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?
@amy: There should be other Braille or tactile games as well in these catalogs. I also know of the Braille Super Store and I’ll have to look for others.
Ooh, I came here for a different reason and found this great list.
DH and I love games and it’s just the 2 of us. I echo the recs for Sushi Go, and Fungi. Lost Cities is one of my personal favorites.
I don’t think anyone mentioned Tokaido. I stumbled onto this one last year on Amazon and it’s one of the most beautifully designed games I’ve seen. Plus it’s easy to play 2 player. Even better is they have extensions for it now.
We also play Dominion but it’s not my favorite – DH loves it though so we play it a lot.
Tsuro is a quick and easy game for 2 as well.
My husband and I are big Ticket to Ride fans! For two people only we highly recommend Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries – which can only be played with groups of 2-3, but is super competitive with just us 2. We own two other versions of Ticket to Ride – the original which is great for bigger groups or teaching other people who aren’t that in to games how to play. The European version is in between those two – it can be played by 2, but is more fun in bigger groups.
I am planning to get my nephew Ticket to Ride Jr. in an attempt to get him hooked!
My husband and I also like Forbidden Island since you play together rather than competively. Lastly, I would recommend the game Hoopla by Cranium which is kind of old, but it is a cooperative game where you work against the clock together as a group – this is more of a party game we play at holidays or parties.