Holiday Gift Guide 2019

For the third year running, I'd love to share some of the best games I've played over the past year. Just like previous years, I've broken the suggestions down by age range. In each age group, I've highlighted a game from a prior newsletter, as well as a game that I haven't gotten the chance to write up yet.

By the way, many of the links in this email are affiliate links, which means that you help support the newsletter when you purchase the games (the price to you is the exact same). And if you don't find your perfect game, you can always check out my recommendations from 2018 and 2017!

Pre-K and Kindergarten

I still can't get over how fun Otrio (affiliate link) is. My pre-k daughter is totally enamored with this game, and even my wife likes it (because she straight-up beat me on her first try). 

The game takes the mechanics of tic-tac-toe and deepens them so that you really have to think hard about your next move, whether playing with two players or three. But don't worry, the game is totally accessible to a little kid, and they'll love the satisfying feeling of placing the circles snug in the board. Even my toddler loves that part!

Check out my review of Otrio from October

One game I haven't gotten a chance to share yet is Gnomes at Night (affiliate link) from the incomparable Peaceable Kingdom. This company focuses on cooperative board games, which are perfect for young kids who still struggle with the competitive aspect of games. I've touted a couple of their other games, Race to the Treasure and Count your Chickens, in the past.

Well, Gnomes at Night is my favorite game of theirs so far! Two players sit on opposite sides of a vertical game board, kind of like in Battleship. Each player has a magnetic piece that they place on the vertical board so that it magnetically hooks to the other person's piece. 

Then players have to take turns communicating with each other about how to move through the labyrinth to collect treasure. This game is a blast, as this quick video shows, and it involves an absolute cornucopia of rich spatial thinking and language development. Remember, the spatial ideas of left, right, above, below, beside, and so on are deeply important for your child's development of spatial reasoning. 

1st and 2nd Grade

Dr. Eureka (affiliate link) has had remarkable staying power in my household. I think the game's logical reasoning is really engrossing for kids, and the dexterity challenge involved in re-arranging the marbles simply adds to the fun for my kids.

We've gone down the rabbit hole of variations on this game: one person will come up with a recipe and the other people try to make it; we see who can solve a puzzle in the fewest moves rather than in the least amount of time. We're still trying to decide whether any recipes are impossible.

Clearly, a game this flexible is worth having around the house. If we didn't have a toddler around trying to gobble up all the marbles, we'd probably leave it out on the kitchen table to see what ideas my kids come up with.

Check out my write-up of Dr. Eureka from September.

If you're looking for a delightful card game, you can't go wrong with Sushi Go (affiliate link).

In this game, each player is dealt some cards. They choose one card to play, place it facedown on the table, and then pass their remaining cards to the next player.

The game is really challenging and fun, and the draft-and-pass mechanic means that there is more information than in a typical card game where everyone keeps their hand a secret. As a result, parents and kids can have little chats about the strategy and possible choices after each card is played, rather than right at the end.

Also, all the cards are adorable little sushi rolls that have special powers. For basically no reason. It's great.

3rd and 4th grade

Speaking of card games with adorable artwork, let's play some Machi Koro (affiliate link)! 

This game was my son's favorite game for two straight months. We played it All. The. Time.

It's definitely accessible for younger kids, but Machi Koro is perfect for this mid-elementary age, where players can make more sophisticated decisions about which properties to buy and why. There is a great luck-vs-chance mechanic, where you roll dice and earn special rewards if your cards match the number rolled. As a result, different players can use quite different strategies to try to outmaneuver their opponents.

I really didn't even mind playing it until 60 days in when it got "lost" in the laundry room for a little while.

Check out my write-up of Machi Koro from July

My next recommendation, Santorini (affiliate link), was actually a birthday gift I received this summer! My wife, who has come to terms with the sort of man she married, gave me three board games and invited over some friends so that she didn't have to play any of them. It was awesome.

In Santorini, players take turns moving their piece around the board, then building a tower somewhere on an adjacent square. The tower pieces, which are absolutely stunning, really improve my enjoyment of the game. The ultimate goal is to stand your figurine triumphantly atop a completed tower, but your opponents will try to stymie your efforts at every turn.

This game involves such challenging spatial reasoning that it feels imprinted on my brain. Have you ever played so much Tetris that you close your eyes and see the pieces moving in your mind's eye? That's how I felt after playing a few rounds of Santorini.

5th Grade and Up

For older kids, Wits and Wagers (affiliate link) is a delight. Younger kids can play, but the more you know about the world, the more accessible the game becomes. Older kids will really get to refine their estimation skills while playing. Plus, the game has a betting mechanic that lots of older kids find irresistible. 

This game is a particularly good one to buy if you're celebrating the holidays with a lot of family. Big groups can play together, and multi-age partnerships are actually advantageous: people with different perspectives can improve each other's estimates. It's a fun way to bring the whole family together.

Check out my write-up of Wits and Wagers from July

My last recommendation, Azul (affiliate link), is just the most beautiful game to look at. I love every second I'm playing with the tiles of this game.

Azul has won all sorts of board game awards lately (yes, there are board game awards). I think the reason why is simple: the rules are easy to follow, but you've never played a game quite like it. The balance of different game mechanics is just ideal. 

If Wits and Wagers is accessible to everyone, the Azul is more for people who really enjoy board games. But if your kid is one of those people, then you gotta get this game.