Time for another installment of our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide!
As usual, if you have any other gift ideas or want to tells us all about a wonderful item you discovered, please email me! We love shopping for ourselves, and for all of you, and we compile the gift guide all year – and we really love all your suggestions!
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This week? GAMES! Some of you have sent in some excellent game recommendations, and this is always a fun topic. Elyse has written about games before for prior gift guides, but each year, nifty games to play with friends and family are released.
This summer, while my dudes were at camp, I sent them each a game, and both were huge successes among pre-teen boys covered in sunscreen and bug spray.
Sleeping Queens, $15 in TinI like games that come in a tin or some sort of sturdy box, especially for camp, but Sleeping Queens also comes in a box for $10. This game was played for hours, and was easy to figure out, according to my younger son (Baba O’Riley, if you’ve been reading the site for awhile).
My older son, Freebird, received this one, and he loved it so much he tried to get us to play while we waited for a pizza order on visiting day:
Goat Lords, $20It has a bit of a steeper learning curve, but he was able to teach us how to play – and it’s very fun. This one is approved and endorsed by at least 15 teenage boys, all of whom wanted to play constantly.
Fluxx ($12-20): there is a Fluxx version for whatever you are into, I think, no matter how obscure. We have at least three different versions, including Cartoon Network, original recipe Fluxx, and one other which is escaping my mind right now. I know many of you have different themed Fluxx decks – which is your favorite?
Another camper-approved game I sent as a gift last year: Emoji Uno.
Emoji Uno, $6.00It’s played like the Uno you’re familiar with, but with a few additions. For example, there are some cards where, if played, one of the players must hold that emoji expression until their next turn. This can get very silly.
Rebecca emailed me with some excellent suggestions, too: “Here are games that I’ve played over and over again with my family and we love them.”
Quixx – Fast Family Dice Game, $7
Rebecca says: “…easy dice game, not much strategy, pretty fast, kids can play – maybe 8 years and older?”
Codenames, $15Rebecca’s comments: “slower paced game, really fun thinking involved with it, challenging.” RedHeadedGirl backs her up on this one, and agrees it is fun. (I think I have to buy this one this year, after considering it several times before.)
Five Crowns, $12Rebecca’s comments: “a gin rummy type game, good for a wide range of ages – 10 – 90, played this for years and we all still love it.”
Qwirkle, $20Rebecca says, “the play creates a beautiful board, medium strategy, visually oriented.” We have this game, and it’s very fun and engaging. Plus it challenges people across a wide range of ages. My younger son was terrific at it, which he enjoyed a LOT. There’s also a travel version of Qwirkle that comes in a little bag for $15.
Thanks, Rebecca!
Finally, there are several different kinds of games like these, but lately my younger son and I have really enjoyed games that encourage players to work together.
Forbidden Island, $18With games like Forbidden Island or Forbidden Desert, players have to work cooperatively to win, and that makes the experience of playing unique and excellent fun.
One really smart trick I learned from friends: keep your games in an easy-to-reach place, or stored together in sight, so when you’re pondering what to do, you’ll be able to grab a game easily. That’s worked for us, for sure.
What about you? What games are you recommending and playing? What have you bought or received that you loved?
“Codenames” was fun. My in-laws have it and we played it a lot at last Christmas. My husband and I are always looking for good two player games. He’s a serious gamer, I’m just along for the ride.
The best we’ve found for us is “San Juan.” It has some strategy, but it is not too “heavy.” “Timeline” is good and plays quickly like “Flux.”
I also like “Dominion” but that is one where my husband (who is much better at strategy across all games) beats me pretty consistently, so it may not have as much replaying value when people are at different skill levels. Same with “Lost Cities”, which is only possible to play with two players. Both those started out fun and might stay fun for people who are more gaming types. I would say the games are for 12 and up.
I know these don’t sound like ringing endorsements, but keep in mind I’m the reluctant gamer, not the enthusiast. I keep telling my husband, “my brain doesn’t work like yours.”
