BattleshipThis weekend sees the latest board-game-turned-movie, Battleship, steaming into a movie theater near you, but judging by its critical reception, "steaming" seems to be a pretty apt word for what it's doing.

So if the movie is destined to sink without trace, what're you going to do with your afternoon instead? How about sitting down with a friend for a few rounds of the game that inspired the movie? It's likely to be a good deal more fun...but in order to have a good time, you've got to be in with a good chance of winning. Here's how to keep the wind at your back.

It's the stuff of spy thrillers: a James Bond, Mission Impossible gadget you can make in your own kitchen. But how does invisible ink actually work, and how can you make it? Read on to discover its secrets -- and those of a number of other favorite novelties.

A wise, roguish smuggler once said, "don't tell me the odds." But one world famous mathematician couldn't disagree more.

In the 1970's, Oxford math professor Doyne Farmer, then a graduate student, devised a system to predict the outcome of the seemingly random roulette table, which involved using a wearable computer and being really, really smart. Adding to the secrecy of the system, he had never planned on telling anyone just how he did it…until now.

If you've ever spent an afternoon wandering around in a maze, you'll already know why the pastime has been a favorite of human civilization for, well, for pretty much as long as there has been civilization.

A good maze is a combination of a gentle walk, a brain-scratching puzzle, and a great pay-off at the center. From the shores of Switzerland's Lake Lucerne to the concrete slopes of San Francisco's Nob Hill , there's a whole world of amazing mazes out there. Find your way through some of the best.

Legend has it that the game of dominoes was first invented by the ancient Egyptians, sometime around the time of Tutankhamen.

Legend also has it that shortly after doing so, the ancient Egyptians discovered it was much more fun to stand all their dominoes in a long, wavy line, knock one over, and sit back and watch all the rest collapse one after the other.

They were onto something. To prove it, here's a handful of the world's best domino (and domino-inspired) chains.

To some, any roller coaster is a scary roller coaster. But to the brave at heart, the faster they come, the bigger they smile.

Does that sound like you? Do you laugh in the face of 300-foot drops, four Gs of acceleration, or top speeds north of 100 miles per hour? If so, then you might want to plan a road trip to check out this collection of America's biggest, fastest, tallest, and all-out craziest coasters.

Cracking open its egg-shaped packaging, exploring its bizarre, mushy properties, and inevitably leaving it on top of the heater and letting it melt all over the carpet, playing with Silly Putty is a rite of passage for every child.

But there's an impressive amount of history, chemistry, and trivia behind these odd, polymer nuggets -- and a few surprising facts.

It's been seven years since the words "Hot Coffee" changed the video game world, but they still make developers wince.

The Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas mod, discovered by enthusiasts, unlocked a playable, interactive mini-game where the game's lead character has sex with his girlfriend. And it opened a Pandora's Box of controversy when it was exposed.

Author David Kushner, who wrote the stellar "Masters of Doom" in 2003, has returned his attention to gaming with "Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto". The book offers a fascinating behind the scenes look at Rockstar Games and how the team created the multibillion-dollar GTA franchise.

As part of that story, Kushner also offers new details about what went on at Rockstar -- and parent company Take-Two Interactive --  as the Hot Coffee scandal was playing out. And it doesn't paint either company in the best light.