Trailer Park Wars, Call of the Cthulhu, and the Game of Redneck Life were just a few of the many game choices at the second annual Montana Game Faire at Carroll College on Saturday.

Visitors heard laughter, such exclamations as, "Drop your sword!" or just the gentle ebb and flow of conversations.

That was the point of the fair -- getting people to have fun, play, talk and interact, said Game Faire organizers Greg Schneider and Cory Cummings. Both Schneider and Cummings would like to see the return of game nights to kitchen tables and living rooms around Montana, rather than families parked in front of TV sets.

"That's our goal is to build community," said Cummings.

His favorite games are role-playing ones.

"You get to encounter things outside yourself, playing different roles in different stories," he said.

And he likes to play them with his teenagers. It's a chance to have all sorts of conversations, including ones about values and morality, he said.

Besides sparking creativity, games can help children learn reading, math, pattern recognition, cognitive and social skills, Schneider said.

For instance, to play the board game Settlers of Catan, "you have to negotiate" and practice diplomacy. These skills can be applied everywhere, said Schneider.

There are a host of new games available for all ages, and Jonathan Crummett of World Games of Montana, was happy to talk about some of his favorites. One of those is Qwirkle, a recent winner of the prestigious Mensa award. Qwirkle is a good game for children ages 6 or older, including adults. The players score points by linking together game pieces by either color or pattern. It also involves strategy, so a player doesn't set up a scoring opportunity for a competitor.

Crummett's personal favorite is Power Grid, an economics strategy game involving building power plants. The economics shift throughout the game as market values for the fuel sources fluctuate according to ever-changing supply and demand.

And then there are the fun and wacky games. The winner in the Game of Redneck Life is the one to finish with the most teeth left.

"One thing I like about (games), it gives you a chance to slow down. ... With a board game you get to sit around a table with people," said Crummett. "There's no TV screen. It's just a good way to do things with people. Also, it's exercise for your mind."

Some of the games are as mentally demanding as a good physical workout is for the body, he said.

The fair attracted both novices and experts. The youngest fair attendee appeared to be 18-month-old Zora Holt, who was accompanying her father, Jason Holt. Her favorite game is "the thank you game," he said. It consists of her picking up things off the floor, handing them back and saying, "Thank you."

Holt's own favorite is Puerto Rico, which involves building plantations and shipping goods to market.

The attendee who traveled the furthest was probably Lee Shinaberry from Arkansas. While in the military stationed at Great Falls, he made friends with members of a local gaming club, the Sandbaggers. He traveled back to Montana to join them for the game fair.

"You can go coast to coast and it's rare to find gaming clubs" that are not part of game stores, he said.

The advantage of forming a game club is there's always a place to play and people to play with at any time of the day, he said. Fellow Sandbagger Clint Forney said the Great Falls club has been meeting since the early 1990s.

"Whatever level of game playing you are at, there's a game for you," he said.

And for those who want to play games, but don't enjoy the tension of competition, there are also choices.

Schneider recommends Apples to Apples, a hilarious game of wacky comparisons that can be played by all ages.

And there's Shadows Over Camelot, where all the players have to work together to save Camelot or the game wins.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@

helenair.com.