I do however like to buy games as presents for the husband and his game loving family, so ideas are always appreciated.
I LOVE games!!! Sushi Go! is great for kids and adults (8+) and the games are quick.
Other than Cards Against Humanity, other big hits for my friend group have been What Do You Meme (similar style to CAH, but with meme picture cards), Forbidden Island, and Unstable Unicorns.
I love the 2 games released by Awkward Yeti: Organ Attack and Heart & Brain. Organ Attack is more of an attack based card game with various ailments you can play on certain organs…it’s funny and entertaining, even my parents who are not Internet dwellers liked it.
Heart & Brain is a more social/party game that combines elements of Truth or Dare, Cards Against Humanityish group card selection rounds, and trivia challenges. We played it and had a winner in about 30 minutes.
Happy Holidays!
My family is really into board games.
I bought my younger son Forbidden Island. My older son is getting Hogwarts Battle, a cooperative deck building game that is obviously Harry Potter themed. My husband is getting One Deck Dungeon- I’m excited to see the artwork on that one because all the characters are women.
Games the we currently love not mentioned by others above are King of Tokyo, which appeals to fans of monsters (Godzilla, etc) and video games; Tsuro, a quick tile laying game with beautiful artwork where you try to make the longest path; and Pandemic: The Cure, a dice game where you cooperatively find cures for diseases (there is also a card based version).
If you are interested in games, the website https://boardgamegeek.com/ has great resources including a gift guide split into categories. But I think YouTube is the best resource for game reviews, instructional videos on how to play and even videos of Wil Wheaton playing games.
I’m in the market for great 2-player games since it’s just my husband and me at home, and I’m quickly getting bored with watching movies. I saw Jill Q’s recommendations, but does anyone have other recommendations? Card games, board games, dice games . . . all are equally welcome!
Slate has a whole section about family games today, for anyone interested.
@Kim. Ah, ha ha! I have more recs! 😉 I went back to the game shelf and stared at it for a while. We also like “Phase 10″(rummy type game, I believe, but don’t quote me since I don’t play rummy), “Quiddler” which is a bit like “Scrabble” with cards instead of tiles. Mancala is one where I actually beat my husband a fair amount, so that makes it more fun for me, of course. 😉 It’s good for kids probably about 7 and up too. “Carcassone” is good if you’re good at visual strategy (I’m not) and “Set” is good if you’re more of a pattern seeking person. That one you can play alone, which I like.
There’s also “Grifters” (another one where my husband figured out a winning strategy, so it may not have great replay value). And “Pecking Order” which is like a more strategic version of War. It plays fast too.
I second Steph’s recommendation of Board Game Geek. You can search for just two player games and people leave very detailed reviews. Very helpful for shopping.
Of course, there’s always cribbage. Great two player game, plays fast once you know the rules. Enough luck for me and enough strategy for those types 😉
Okay, I really have to go do chores now. Boo!
Some 2 player games:
Tides of Time
Tides of Madness
Card drafting game with beautiful art.
Odin’s Ravens a card based racing game.
Shahrazad a story game.
Ravens of Thri Sahashri a very strange game with beautiful artwork.
For more than 2 people:
Secret Santa: A card game of competive gift giving
Samurai Gardener: build gardens with cards.
Most of the games are from Osprey Publishing.
Kim, there are some great multi-player games that work well with two players. My husband and I frequently play Ticket to Ride and SmashUp (which has a lot of fun themed expansion packs) two player. Dead of Winter works pretty well, too. I suspect Sagrada would, but I haven’t tried it.
And of course, as Jill said, Carcassonne and Set.
My friends and I are absolutely addicted to 7 Wonders – it’s got great replay value, even with the base game, though the expansions are also well worth the money. Recommended for anyone who likes video games like Civilization.
If you’re looking for something quick and fun and surprisingly complex for how few cards it has, definitely look at Love Letter. Another one that has various versions, a la Flux; we’re particularly fond of Lovecraft Letter, which adds a Madness mechanic that can be super fun!
