Rainy days at the shore, long car rides, airport delays, or even just one too many perfect afternoons to while away—summer diversions can seem fleeting as one hot day fades into another. Hoping to fill the lull, game creators are unleashing a record number and variety of portable entertainments, many for older children, teens, and adults.

Words, words, words. The quiz-crafters at Mamopalire of Vermont Inc., in Warren, Vt., offer Bethump'd, an award-winning series of attractively designed family board games. Bethump'd with Words tests your strategic skills and knowledge of everyday words in a humor-filled journey into the story of words, suitable for two to eight players or for teams. Using cards to answer questions, advance on the board, and spell out the game word (different each round), players also have the opportunity to sabotage other competitors en route to the finish line. Questions drawn from the cards come from many linguistic categories, ranging from Accents to Origins, Eponyms to Portmanteau Words (new creations), and vary in level of difficulty (six in all). Sample questions include, at level 3 in Borrowed Words, "In 1947, what bathing suit did the French name after an atoll in the Marshall Islands because its impact on viewers is like an atomic bomb?" A correct answer of "Bikini" moves the player forward on the board. Amusing and intriguing questions, plus motive and opportunity to thwart fellow contenders, make this a clever and addictive pastime for word lovers. Available in Discovery (child to teen), Senior (teen to adult), Voyager (a travel version), and Book editions.

Not content with mere words, the folks at Mamopalire also conjured up Bethump'd with History, a board game devoted to the best of human history, the civilizing forces of civilization and, especially, to the civilizers of civilization, the women who fought against the worst of humanity to make a better world. Questions feature the ideas and heroes who through the ages sought to overcome tyrants; special emphasis is placed on the development of the American democracy and the historical significance of the U.S. Constitution. During the game, players advance through 2,000 years of history.

Mamopalire also offers teaching tools and lesson plans for those who want to take the games' educational benefits one step further, while the high quality of design and production makes all versions of the Bethump'd series a pleasure to behold at whatever level one plays. Call (888) 496-4094, fax (802) 496-4096, e-mail bethumpd@wcvt.com.

How to Turn a Phrase

The award-winning board game Proverbial Wisdom, created by Jordan Pine, entertainingly tests players' knowledge of the meaning and origin of the many sayings (500, to be accurate) that we use almost without thinking in our everyday lives. Easy as pie? Perhaps not. Four to 16 players, ages 10 and up, compete by sketching a selected proverb for teammates to guess, by choosing the correct meaning or origin or a proverb, or by guessing what proverb is represented by a pre-drawn picture—in no more than one minute each. Fast-paced fun for those undaunted by sketching "the straw that broke the camel's back." The attractively designed game includes board, three sets of cards, answer/instructions booklet, timer, die, sketch pad, pencil and four playing pieces. Call (877) 226-1132, www.proverbialwisdom.com.

Alphabet Soup

TGIF has nothing on Acronymity, a new board game from Acronymity Inc. Plymouth, Minn., that tests players' knowledge of 952 everyday (some rather more exotic than others) acronyms and abbreviations in more than 18 categories, including entertainment, computers, sports, finance, government, military and medical. To advance around the board, players must correctly guess the meanings of the acronyms and abbreviations and take a final "acro-challenge." Sample items range from BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato), NABISCO (National Biscuit Company) and SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) to MDF (Market Development Funds) and SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation). Twists and turns make game play unpredictable—in fact, how the game is played is patented, along with the game itself. Developed by Scott Kuhne, inspired while teaching a colleague some industry acronyms. Call (866) 227-6696, fax (516) 599-6699, www.acronymity.com.

For those of us on a different astral plane, Endless Games in Hoboken, N.J., announces Pop Smarts, a party game that taps in to the zeitgeist of popular culture from the 1950s up through the millennium. One player acts as the emcee, reading a string of four clues that are related in some way—perhaps actors from the same movie, songs from the same band or characters from the same TV show or book. Players compete to be the first to guess the common thread. Points are scored depending on the number of clues required to correctly answer the question. Each question also has a quirky follow-up query for the successful contestant, with additional points. The first player to score a specified number of points and to answer one complete question in all five categories (movies, TV, music, books and pop culture in general) wins the game. Call (201) 386-9465, fax (201) 386-9471, www.endlessgames.com.