With only occasional exceptions, the most enjoyable games tend to come from rather small companies. These are companies that often can't afford large distribution channels and their games will therefore never be found in a Wal-Marts or a Toys 'R' Us. For that reason, most Americans may never become aware of these games.

My friends and I would like to change that -- at least in our immediate geographical area, which is eastern Pennsylvania in the United States.

Three of us have banded together to form a partnership called Test Drive Games. The idea behind Test Drive Games is that we'll remove some of the risk behind buying games. We don't like to shell out money for a game, only to discover that we don't like it. To help others avoid that fate, we demonstrate some of our favorite games at local gatherings. We teach people the rules and let them play a game as often as they like. We also sell these games, and we hope that if they like a game enough to decide to buy it, perhaps they'll buy it from us. But in any event, they've discovered a new, fun game and they got the chance to take it out for a spin.

If you'd like more information about our endeavors, please visit the Test Drive Games Web site.