@Kim: pick me! Pick me! I got recommendations for you!
My husband and I are big gamers, but we can’t always get together a group, so we mostly play just the two of us. One closet is stuffed full of all kinds of games. I even carry Sushi Go in my purse so we can play anywhere. (Yes, we are those kinds of nerds.) (And yes, Sushi Go is good for just us.)
In the games SB Sarah mentions, Quirkle and Forbidden Island are both fun for two. Tsuro and its sequel Tsuro of the Sea as mentioned by Steph are great for two and just as much fun in larger groups.
Jill’s recommendation for Lost Cities – a longtime favorite in my house – brings up a great point. Lots of games are made for just two players. We have many dedicated two player games, but I’d say our favorites right now are Santorini, Odin’s Ravens, and The Blood of an Englishman. In Santorini, you are racing to build the city of Santorini. The pieces are molded plastic, so you are actually building, which is neat. It’s simple to pick up and plays fast. Odin’s Ravens has you playing as Odin’s two ravens. He’s sent you out to gather news of the world, and the first one back, wins. The Blood of an Englishman is a really clever asymmetric game where one of you plays Jack and the other plays the giant. The rules are different for each player as Jack tries to rob the giant and the giant tries to capture Jack
Other games that we love that play well with just two people are Splendor, Century Spice Road, Azul, Seikatsu, Hanabi, Lotus…I need to stop. Seriously, I could go on.
If you want to get more into games, look up the Dice Tower and Shut Up and Sit Down. Both do lots of YouTube reviews plus podcasts and written reviews. They cost us a lot of money.
Kim- I pretty much second everything that Kimberly Anne said and can’t help chiming in with a few more suggestions.
Patchwork is a fun tile laying game with a quilting theme that’s just for two.
Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small is a fun game where you build a farm for animals. It has great wooden animal tokens. It’s also specifically for two.
San Juan and Dominion as recommended by Jill Q both play well with two.
I like Banagrams and Rummikub. I’ve taken them to our family’s annual camping trip and everybody loves playing the games.
A cooperative board game that my husband and I play often is Pandemic. We haven’t tried any of the expansion packs yet. Slowly teaching our littles (almost 8 year old and almost 6 year old) how to play.
Second the recommendation of Dominion from the above comments and Quirkle from the original post.
Last Christmas we played Speed Cups. The concept is super simple: just stack the cups in the same order as the drawing on the card and the first one ready can ring the bell.
My son (9yo) was never a fan, but everybody else had tons of fun.
Another two person game not yet mentioned is Morels which is also available in a similar format under the name Fungi. You can see them here:
https://www.amazon.com/Two-Lanterns-Games-Morels/dp/B00CS41TQ0
and https://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Spiele-18113G-Fungi-Board/dp/B00ICF0IQQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1543424916&sr=1-1&keywords=fungi
I started a thread about games on another board. Here’s that link if you are interested: https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/681011-games-~-what-are-you-giving-any-new-discoveries-what-are-you-hoping-to-receive/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-8252855
GAMES!! My family is into really strategy complicated board games that take forever to learn but are extremely rewarding once you know how they work. Definitely not super kid-friendly though. My faves:
Terra Mystica (like Settlers of Catan on steroids)
Rising Sun (like Diplomacy but way more fun)
Dino Island (making a dino theme park! what’s not to love??)
Root (You are a woodland creature faction battling other woodland creature factions for control of the forest)
Eminent Domain (shorter card game about amassing a planetary empire)
I lobby also for a video games gift post!! There are so many video games that are romance-reader friendly!
I thought this was going to be about video games (lots of great visual novels out there for romance fans!), but board and card games are fun too. I used to have a gaming group but can’t remember what most of my favorite games were, beyond Settlers of Catan. FYI, anyone interested in computer versions of board games (like Pandemic and Agricola) should check out one of the current Humble Bundles (https://www.humblebundle.com/games/board-games-bundle?hmb_source=navbar&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=tile_index_1). You can get the whole thing for only $8, and part of the money goes to charity.
