So the holidays are fast approaching and it’s time to start thinking about that special someone(s) in your life. But what’s this? You don’t know what to get them? Well don’t worry, Drew is here to help!
For the person who is new to the hobby...
Ticket to Ride and Pandemic are two classics that everyone will love and want to play again and again. These are two of the best gateway games into the hobby and both now have smaller box versions. Ticket to Ride London (RRP £19.99) and Pandemic: Hot Zone (RRP £19.99) are great purchases for anyone new to modern board games with slightly simpler rules, and playing just that bit faster than their big-box versions. Both play very well at two player+ and could be a nice way to entice people into this great hobby!
For the person who wants to play games with their children...
Need something that all the family can enjoy? Not a problem, Rhino Hero: Super Battle is one of our favourites at the cafe. It’s easy to put in front of anyone and for them to enjoy it. Even if you are playing with younger children, you can have just as much fun creating the tower and knocking it down again! At the very low price of £20.99 (RRP) this game will offer hours of fun.
Another great suggestion is the delightfully silly Who Did It? (RRP £10.99) As a small box game it’s easy to take anywhere, and is a solid little memory game of trying to lay the blame on whose pet animal pooped on the floor. Though the idea may sound ridiculous, when playing with your kids you'll realise just how much fun you can have blaming some else's turtle.
For the person who plays Roleplaying games... Well, for those who play the world’s most popular game, that's right D&D! Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is releasing just in time for Christmas. This is the latest sourcebook to be released for 5e and will add a TON of new content for player characters such as expanded subclasses, new rules, more puzzles just more everything. Anyone who plays or runs DnD would love this book, and it comes with a beautiful cover art variant! (RRP £41.99)
Another great suggestion for the DnD fan in your life is The Heroes' Feast, a cookbook for 80 recipes based on the magical world of DnD. An excellent way to prep for the snacks for the next game session!
Or maybe they've got enough D&D books. So, why not try Cyberpunk Red?
The PDF was recently released and at the time of writing this blog, I am currently reading through it and I have to say, I’m really digging the book! An excellent layout, great artwork and well written. Now, again, the physical books are on the way but with the current world situation, there isn’t a 100% guarantee that over in the UK we will have them before Christmas… But there is a good chance that you will see it time for Christmas, if not it will be shortly after. We've recently signed up for the Bits & Mortar program which means if you pre-order the book with us you'll get access to a copy of of the PDF once pre-orders are confirmed.
(RRP £49.99)
For the person who likes rolling dice...
Sometimes people just like to roll dice and there’s nothing wrong with that because there's an entire genre of game they'll love the roll & write. And our top recommendation for a roll & write is, Welcome to Dino World. The premise of which is nice and simple, you’re looking to create a dinosaur park with limited space and the roll of the dice. There are two modes of play, in the simple mode you just have to build the park with no worries at all, and danger mode in which dinosaurs could breakout and wreck havoc on the park… and your points! (RRP £24.99)
Maybe you are into the fast high octane type of board game in which you roll and move because writing doesn’t do it for you. No worries, you need to try out the push your luck game, Deep Sea Adventure. You play as divers, heading to the bottom of the ocean in search of the treasures deep below and as always, you all share one oxygen tank. Each turn you roll 2 dice to determine how you move, and in which direction, towards the boat back to safety? Or out to gather more treasure? For every treasure you have on you at the start of your turn, you’ll drop the shared oxygen tracker down. How far are you willing to go? How far is everyone else? Will you make it back with all your treasure? (RRP £20.99)
For the person who might want something different (but still tabletop related)...
Okay, so there was just another couple of games I wanted to mention so I’m sticking them here. It’s my blog and I’ll do as I want! The first game is the brilliant Escape the Dark Sector, the sci-fi sequel to Escape the Dark Castle. In Escape the Dark Sector you find yourself trapped on a dark space station where you will have to overcome a variety of dangers, traps, and terrors. From cyborg guards and faulty replicators to killer alien organisms, each challenge is beautifully represented on large, well-illustrated cards. The goal? Overcome these challenges and escape. Like Dark Castle, Dark Sector is an enjoyable choose your own adventure story game with a good level of difficulty and luck that will keep you coming back. (RRP £34.99)
The other is a simply lovely game that I would be happy to put in front of almost any group, Bargain Quest. Monsters threaten the town, and heroes will rise to face these monsters and slay them for glory! To do so they will need equipment… Armour, weapons and magic. Luckily, you and up to 6 players run the only shops in town for such merchandise. Players will have to draft items and choose one to go in the shop window to entice the heroes into your store and use the rest of your hand as items in stock to sell to them. They will then go fight the monsters… If they win, you earn glory for being the shop that sold them the items… If they die… well at least they can’t leave a bad review? At the end of the game, whoever has the most gold and glory will win the game! It’s good fun, simple, light, and just ever so charming. (RRP £39.99)
All these games, at time of writing, are either available at all your local FLGs (or at least the distributors) or are available to pre-order. Support local this Christmas and enjoy sharing the hobby with your loved ones this year!
Board Game Addict
Drew!