Give Teens & Adults the Gift of Entertainment With Tabletop Games
There was a time when I thought shopping for teens and older was difficult. With a few exceptions, I felt like if it wasn’t a big budget item or a gift card, they weren’t going to be excited. I’ve discovered that perception is a major factor. When we became more involved with the game industry, we placed more of a focus on gifting games to our family and friends alike. Didn’t matter the age, we would put thought into what type of game they might enjoy. That “investment in thought”, something that isn’t present when gifting cash or the equivalent, is when we started seeing success. While a game might not be the first thing people think of, the variety available means you can find something for just about everyone. We’ve already provided a list of cooperative games as well games connected to pop culture. Our guide to family games refers to titles that are family-friendly in weight and style, not that they’re kids’ games. Those are included in our list of games for younger kids. We’ll be offering suggestions for party games and card games in coming days, too. But we had several games to gift that are ages 14+ so we decided to separate those. With a couple fun any-age add-ons (like the geeky gift wrap), the list below has ideas for the teens and adults on your shopping list.
Clans of Midgard
Grey Fox Games
Clans of Midgard is a draft, write, and fight game in which players play as leaders of Viking clans seeking to gain glory! Conquer territory, fight monsters, sail the seas in your drakkar, collect powerful runes, and honor your warriors who have passed onto Valhalla. The player who best achieves these goals will earn the most glory and be forever remembered as a Hero of the Viking Age!
Players are dealt a hand of cards and then draft one of the cards and hand the rest to the player on their left. They continue to do this until they have no more cards. All the players reveal their cards at the same time and then begin marking off their rewards on their sheet. They will collect Viking Runes, defeat monsters, deploy Vikings, and collect the power of the Valkyries. Each card can give multiple effects. Areas of the board will be checked to see if a battle ensues, and the player with the most vikings will claim those areas for bonus points. Players whose vikings fell in battle will travel to Valhalla and will be rewarded for their valor. After three rounds of drafting and writing, the player with the most points will win the game.
The must have book of battle maps for fantasy tabletop RPG. Save time preparing for game night, and stay ahead of random encounters, with this handy book of 60 maps, all wipe clean and lay dead flat on table. Just open & roll initiative.
Shell Company: Don’t Write Me Off
Lynnvander Studios
2-6 players engage in the high-paced world of turtle dating! Your goal is to run the most successful turtle dating company, helping to romance turtles and sweep them right out of their shells. You better make sure you have just the right gifts to make the best impression, or you could always donate the gifts and write off the expenses. After all, it’s not just about the love; it’s also about the money.
Lunar Rush Deluxe Edition
Dead Alive Games
Lunar Rush is a simultaneous-play Euro-style board game that combines time-based resource management, market economics, bidding, and engine-building into a refreshing new genre. You play as one of Earth’s four major corporate conglomerates, competing to mine the Moon for the newly-discovered Moon crystal and ore, and sell them on Earths’ bustling dynamic markets. The race to win the new gold rush is on!
Air Land & Sea: Critters at War
Arcane Wonders
THE WAR IS ON! Gather your forces and face off in the air, land, and sea! Outsmart and outplay your opponent to claim your victory! It won’t be easy, but it will be glorious!!!
Skyrise
Roxley Games
In Skyrise, players take on the role of visionary artisans enlisted by the Mayor to build a magnificent city in the sky, dedicated to art and beauty. Compete to prove your genius through a unique spatial auction system, winning sites to construct your own Wonder while earning favor with islands and factions. Navigate hard decisions, scarce resources, and secret objectives in this interactive tale of a growing cityscape. Inspired by Sebastien Pauchon’s Metropolys, Skyrise offers thrilling gameplay until the final scores are revealed.
Gemini Gauntlet
Lynnvander Studios
In this chaotic space racing game for 2-6 players, each player controls a unique ship with two crew members. Every round, players simultaneously program their flight path. They must navigate an ever-changing course, avoid collisions with asteroids, and outmaneuver their rivals to be the first to cross the finish line!
Salton Sea
Devir Games
Harness renewable energy to secure lithium in this expert-level economic game that requires strategy and long term planning. A thinky experience full of great components and lots of play time for the value.
Dungeon Gift Wrap
Loke Battle Mats
Level up your gifting game with Loke Battle Mats’ Dungeon Wrap – 6 Sheets of folded premium gift wrap featuring a stunning dungeon design which is not only visually stunning, but is a fully playable battle map! Sheets are 19×27”, The pack includes 8 gift tags, which feature a QR code to download a digital copy of the map to use online or print extra at home copies.
Weirdwood Manor
Greyridge Games
Experience a unique temporal mechanic that reflects the magical, ever-shifting Manor. Every time a player or the Fae Monster takes an action, time will move forward in the game and the connections between the rooms will shift via unique rotating corridor rings on the game board. Fighting against time, you’ll make use of dice drafting, card play, resource management, and location actions as you move through the shifting Manor in pursuit of ultimate victory over the Fae Monster!
Worminators: Inside Job
Lynnvander Studios
In Worminators: Inside Job, up to 4 players are worm detectives working together to solve the case. You will build your own deck of Detective cards as the game advances, using them to gather evidence and bring it to the courthouse. Will you be able to assemble the clues and solve the murder before the city becomes overrun with corruption or drowns in criminal activity? Get your badge and let’s find out.
In the Ashes
Devir Games
In the Ashes is a new line of games called QuestBooks, in which players navigate an adventure, making decisions that impact what happens in later parts of the book. It has a unique, puzzly combat mechanism and clever ways of using “dice” within the pages of the book. In the Ashes offers hours of play time in a product unlike anything you’ve ever seen!
The Meeples Are Back! In 1973, the internationally renowned band, The Meeples, stunned the world by breaking up during the recording of their highly anticipated album, HIFI. Only the “A” side of the album was ever released – but now The Meeples have reunited and YOU are the producers charged with recording the “B” side of this long-awaited masterpiece.
When I mention “investment in time”, I’m referring to the process of thinking through what our gift recipients might enjoy. But I’ll also stress that the best gift you can give someone is your actual time. Being present. So when you gift someone a game, offer to learn the rules and join them. It will mean even more than just the package itself.
Do you make plans to get together with the recipients to play games you gift?
