Terrible Toy Makeovers

Let's be honest, Risk and Monopoly were never for kids anyway

(NEWSER) - You probably loved board games as a kid—and guess what? Some of them are still fun now. Ten of the best, courtesy of teagueb at LikeMe :

1. Payday: It never got as popular as the similar LIFE, but it’s even cooler because it’s measured in real time—meaning “you can play for six months, a year, or an entire adult lifetime.”
2. Battleship: The best part is “being able to say ‘You sank my battleship!’ in faux-outrage.”
3. Candyland: This one is only fun as an adult if you turn it into a drinking game.
4. Monopoly: “If you ever wanted to see what capitalist evil lurks in the hearts of your friends? Set aside 14 hours or so and play Monopoly with them.”

Games teach excessive lending, scarce saving

(NEWSER) - It’s really no wonder Americans fouled up the financial system—fiscal irresponsibility was instilled in us at an early age by board games, observes Caitlin McDevitt for the Big Money. Among the poor lessons imparted by money games:

• In Monopoly, the game’s bank can never go bust—if the banker runs out of Monopoly money, they are instructed to “issue as much as needed by writing on any ordinary paper."

Crocodile Hunter's daughter continuing in dad's footsteps

(NEWSER) - Bindi Irwin isn't yet 10, but she's got her own TV show, an Emmy, and now, a doll in her image. An Ohio company is making 10-inch replicas of the young Australian star, the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Bindi inherited her dad's love of nature, and the doll says things like, "Crikey! Let's go help wildlife." More»

Doritos plug was marketing home run

(NEWSER) - The best ad of 2007 cost 12 bucks to make. The winner of the Doritos Super Bowl commercial contest took best ad honors in USA Today's poll of ad pros and couch potatoes. And that wasn't even the most authentic or irreverent item on the list. The winners are:

• Best Ad: Doritos
• Best Viral Video: Dove's Evolution

Number one is a slinky, and that's awesome

(NEWSER) - Wired editors have picked out their gadget wish list for the holidays this year, and while the list includes some high-tech toys like TVs and palmtops, it starts out with a standby: a slinky.

1. Slinky (everyone knows it's slinky)
2. Nokia N810 (open source palmtop)
3. Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean (invincible wristwatch)
4. Canon Powershot G9 (small but nifty camera)
5. Legos Imperial Walker (you know you want one)