Hmm, my earlier comment did not post, perhaps due to too many links.
Another fun game for two players is Morels which is also available in a slightly different format under the name Fungi. (You can find them both at Amazon.)
I’ll second Love Letter, SET, and Bananagrams.
Anyone have suggestions for whole family games that are good with a 5 year old? I bought Animal Upon Animal, a stacking game, and she’s alllllllmost old enough for Rummikub and enjoys card games, but it’d be nice for everyone to sit and play a game aimed at whole family play rather than one just aimed at kids (Kids Headbanz is fun, but there are super limited options for questions that I think stifle some of the creativity that goes along with the spirit of the game).
Also, I highly recommend Things as a group party game. A topic is given and people write down their responses, then each round a person has to guess who wrote what response. I’ve played this a lot with my family and my favorite moment was when my mom had to guess who wrote what and the topic was “ Things that shouldn’t be lumpy” and everyone in our family has the same answer, my mom’s go-to breakfast to make (that she is horrible at making), Cream of Wheat. The game is also good if you want to provide the opportunity for your grandma to make dick jokes.
I started a thread on another board that might be of interest ~ https://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/681011-games-~-what-are-you-giving-any-new-discoveries-what-are-you-hoping-to-receive/
I second many of the above suggestions. Great recommendations! KatherWe are the proud (?) owners of 1000 + games. How can we resist Love Letter?? A quick card game. 7 Wonders Duel is a great 2 player game. Code Names has pictures. Superhero, Disney and undercover/adult versions too.
Our family has always been very big into games of all kinds, and my older son especially remains so. He loves the open game room at CONjuration every year where he discovers new games and competes in tournaments (won the Love Letter tournament this year!) Enthusiastically second Sushi Go, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride,and Fluxx (we have the Monty Python edition). Other favorites include Tokkaido, a tour of the Tokkaido road picking up souvenirs as you go; Evolution, in which you develop lifeforms with predatory or defensive advantages; and Nefarious, in which you play competing supervillains trying to take over the world. And of course our old favorites UpWords (like three dimensional Scrabble) and Apples to Apples. A fun card game that I stumbled across and bought for a camping trip is Bandits, in which you play either the Old West bandits doing the robbing or the lawmen trying to stop them (and sometimes both!) This is a good game for kids who are learning to count and add, and can be positively hilarious.
Wil Wheaton has a great podcast called Tabletop https://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/ in which he gets together with various celebrity friends and playtests games of all kinds. This is a great way to view actual game play mechanics and get an idea of whether a game is right for you.
We have a blind family member so anything that relies on visuals or speed is out for us. I’m intrigued by the cooperative games like Hidden Island. Would some who can’t see still find it enjoyable? Any other recs? Thanks!
Oops. Make that Forbidden Island!
My old roommates and I had game nights all the time, so I have Many Thoughts and Opinions.
My best friend’s fiance loves those complicated niche board games like Betrayal at the House on the Hill and Affliction: Salem 1692, so we’d play them all the time once they started dating. I pretty much hated both of them because there are too many confusing rules with thousands of tiny pieces to lose. I was still finding Betrayal tokens a year after she moved in with him. Also, my friends would insist on playing spooky music while we played, which just creeped me out.
I second Pandemic because it’s one of those cooperative games and pretty fast paced. Plus there’s so many cool roles to play, and I liked the little cube pieces.
As for card games, my family loves Spot It!, where you pick out an object on the card that matches an object from the previous card. If you guess it right, you can put down one of your cards, and you win when you run out of cards. However, if your family is competitive like mine, it can get kind of loud. Sushi Go is quick and fun too, but it was a little harder for me to get the rules. I also love Super Fight, where you and another person try to convince the rest of the group who would win in a fight. The fighters are created by selecting a character card and 2 attribute cards, typically a strength and a weakness. I’ve played with my friends and with my parents, and both groups had a blast. Plus, it lead to my mother saying “a Kardashian Megazord”, which endlessly delights me.
