Hail to the Chief
The board game Hail to the Chief can take the humdrum out of learning all about our nation's  presidents, the election process, U.S. history, and geography. The object is to be the first "candidate" to  land on the Presidential Seal. The game, designed for children and adults to play together,   is divided into two parts: the Convention and the Campaign. During the Convention, you, the delegate,  must accumulate enough correct answers about presidents and the presidency to advance to the Campaign  portion, where you'll have to answer questions about U.S. history and geography. The beauty of this game  is that the questions are grouped into four difficulty ratings--easy child, hard child, easy adult, hard  adult--so players of all knowledge levels can play together. Some of the easy questions are really easy ("Name the  national anthem of the U.S."), while others seem a bit obscure ("Did Dakota Territory troops fight in the  Civil War?"). The game also tests your honor, since the answers to many questions appear visually on the  board itself ("What are the states that border Lake Michigan?"). This Aristoplay game is a Parents' Choice  Award winner, and it's no wonder--the trivia-style game helps kids learn in a fun setting and lets adults  brush up on seventh-grade history and our democratic process.--Diane Tuman