Buying a computer game as a surprise for someone else is a snap: Find something with top reviews, plunk down $50 and you’re set.

Granted, “find something good and give it” works in theory but, when it comes to buying for tabletop gamers, there’s a hidden risk: You might have to actually play the game.

This year’s lineup focuses on stuff that you can be comfortable giving, and you stand a real chance of having fun even if you normally want nothing to do with funny dice games:

Konami, USAopoly and Hasbro are teaming up for a board game collaboration that could have epic consequences. Metal Gear Solid fans without access to their favorite console can, for $49.95, acquire Risk: Metal Gear Solid Limited Edition later this year. You’ll have to act quickly if you want one though, as the “limited” moniker isn’t just for show…

Don’t look now, but Risk, traditionally a pretty serious take on strategy games, is becoming accessible to the masses. Risk:Factions hit Xbox Live and PlayStation Network in 2010 and added a little humor to the strategy game’s traditionally serious setup. Instead of real-world military rivals, it featured factions such as cats and zombies. At its Summer Showcase, EA announced it’s bringing the blend of strategy and humor to Facebook.

Title: Conquest of NerathPrice: $79.99Release Date: June 21, 2011Publisher: Wizards of the CoastAge: 12 and upPros: Plenty of nice pieces, the rules are very straightforward, game plays just as well with 2 or 4 players and plenty of carnage.Cons: The simple rules and setup make grand strategy and teamwork fairly limited, the linkup with Dungeons and Dragons is minimal and there are a few balance/design issues in the game.Overall Score: One thumb up and one thumb sideways, 82/100, B, *** out of 5

What happens when you put zombies, yetis, fanatical cats, killer robots and human soldiers together? An all-out war for world domination, of course.

Electronic Arts (EA) has brought that extremely unlikely scenario to pixelated life, pitting wacky faction against each other in a revamped version of the classic Hasbro board game called Risk Factions.

It is time to get strategic as Risk:Factions comes to the Xbox Live Marketplace. It features the classic world-conquering gameplay we’ve come to live, but adds groups such as robots and zombies to the mix. Because every video game can be improved with zombies, or so we’re told. EA is trying to streamline the Risk experience so it doesn’t take all day to conquer your objectives. It will be available June 23 for 800 Microsoft Points.

With Risk: Factions, EA is giving a classic board game a few new faces to play with. The company is also tweaking the rules, maps and adding objectives…

If, like me, you’re a student, you’re probably nearing finals and are on the verge of an educational burn out. Sometimes all you need is something fun to play to distract yourself for a short time and so you can relax. After all, a calm mind will help you in the long run.

Here are a few tabletop games you can play to help you relax along with a few additional suggestions that should help rest (or reset) your mind…

Looking at the world’s political instability, it’s easy to think that things are so bad, the only way to cope with it is by laughing. And playing board games.

Released by British game production/development company TerrorBull Games in 2006, War on Terror: the Board Game was conceived during the “War on Terror” in 2003 and is an apt but scathing comparison to the real world. Also, because of the nature of the game, it had been banned from nearly every game convention in the United States.

WOT is a modern-day version of Risk that mixes in elements from Monopoly. Game pieces are…