Alexandra, I’m not big into board games by the rest of my family (husband and 6 and 8 year old sons) love them. Our favorite family games are Ticket to Ride Jr. Edition, Dixit, Life, Monopoly, and Magic Labyrinth.
Amy, take a look at Forbidden Island/Desert/the new one I can’t remember on BoardGameGeek. Members often upload pictures of the tiles and layout.
It’s very possible you could modify your set for touch, as the visuals are simple binary tiles and large pieces.
Amy, Nyctophobia is a new board game that sighted players play blindfolded, and was made with the designers blind family member in mind, I believe. Also, Check out Meeple Like Us – http://meeplelikeus.co.uk/ They do both regular reviews and accessibility teardowns of each game to evaluate how much might need to be adjusted for various scenarios. They look at color blindness, and then at visual, cognitive, emotional, physical, socioeconomic, and communicative accessibility, both individually and intersection wise as well. It’s a really excellent resource.
I always recommend ENCORE. It’s set up a lot like Trivial Pursuit with a game board and cards with either words or themes. You must come up with a song lyric of at least 8 consecutive words that contains your word, eg: moon, or that pertains to your theme eg: Patriototic songs. The play goes back and forth until a team can’t come up with a lyric.
Did I mention that you MUST SING the lyric or it doesn’t count?
We have had the best time with this.
Two caveats, Do no let people who went to Bible camp together play on the same team. I swear they make things up and then back each other up when you call them on it. My old roommate and her cousin used to do this. There can not possibly be that many church songs about boats. Second, never underestimate kids. They’ll sucker punch you with Sesame Street and Raffi tunes.
Also, started trying to remember all the games everyone has mentioned I wanted to agree with but there’s too many, lots of good suggestions here! One two player friendly game I wanted to mention though was Touring. I prefer the looks of older copies, but current copies are widely available for about $6-9. It’s a fun fast simple card game that works great with two. It’s very “take that!” but if things don’t go someone’s way, it won’t be long before that game is over and you can try again. We have a 1966 copy my mother got new, and we still enjoy playing it as often as we can. 🙂
I must mention Shut the Box which I discovered when I was at a camp for the blind. My friend and I only stopped playing when the people playing another shut the box game needed to borrow a die. I’m assuming one got lost somewhere along the way.
@Amy: Maxiaids or another catalog for the blind should have this game.
For those with a quirky (or deranged) sense of humor, the Exploding Kittens card game by The Oatmeal is lots of fun.
And a couple of indie computer games that I have gifted quite successfully to teens and young adults: RimWorld and Stardew Valley.
Wow, what a fantastic group! Now I need to make a list of all the 2-player games! Thank you everyone.
thank you for the suggestions – I ordered 3 of the games for the nieces!
@Alexandra, the boxes say that they are for age six and up but you might consider Rat-a-Tat Cat and Qwirkle for your five year old.
I am so jealous of everyone who has family members who love to play games! I grew up playing Yahtzee and Scrabble with my Grandma (how she has the patience to play with 5 children under the age of 12, I have no idea!) but my husband and daughter are not board game people. I can get my daughter (who is 24) to play Disney Scene It, along with the Harry Potter Scene It-but I have to use my birthday wish to get them to play any other kind of board game. It is very disappointing to me!
@Maureen, I’m putting a couple of one player games on my holiday wish list this year. Here is an article with some suggestions:
Best Solo Board Games 2018 https://boardgamesland.com/best-solo-board-games/
This was helpful for brainstorming a non-gift card gift for my teenage cousins, thank you!
Gotta say, however, that I’m now picturing a Loretta Chase novel titled “Lord of Goats.”
Thanks for all the amazing ideas re: inclusive games for our blind family member!
@Kareni-Thank you so much for the link! I will definitely check out those games.
@Maureen, you are quite welcome. I hope you find something that hits the spot.