Tired of going to the video store with the kids to rent those ever-popular video games? Many new services have cropped up in the last few years that make this parental ritual, and the late fees that go along with it, a thing of the past.

Going online to rent a video game is a great way to eliminate another errand and keep the kids happy. You never have to go any further than your mailbox, and you can keep the games until the kids are tired of them or beat them (whichever comes first).

Several services like Gamefly, Numbthumb and RentZero have begun serving this lucrative market, and the number of companies joining them is growing monthly. The concept is simple and convenient.

The services work more like a subscription than a video rental store. You select several games (up to 50 at Gamefly) that you would like to rent sometime in the future. These are placed in a lineup, or queue, that you will receive. Then, you