Talking a Good Game

Tired of talking about the troubled economy or the slowly arriving spring weather at cocktail parties and family gatherings? TableTopics—a set of 135 cards with interesting questions—makes it easy to transform an idle chat into a thought-provoking conversation.

The Gourmet Edition is filled with food- and wine-themed conversation starters, but this isn't a game for food snobs. Rather, it's a way to delve deeper into your guests' interests and experiences. The cards are packaged in a beautifully designed acrylic cube, and with a $25 price tag, it makes a great host or hostess gift. If you want to bring TableTopics on the road, check out the Wine Topics to Go ($9 and 40 cards). 

Other topics vary from Decades to Right or Wrong, with editions tailored for adults, families or teens. You can even find them translated into Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese.

Here are some sample questions from the Gourmet Edition: Table Topics

1.      What's the bottle in your cellar that you're most looking forward to drinking?

2.      Which celebrity chef would you most like to fix you a meal?

3.      What's the most impressive meal you've ever cooked?

4.      What's the worst mess you've made in the kitchen?

5.      What's your most unusual piece of cooking equipment?

6.      What's your favorite retro cocktail?

7.      If you opened a restaurant what kind of food would you serve?