This holiday season, ditch the stress and let us help you find the perfect present with our holiday gift guide. We tried to find a board game for every enthusiast on your list, and we added a smattering of other non-board game items, such as puzzles or themed cookbooks for good measure!
Table of Contents
The Artist
Art Society
2-4 player
30 minutes
10 years old and up
2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $40.00
Art Society is an elegant tile-placement and bidding game where players build prestigious art galleries by acquiring paintings at auction and arranging them to capitalize on the dynamically shifting market values of various art styles.
Bohemians
1-4 player 45-60 minutes 14 years old and up 2/5 complexity
MSRP: $39.95
Bohemians is a deck-building game where players embody aspiring Parisian artists, navigating daily life and searching for inspiration to earn achievements and become the most acclaimed artist.
Canvas
1-5 player 30 minutes 10 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $49.00
In the elegant card-drafting game Canvas, players collect and layer transparent art cards to form unique paintings that score points based on a set of variable criteria, vying to become the most renowned painter.
The Plant Parent
Pergola
1-4 players 45-60 minutes 10 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating MSRP: $49.99
In the competitive, yet relaxing, Euro-style game Pergola, players use action drafting and set collection mechanics to plant flowers, attract charming insects, and design their dream garden oasis to earn the most points.
Horticulture
1-10 players 20 minutes 8 years old and up 1/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $25.00
In the flip-and-write game Horticulture, players simultaneously design their own personal garden plots, earning points by strategically placing drawn plants to form groups and meet a personal garden plan to become the best gardener. Horticulture was one of the Mensa Recommended games of 2024.
Purrfect Plants Jigsaw Puzzle
500 pieces MSRP: $20.00
A sweet puzzle showcasing the artists love for plants and cats.
The History Buff
Watergate
2 player 30-60 minutes 12 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating MSRP: $34.95
In the two-player, card-driven game Watergate, one side plays as the Nixon administration attempting a cover-up, while the other plays as The Washington Post journalists working to link two key informants to the President to trigger his resignation. This is a really great game, even if you aren’t very interested in the subject matter, so feel free to buy this for your significant other, you will enjoy playing it with them too!
Days of Ire: Budapest 1956
1-4 player 60-90 minutes 14 years old and up 3/5 complexity rating MSRP: $45.00
Days of Ire: Budapest 1956 is a historically inspired, card-driven board game where one to four players act as Hungarian revolutionaries fighting to survive the week-long uprising against Soviet oppression in Budapest.
The Virtuoso
HIFI
2-4 player 50 minutes 14 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $40.00
In the strategic, tactical puzzle board game HIFI, players take on the roles of music producers using a rotating turntable action selector to place audio cards on song tracks, strategically matching patterns and fulfilling objectives to record the best B-side of a legendary album.
Hey Yo
2-10 player 15 minutes 8 years old and up 1/5 complexity rating MSRP: $23.00
Hey Yo is a fast-paced, cooperative party game where players, acting as a rap crew, must work together in real-time, dropping cards to the beat of an included musical device to match keywords and score points. This one is also the perfect size for a stocking stuffer!
The Scientist
ImmunoWars
2-6 players 30-90 minutes 12 years old and up 3/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $49.95
ImmunoWars is a strategic “take that” card game where players wage biowarfare by infecting opponents with scientifically accurate viruses and bacteria, using medicine and immune responses to be the last survivor.
Science of Monsters – the Origins of the Creatures we Love to Fear
MSRP: $18.99
The book Science of Monsters – the Origins of the Creatures we Love to Fear, written by science journalist Matt Kaplan explores the cultural history and real-world scientific inspirations, from ancient fossils to modern psychology and diseases, behind legendary creatures like vampires, dragons, and the Kraken.
The Mystic
The Dungeons & Dragons Tarot Deck
MSRP: $24.99
The official Dungeons & Dragons Tarot Deck is a 78-card set that aligns iconic D&D characters, creatures, and lore with the traditional Major and Minor Arcana of tarot. We have lots of other fun tarot and oracle decks for sale. Check them out here, just choose the “tarot and oracle decks” category from our accessories page.
The Master Chef
Düngeonmeister Cookbook
MSRP: $19.99
The Düngeonmeister Cookbook offers 75 RPG-inspired recipes for game night-friendly snacks and shareable meals, perfect for leveling up your next tabletop session. We have lots of other thematic cookbooks for sale. Check them out here.
The Family
Flamecraft
1-5 player 60 minutes 10 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $44.99
In Flamecraft, you strategically place artisan dragons in local shops to collect resources and enchantments, aiming to become the most renowned dragon master in town Flamecraft. The game is great for families because of the adorable artwork, easy-to-learn rules, and non-confrontational gameplay.
Twinkle Twinkle
1-4 player 20-30 minutes 8 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $39.00
In Twinkle Twinkle, players draft and overlay transparent constellation tiles onto their personal night sky boards, strategically completing star patterns to earn points. This is a fun, puzzle-y game that is low conflict and easy to pick up. At around 20-30 minutes, it is perfect to play with younger kids (rated for 8+).
The Chef’s Apprentice
2-4 player 30-45 minutes 10 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating MSRP: $39.00
In the tile-drafting and tableau-building game The Chef’s Apprentice, players compete as cryptid line cooks to earn the most praise by strategically arranging monstrous dishes in their kitchen tableau to satisfy specific customer and chef pattern objectives.
The Couple
Jekyll & Hyde vs Scotland Yard
2 players 20 minutes 10 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $24.99
Jekyll & Hyde vs. Scotland Yard, is a two-player cooperative trick-taking game in which players must maintain a delicate balance of won tricks to ensure their character moves safely along a track, avoiding capture by the Scotland Yard.
Shobu
2 players 20 minutes 8 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $34.99
Shobu is one of my favorites for two players. It is beautiful and elegant and scratches the chess itch in a much more accessible way. Players must execute a passive and an aggressive move each turn, one dictates the other. The aim is to push all of their opponent’s stones off a single board to win.
The Kids
Kabuto Sumo
2-4 players 25 minutes 6 years old and up 1/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $40.00
Sumo wrestling insects! Need I say more… perhaps not, but I will. In Kabuto Sumo, players engage in a tactical dexterity challenge using a coin-pusher style mechanism, sliding discs onto a platform to strategically force their opponent’s wrestler out of the sumo ring. Our boys love this one (ages 11 & 13)!
Animals Gathering
2-5 players 20-40 minutes 8 years old and up 2/5 complexity rating
MSRP: $29.99
Animals Gathering is a light push-your-luck, engine-building board game where players act as mages rolling dice to gather magic stones, revive extinct animals with unique powers, and score the most points.