Bored? Try a board game.

Friday night is finally here.

Two large pepperoni pizzas: check.

Refrigerator stocked with beverage of choice: check.

Four to six friends ready for a board game night: check.

Board games: oh crap!

For a truly successful game night, you’ve got to have the right board game.

Feeling nostalgic? Go with something classic like Clue or Sorry. Feeling like taking the stage? Guesstures or good ol’ charades never fail to bring in the fun. Feeling rather verbose? Scrabble, Taboo or Scattergories is sure to tickle the funny bone of any word-savvy game enthusiast.

Don’t know what you’re feeling? Go with Catch Phrase. This game is my go-to guy, tried and true. Electronic or not (it is so last millennium to manually change the reel), Catch Phrase always manages to turn a humdrum Friday night into a genuine, laugh your socks off party.

For the newbies, the game is simple. Seated in a circle with alternating team members, the first player starts to describe the word given on the handheld unit once the timer has started. He passes the unit once his teammates guess the particular word or phrase. If the buzzer goes off while it's your turn, the other team scores a point. That’s it.

The great thing about Catch Phrase is its versatility. If you don’t have even teams, just play with everyone guessing. Add extra challenges by taking away an arm or a leg or certain words from the person describing. For some hilarious charades escapades, act out the given phrase. Or, if competition really strikes your fancy, go head-to-head with one person from each team acting or describing at the same time. However you play, be creative! The game is only as fun as you make it.

With everything in check for your next game night, have fun!