No matter who you are or what you celebrate, chances are you’re going to have to buy a gift for someone at some point. How do you choose the perfect game for the person on your list? Not to worry! KTBG has your back! Check out our Holiday Gift Guide to find the perfect thing for that special someone.
Wreck Raiders - For the Family Gamer
We’ll start off with a shameless self-plug for Wreck Raiders. In this game, you draft dice and send your divers to the bottom of a lagoon to salvage treasures from some sunken wrecks. The items you recover can go into your display in an attempt to satisfy Exhibit cards or they can be stored in your Vault earning you points for having rows of the same colour treasures. Wreck Raiders has a lot of different strategic options and many paths to victory, but each individual rule is easy to understand. It’s a great introduction to games for younger players or those new to the hobby, and a perfect addition to family game night!
Wingspan- For the Nature Lover
Wingspan took the world by storm this past year, and you could tell who hadn’t yet played it by their confusion about all the fuss over a game about birds. Wingspan has a simple ruleset, where you’re recruiting birds to your personal board, drafting food, collecting new bird cards, or laying eggs. The rules are not hard to get your head around, but there is a lot of depth in the strategy you can explore. Where Wingspan really shines is in its art and components. From the chunky wooden dice, to the beautiful card images of birds, to the delicious looking but ultimately inedible eggs, and the super cool bird feeder dice tower, everything comes together to form an irresistible package. This game was hard to get your hands on a few months ago, but it’s back in stock just in time!
Just One - For the Party Animal
We all know someone who is going to party over the holidays, but still wants to get their game one. Just One is the perfect game to meet both of those needs. Fresh off a Spiel des Jahres win, Just One is a game that takes about 30 seconds to teach, but can occupy hours of your time. One player draws a card and selects a number from one to five without looking at it. This indicates a word that everyone else has to try and get them to guess. Everybody secretly write a word on their personal easels and then reveals them to everyone but the guesser. Any duplicate words are eliminated and the guesser gets to see any remaining words. Will they be able to figure it out? Just One is fun, because it forces you to find a word that is unique enough that it won’t be duplicated, but also one that will help the guesser reach the answer. Perfect party fun!
Ticket to Ride - For the New Gamer
Our hobby is growing fast, and it’s good for all of us to welcome new people to the fold every chance we get. The more people playing games, the healthier the industry will remain. Ticket to Ride has long been a go-to gateway game. On your turn, you collect train cards or spend cards to build routes across the map. You get points for the routes you build, but you’ll also be trying to complete Destination tickets for end game points. Ticket to Ride introduces set collection, secret objectives, and push-your-luck. All players delve deeper into the hobby, they’ll encounter those fun mechanics over and over again. With Ticket to Ride celebrating 15 years with an all new Anniversary Edition, it’s the perfect time to gift it into someone’s collection.
The Fox in the Forest - The Stocking Stuffer
We love trick-taking games, but usually you need at least 3-4 players. The Fox in the Forest has done an excellent job creating a fun, challenging two-player trick-taking game. One of the most interesting elements in this game, is that you don’t actually want to take every trick in the round. You’ll be punished for being a bit too greedy. You have to find that sweet spot of taking enough of the 13 tricks to win the round, but not so many that you dominate the competition. Use the special powers on the cards to your advantage and you should have no problem winning the 21 necessary to win the game. A simple, fun title that any gamer will be happy to find in their stocking.
