Last week I went bankrupt. Again. It wasn't pretty to watch, but it didn't help that my bank manager whooped with glee and declared me a “loser”.

Yes, I know he's my son and only 8, and I should have learnt to lose gracefully at Monopoly by now - but does anyone, ever? And, er, isn't that half the fun?

Board games have been forgotten lately, in favour of games consoles and brainteasers such as Su Doku. But now, with the kids on holiday and financially flummoxed families looking for cheap ways to entertain at home, they are winning again.

Initial signs suggest that sales of old stalwarts are enjoying a resurgence this Christmas. According to NPD, the market analysts for the toy industry, Mattel's Scrabble is topping the family games category, with sales up 21 per cent on last year.

In August this year, Monopoly's latest incarnation, Here & Now: The World Edition, launched simultaneously in more than 50 countries and 37 languages. The brand's September sales accounted for 9.6 per cent of the entire UK games market. With the world on its knees, a game where the aim is “to be the only player left after everyone else has gone bankrupt” is finding that the streets are paved with gold.

Agreed, such enforced jollity can smack of Little House on the Prairie, but there are upsides. “Nowadays it's more difficult for families to sit down as equals for their enjoyment,” says Jeffrey Goldstein, a professor of Social Psychology and Chairman of the National Toy Council.

Goldstein has studied game play for 37 years and believes that board games can be hugely beneficial for family life. “Usually, when parents communicate with kids it's to give them instructions, but board games inspire informal conversations where everyone participates,” he says. “Plus, traditional games get handed down and become one of the threads that connect a family.”

“During a recession people do come back to board games because they're a cost-effective way to spend family time,” says Craig Wilkins, Senior Brand Manager for Monopoly's parent company, Hasbro.

Alongside the classics, there is a whole host of brilliant games you've probably never heard of just waiting to fill those long, winter afternoons. The award-winning Triolet, a kind of Scrabble with numbers, is super simple but can be as tactically complex as you want to make it. Bezzerwizzer, a tactical quiz game, is outselling Trivial Pursuit by three to one across Europe. And Stephen Fry calls Perudo, a Peruvian bluffing game involving dice, the “second most addictive thing ever to come out of South America”.

Unlike video games, which kids invariably complete and then forget, a good board game can last a lifetime - or longer. Games such as Backgammon, Mancala, Parchisi and Go have been around for thousands of years. Several sets of Senet, the world's oldest known board game dating to around 3500BC, were found in Tutankhamun's tomb.

But not everyone is a fan. One in three members of Mumsnet.com, the UK's largest online community for parents, deem board games a recipe for family fall-out. “We don't play them because someone cheats and it always ends in an argument,” complained one mother.

Mumsnetters said that Monopoly and Risk were most likely to cause blow-ups. “Monopoly turns my husband from caring socialist into Robert Maxwell and the kids regard it as a licence to bicker,” wrote one mum. “So I just leave the house.”

PLAYING IT SAFE: HOW TO KEEP THE PEACE

Know your game type Brian Sutton Smith, the play theorist, found that agricultural cultures at the mercy of nature's unpredictability favoured games of chance, while capitalist economies preferred those of strategy. Work out whether your brood is more hedgerow or hedge fund and choose accordingly.

Know their limits Guaranteed glory aside, it's pointless playing Trivial Pursuit with a toddler. Check age range and playing times first.

Lead by example Board games teach fair play, patience and sharing - provided that you remember your job as role model. It's OK to show your frustration, but do it calmly and not by tipping the board over.

Play to win Kids need to learn to win and lose. If you always “let” them win, you'll create a monster. Where necessary, level the playing field by adapting rules to suit ability.

Know when to admit defeat Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things end in tears. If it's not you sobbing, calmly suggest a break. If necessary, use diversionary tactics such as chocolate - or the PS3.

THE LEADER BOARDS: THIS YEAR'S MOST WANTED

Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition An international edition with electronic banking
RRP £24.99; age 8+

Scrabble Original Sixty years old this year and still going strong
RRP £18.69; age 10+

Deal or No Deal A board game version of the popular TV show
RRP £19.99; age 8+

Cluedo Made over with new rooms, characters, weapons and the chance you'll get bumped off during play
RRP £14.99; age 9+

Game of Life Twists & Turns An “electronic life machine” monitors players' success
RRP £8.99; age 9+

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