely to upset long-time fans of the Blitz series, which specializes in extreme tackles and behavior that would never be tolerated on the real-world field.

There's a reason she's legendary.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)Famed Princess Zelda, who's been getting herself into trouble for a quarter of a century, is back at it along with her would-be savior Link in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, releasing Sunday for the Wii.

An epic action-adventure drawing upon one of Nintendo's most-beloved franchises, Skyward Sword is perhaps the last great hurrah for the waning Wii console.  As with past iterations of the series -- among them 1998's The Ocarina of Time, viewed by some critics as the greatest video game ever made -- this Zelda is cleaning up in the reviews. Mostly.

Get your hands on these!The holiday season is always a special time for gamers, but 2011 will go down as one of the greatest holidays in gaming history.

Why? Just look around. Fantastic entries in nearly every major game franchise are lining shelves. A new Mario? Check. Uncharted? Check. Call of Duty? Check. Zelda, Assassin's Creed, Batman, Elder Scrolls, Gears of War? Our checkbooks cannot keep up.

And likely, neither can yours. Regardless of which platform the gamer in your life prefers, there are loads of titles worthy of tossing under the tree. Start with these 15 favorites.

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The retro craze is going big.

Rampage (Midway)New Line Pictures has announced that it plans to make a cinematic adaptation of Rampage, the 1980s arcade game that centered entirely around three giant monsters with a penchant for demolishing buildings, punching tanks, and eating people, food, and toilets.

That said, it still sounds better than Jack & Jill.

The film's still in pre-production, so don't start lining up at your local theater just yet. John Rickard, who co-produced 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Horrible Bosses' for New Line, will oversee the adaptation and is currently meeting with writers to come up with what we can only hope is a slightly deeper story than the one found in the original game.

It's Call of Duty's world, people. We're just playing in it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)Having already toppled day-one entertainment sales records, Activision announced Thursday that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has smashed another entertainment launch sales record by bringing in $775 million in its first five days of worldwide availability. That tops the two previous record holders, Call of Duty: Black Ops ($650 million) and 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ($550 million).

Here's a good way to ensure your kid gets his lunch money stolen on a regular basis.
Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer

Meet Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer. That's right, Dovahkiin. As in, the protagonist of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Born 11/11/11 -- the same day that the game was released -- he's made his family the winners (?) of a contest that ensures free Bethesda games for life.

Bethesda, in a publicity stunt announced in February, promised lifelong free games to anyone who named their child (which had to be born on 11/11) after the character. Whether the company expected anyone to take it up on the offer is another matter entirely.