Shannon’s Christmas ’13 Gift-Giving Guide

Last year, I published my first gaming gift guide. It was a look at new-ish board and card games that might make nice gifts for a variety of gamers. Last year’s listing may be a year old, but it’s still very relevant, and I still recommend the games on it. However, if you’re looking for things that are even newer, here are my top suggestions of games from the last year or two.


For the Family Gamer

These games might work well for the casual family that occasionally enjoys a game. I thought this category was particularly strong this year, with all the games in it being quick, light, original, and fun.

AugustusAugustus (Hurican, 2013, $40)
Super Short Play (< 30 minutes)
Designed by Paolo Mori

When I first saw this game, I was told that it was “eurogame Bingo”. That disconcerted me because it sounded really simplistic. However, it turns out to be a great description of the game and it’s a lot of fun.

In this game, a player gets a few different “BINGO” cards, each of which requires several icons to finish. Icon chits are then pulled from the bag one at a time. The game gains depth from the fact that: (1) you have to decide which card to place each icon on; (2) cards have special powers when completed that you can use to help yourself in the future; and (3) you’re also competing for achieving certain goals first. You add all thistogether and you have a colorful and evocative game.

The game is also quite light: it can be played simply or with a bit more strategy, which is why it makes a great release for any sort of family.

HanabiHanabi (R&R Games, 2013, $15)
Super Short Play (<30 minutes)
Designed by Antoine Bauza

This is a cooperative game that tends to feel a lot like a typical (and abstract) card game. The goal is pretty simple: as a group, you have to play the cards in five suits in order, from 1-5. Clearly, this requires some clever card management .. but there’s a catch: a player can’t see what his own cards are, and the other players are only allowed to tell him about those cards in very limited ways.

I think that cooperative games in general are great for family play, because they allow a family to come together and try to accomplish a task as a group. However, Hanabi is particularly great because it’s all about trust: you have to depend on your fellow players telling you the right things! This game is also light, simple, and quick-playing.

This game won the SdJ (game of the year) award in Germany in 2013; it’s usually given to a lighter strategy game.

Las VegasLas Vegas (Alea, 2012, $35)
Super Short Play (< 30 minutes)
Designed by Rüdiger Dorn

This is a simple dice-rolling game where you throw dice, then use them to try to take control of various casinos. Unlike the rest of the games on this “family” list, it uses a serious eurogame mechanic: majority control. However, that just means that the player with the most dice in each casino wins that casino.

Play is quite light, because your decisions controlled by what you roll on your dice (which determines which casinos they can be put in). However there can be serious strategy focused on which casinos you try to control — and how well you intuit what the other players will do. There’s also a rules variant for more experienced players involving “neutral” dice, which makes this game  more strategic … for players ready to try that route.

Of all the family games on this list, this one is the most serious and thoughtful, but it’s still a light, easy game.

Love Letter

Love Letter (AEG, 2012, $10)
Super Short Play (<15 minutes)
Designed by Seiji Kanai

Love Letter is a relatively rare Japanese game that’s made it over to the US. That’s probably why it features such unique and innovative gameplay. It’s a game of a royal court, where each card in the (very small) deck represents a member of that court. Players draw and play cards, using their special powers in the process.

The ultimate goal is to have the highest ranked card at the end of a round of play … but more often the special powers of the cards knock players out before the round ends. As a result, the game is really about deducing what cards your opponents are holding, and using that information to intelligently play your own cards.

The underlying mechanics of the game are extremely simple, which is why this is another great family choice, but there’s still a lot of opportunity for puzzling, surprising, and exciting play.

For the Serious Gamer

Serious gamers are a bit harder to buy for, because they may well have already bought anything that particularly interested them. However, there were some nice options for serious games last year, so consider these.

Bora BoraBora Bora (Alea, 2013, $50)
Long Play (2+ hours)
Designed by Stefan Feld

This new game by Stefan Feld follows in the footsteps of his very popular Castles of Burgundy (2012). Players roll dice and then use them to take actions such as colonizing, building, taking tiles, and even fishing. The big difference between this and Castles is that players now have to make careful use of high die rolls, which allow for better actions. Players will have to balance different resources and compete with each other for scant options.

This is a “Frankenstein” game, which includes lots of different options, all welded together. It’ll be a hit for players who like Feld’s games (particularly Castles of Burgundy) and for those who like mixing dice with their strategy. Players who prefer a bit more serious pre-planning or more streamlined games may find it not to their taste.

Tzolk'inTzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar (Rio Grande Games, 2012, $60)
Long Play (2+ hours)
Designed by Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini

This is a worker placement game — a genre that’s been popular for years where players choose to take certain limited actions by placing “worker” pieces on the board. However, it’s a worker placement game with a twist: players choose categories of actions for workers, but the actual action gets better the longer a player leaves his worker in place!

