Christmas and other holiday gift-giving time is coming around the corner and one of the hardest parts I often find is finding the right gifts for the right people. Do you get clothes, toys, electronics, gift cards or other odd and unique trinkets that you scramble to find? How do you get gifts for the younger kids up through the grandparents?
What if for just a moment we take our motto here at Gaming with Sidekicks and apply it to our gift-giving adventures? “Games we like with the people we love” can be our holiday motto as we look for games we like to play to share with the people we love. So today I want to present our first Board Game Gift Giving Guide!
When you look to give the gift of boardgames to friends and family it is important to know what type of games would appeal to the people you are buying them for. Some of these recommendations will not be exactly right for your particular gift receiver, but for the most part these are games that will be good options or give you a jumping spot for them!
(The links found in this article are for reference only, we do not profit from any purchases made through them. The games mentioned are recommended by the author who has no financial gain from them as well.)
Games for families
Kids can range from young right on up through high schoolers-but there is a theme I think that always appeals to kids-fun! The games I want to recommend are all fun, all easy to play and are sure to be a hit around the table with them all.
If we add some adults in to the mix with the kiddos, games can be a great way for families to have a lot of fun around the table. I’ve got a few suggestions for families to play with their kids or others to have a good time this holiday season! Here are a few titles that we would recommend this year:
2-4 players have a blast dropping many different shapes into a vertical column and see how they land. The action is quick and the games plays young and old pretty even-this is definitely going to be a beacon on the table for the whole family!
Trash is all over, and in this game you want to give it to everyone else before they give it to you! Declutter the fun shapes before others clutter your space-this game for 2-5 players is a blast for everyone at the table!
Monsters, dice and smashing your friends-what more can I kid want? King of Tokyo is a smash-em-up game of dice rolling and card playing that kids and adults alike all love to play! Get this one and watch the punches fly all around!
The successor to the game Cover Your A$$ets, Cover Your Kingdom is a fun, silly and sometimes (most times!) take that, back and forth fight at the table between players! If you enjoy getting at each other and really sticking it to your friends and family, this is a good way to get that in!
Toy Story Obstacles and Adventures
Cooperative deck building done well, Toy Story Obstacles and Adventures lets the whole family get together to try and fight through various scenes and situations from all the the Toy Story movies! Pick your favorite character and have a blast moving into the world we all love to explore!
The Grimm Forest is a fun time through the fairytales we all are know from our youth but with a fun twist! The production on this is top notch and the game just shines. Take on each other and see who can build the strongest houses and survive this journey through fantasy!
2-5 players explore the seas, coming up with treasures and shells to build their best collections. This game is full of high-quality production and is sure to be a hit with all the members of your family. Don’t miss out on a chance to explore the seas in Wreck Raiders!
Adults
These games can be played by a variety of ages and experience levels, but these are the ones I would be buying for adult friends looking to explore the world of board gaming. They are solid games that are bound to reel in some fans when they hit the table!
Azul is simplistic in design and gameplay but has so much depth each time it hits the table. It looks clean and beautiful on the table and is bound to be a hit with any of your puzzle-loving friends.
This game of ornithologists is a smooth engine builder that plays easy right out of the box. Everyone will love the art and the number of birds that really make the theme of this game shine. This is sure to “take off” with all your friends!
Tile placing and a race to build the best park highlight the basic nature of this game. It is a “tetris-like” game with polyominoes to construct and puzzle through. An easy and quick game to play but sure to bring a fun time to the table.
Tiny Towns is a 1-6 player game that allows for a lot of players to all feel involved in every turn and build their best design compared to everyone else. It plays quick and has some great components to really make it stand out.
Dice and some paper and you’ve got the game ready to go! This is a great roll-and-write and an easy way to introduce that game style to players that may only know Yahtzee as a dice-roller. Loads of fun and easy to teach, this one is bound to be a hit!
Strictly a 2-player game, Shobu is my go-to player vs. player game and is so beautifully simple you won’t know how you didn’t come up with it yourself. It is fun and easy to learn but has so much depth to it. Don’t miss this one for fans of chess or other strategy games.
I really enjoy the beauty and the simplicity of this game. Area control done in a gorgeous package, your nature lovers will want to play this and your gamers won’t be disappointed. We have had a blast with this one and so will you!
Welcome to is a very fun game that will play with a small and large number of players well. It is a flip and write game that will be easily accessible to a number of different gamers and easy to play right out of the box. Fun for all and a great addition to anyone’s collection!
Be the first to comment