Indoor recreation options for winter listed

Our cherished dictionary tells us that hibernate is derived from the Latin hibernus, meaning "relating to winter."

We can't think of a better way to relate to winter than to settle in with a pot of hot chocolate, a handful of loved ones and a heap of movies, books and board games.

Let the intrepid souls schuss and slalom to their hearts' content -- we're firmly committed to indoor recreation.

Wide-awake chess: For an electrifying match, try design superhero Karim Rashid's sculpted green-and-orange chess set. $58 at www.thetech.org.

Tabled: Part of Crate and Barrel's handsome, Mission-inspired Clipper line, this game table offers five pullout drawers for chess, checkers, backgammon (with a marquetry veneer board), cribbage, Chinese checkers and dominoes. Design plus: it works as an end table but slides on hidden castors for greater versatility. $179 at www.crateandbarrel.com.

King of kitsch: Although your tonier designers will disagree, we say that no house has been properly decorated until it sports a bowling accent or two. Bowling pin lamp, $79.95 at www.giftcatalog.com.

Floor show: These funky wool area rugs, 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet, are functional boards for backgammon, checkers and Parcheesi. Cost is $62 each (game pieces are included) at www.garnethill.com.

Ouchless darts: As the vendor's Web site wisely notes, a magnetic darts set offers all the fun of the original -- while keeping your furnishings, and loved ones, puncture-free. Cost is $35 at www.mackinawkiteco.com.

Everything but the password: For better or worse, this reproduction of a Prohibition-era gambling kit is an American original: The ersatz violin case contains a portable, scaled-down casino. Cost is $79.95 at www.giftcatalog.com.