Give Teens & Adults the Gift of Games With These Tabletop Suggestions
Gift cards often become the fallback gift idea for teens and adults. It is basically cash in a fancy outfit, so people recognize it as a nice gift. At the same time, it lacks the thoughtfulness that people often crave. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people say they received a gift card. While thankful for the gift itself, they shrug and comment that they feel like they are an afterthought. I remember a conversation with my grandmother; explaining that gifts aren’t about the monetary value, but about the thought. She thought we (grandkids) wanted things, when we really wanted sentiment. This gift guide offers an assortment of ideas for the older recipients on your shopping list. Unlike the list of family games that are good for many ages, these items are either more involved, more time-intensive, require deeper strategic thinking or contain a theme geared toward an older crowd. Can they be played by families or younger kids? In many cases, yes. But the goal of this list is to give you some ideas for the harder to shop for group.
Dungeon Designer’s Deck
100 cards to level up your Dungeon Game!
This 100-card deck is your gateway to dynamic dungeon adventures for 5E (easily converts to other systems).
Simply select cards to populate dungeons with terrain features, each with its own unique random encounters. The cards can be laid onto any Battle Map to create an immersive encounter scene. Quick start predesigned rooms and quests included.
Contents
50 Page Reference Book
100 Cards
o 60 Terrain Feature Cards with 200+ Random Encounters
o 10 Quest Cards
o 10 Room Cards
o 10 Door Cards
o 5 Enemy Generator Cards
o 2 Random Loot Cards
o 3 How to use Cards
Double Sided fold out Battle Map
Unmatched Adventures: TMNT
Unmatched is the award-winning game of fast fights between unlikely opponents. Team up in Unmatched Adventures as the Heroes in the Half Shell. Shredder has invaded New York and Krang is spreading Dimension X! It’s up to you and your Turtle crew to work together to take them down. Splinter, April O’Neil, and more friends support you, but watch out – meddlesome minions like Bebop & Rocksteady, Leatherhead, and more are helping the villains.
Am I the Ass?
Am I The A** is more than just a conversation card game, this is where real-life dilemmas and public judgment collide. Inspired by the internet’s most dramatic moral debates, each of the 150 scenarios invites you to weigh in: Was this person really an a, or just misunderstood? The twist? You’re not just sharing your opinion.
Armed with your A-o-Meter, you’ll predict how 500 people from around the world voted on each scenario. From dating drama and family feuds to workplace chaos and social etiquette fails, each situation challenges your instincts and adds a layer of strategy. Lock in your guess—25%, 50%, 75%, or everyone—then reveal the results to see who got it right. Tokens are awarded for correct guesses, and the first to collect five wins!
Perfect for game nights, parties, or casual hangouts, Am I The A**? blends thought-provoking conversations with laugh-out-loud gameplay. It’s easy to set up, quick to learn, and guaranteed to get everyone talking. Whether you’re breaking the ice with new friends or diving deep with old ones, this game delivers surprising revelations, spirited debates, and moments you won’t forget. Plus, with dilemmas inspired by some of the most infamous internet stories, it’s the ultimate way to see who’s truly in tune with public opinion—or just talking out their…well, you know.
Twinkle Twinkle
In the tile-laying game Twinkle Twinkle, you’ll fill your star chart with clear plastic tiles, trying to connect constellations, build belts of asteroids, collect comets, pick up planets, and study them with satellites. Take care with those pesky black holes – unless you have a perfect spot for them, of course.
Constellations, asteroids, comets, planets, and black holes all score differently! With 10 modular scoring conditions in the box, you can mix and match for 32 different setups. Whoever finds their highest score in the stars wins.
The game features an optional scoring app that allows you to point your phone at the board and watch it magically tally up your points!
Vineyard: A Winemaking Game
Welcome to wine country! Vineyard: A Winemaking Game is a 1-4 player game about making wine in a delightful, sun-washed valley. Move workers through the winemaking steps and choose your upgrades. Become a specialist, find the perfect moments to benefit from the activities around the vineyard, and enjoy a streamlined experience of crafting wine!
Fountains
Fountains is a light strategy competitive tile-laying game where players become master Fountaineers working to build a magnificent fountain in the city of Florimelle.
Above and Below: Haunted
You’ve just moved to a new land with underground streams, watery caves, and sinkholes. You knew this new land would provide you with an opportunity to explore these underwater caves for rare ingredients and treasures, but you didn’t know about the ghosts. Above And Below: Haunted is a light-hearted family game, featuring tons of delightful stories for everyone to interact with and enjoy.
Champions of Midgard
The award winning game of Viking Adventures! Draft your clan of brave warriors and send them off to earn glory for your clan!
Biome
In Biome, you are an environmentalist cultivating a thriving ecosystem through the changing seasons. Strategically play wildlife and plant cards to nurture, protect, and balance your biome. Raise baby animals, form symbiotic relationships, and outwit predators while adapting to natural challenges. With beautiful art, real straw nests, and FSC-certified components, Biome combines accessible gameplay with rich strategic depth and ecological wonder.
Skyrise
The Mayor has enlisted some of humanity’s greatest visionaries to help build Skyrise: a magnificent city in the sky, dedicated to art, science, and beauty. But only one artisan can be remembered as the greatest!
Prove your genius by using a brilliant spatial auction system to win sites to build in, earning favor across Islands and factions, scoring secret and public objectives, courting mysterious Patrons, and building your own unique Wonder.
Skyrise tells an interactive story of a growing cityscape, hard decisions, scarce resources, and ever-rising stakes that will keep you enthralled until the final scores are revealed.
Skyrise is a brand new game inspired by Sebastien Pauchon’s 2008 Spiel Des Jahres recommended Metropolys.
CATAN 6E
The iconic strategy game where players settle the island of Catan by gathering resources, building settlements, and trading with rivals. Now in its 6th Edition, CATAN features refreshed artwork, eco-friendly design, and streamlined rules that make it easier than ever for new players to join the adventure. With endless replayability, engaging strategy, and a modernized look, CATAN remains a timeless favorite for families, friends, and game lovers of all ages.
Unstoppable
From esteemed game designer, John D. Clair, Unstoppable is a solo or cooperative card-crafting game where you’ll need to strategically evolve and level up your abilities to have a shred of hope against a word ending boss that threatens your reality. Train, upgrade, and become unstoppable!
Hopefully when you look at this list, you saw something that screamed, “(gift recipient) would LOVE that!” That’s what holiday gifting should be about. And for those who lean into gift cards, pick up one of these and attach the card to it. It’s a great mix of personal and practical.
When gifting games, do you select ones you hope your recipient will invite you to play?