This is thanks to literal gears that are placed atop the game board. A player places a worker in one of these gears, and it slowly ascends to better actions as the gears turn. If this description makes you think that Tzolk’in is a beautifully produced game that will be the center piece of any gaming night, you’d be right. That’s one of the reasons that this is a great Christmas game: it’s got unforgettable, high-quality components. Fortunately the gameplay is quite good too.

My list didn’t include the winner of the DSP — which is another German award given to a more serious game. That went to Terra Mystica, which I’m not familiar with.

For the Role Player

These are board games for role-players. I should warn that I haven’t actually played either of these games, but I am somewhat familiar with them, and have brushed up on the reviews to make sure I was comfortable recommending them.

Ogre Designer's EditionOgre Designer’s Edition (Steve Jackson Games, 2013, $100)
Medium Play (1 hour)
Designed by Steve Jackson

Ogre is one of the oldest hobbyist games that’s still available. It was originally published in 1977 as a mini-wargame of men fighting against an almost unstoppable tank called the Ogre. It’s appeared in various forms over the years, but most recently was Kickstarted to produce an awesome Designer’s Edition that includes 29 pounds of components. (Not an exaggeration, I think — though I’ve seen claims between 12 pounds and 40 pounds) It’s full of piles of cardboard sheets that can be assembled into 3-D pieces. The result is a great edition of a game that will appeal to all sorts of casual miniatures players and hobbyist players.

The catch is that the game is not out as of this writing, except to the Kickstarter backers. However, it’s supposed to become available at game stores and at Warehouse 23 on December 6. If you’re interested, haunt that site or your local store on that day, because who knows how long this game will last!

Pathfinder Adventure Card GamePathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords — Base Set (Paizo, 2013, $60)
Medium Play (1-2 hours)
Designed by Mike Selinker

The idea here was to reduce Paizo’s very successful Pathfinder roleplaying game to a deckbuilding card game format with ongoing play. All reports suggest that Selinker did a great job in meeting this goal. In the Adventure Card Game, players get to explore and fight in individual adventures, which build out into a full campaign.

Theres a lot of replayability in this game and that’s improved by the fact that Paizo has already released several smaller supplements to continue telling the story of the Rise of the Runelords.

A Few Roleplaying Games Too

I haven’t previously listed RPGs as part of this Christmas list, but here’s a few notes on great stuff out this year. Fate and Star Wars might be appropriate for first-time gamers, Torchbearer is definitely for experienced gamers, and the Wizards of the Coast books are for old-time fans.

  • Fate is a great RPG for players who want to design their own, rules-light games. It’s now available in new books called Fate Accelerated (Evil Hat, 2013, $5) and Fate Core (Evil Hat, 2013, $25). They’re some of the best deals in roleplaying, and a great gaming system besides.
    •  I should offer the caveat that I’m working with Evil Hat on the next edition of my own Designers & Dragons, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.
  • Star Wars: Edge of Empire (Fantasy Flight Games, 2013, $60) is the newest roleplaying take on the Star Wars universe — great for Star Wars fans of all sorts, but especially those who like hives of scum and villainy.
  • Torchbearer (Burning Wheel, 2013, $35) is an intriguing new game of fantasy dungeon adventuring as a survival experience. It’s not widely available yet, but can be purchased from Burning Wheel’s store.
  • Original D&D GameFinally Wizards of the Coast produced some beautiful reprints this year of classic D&D productsincluding the core three books for AD&D Second Edition (Wizards of the Coast, 2013, $50 each) —that’s the Dungeon Master Guide, the Player’s Handbook, and the Monstrous Manual — and a beautiful boxed edition of the Original Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast, 2013, $150). These are definitely premium editions, but they’re also things that old-time fans would love to have, but might not buy themselves.
    • I suppose I should offer the caveat that I’ve been doing some writing for Wizards of the Coast lately too, including an article on the history of Original Dungeons & Dragons — but I was drooling over their OD&D set before that.

And that’s my opinion of many of the top board games (and roleplaying games) that could be purchased as gifts this holiday season.

Happy gift-giving!


Most pictures drawn from manufacturer web sites or related Kickstarters; picture for Tzolk’in instead used courtesy of Chris Norwood (kilroy_locke at BGG) under Creative Commons license, while picture for Pathfinder Adventure Card Game was courtesy of rexbinary (rexbinary at BGG), who released his picture into the public domain.

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2 thoughts on “Shannon’s Christmas ’13 Gift-Giving Guide

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