A 2023 board game gift guide
Whether you're looking for something weird and exciting or something safe and reliable, I've got picks for you.
As is tradition here at Don’t Eat the Meeples, I like to put together a gift guide once November rolls around. It just so happens that the first Wednesday in November is today, and it’s also the first day of November. I hope you had a great Halloween, that you watched a spooky movie or played a spooky game, and that you ate far too much candy. That’s sort of the best case scenario for me.
Every year, the gift guide looks a little bit different. I can hardly believe that this is the fourth year I’ve put together a board game gift guide, and it’s also interesting to see how this newsletter has grown, shifted and changed. I’m sure I’ll get into that more at the end of the year in my year-in-review edition, but let’s just say that I’m so surprised and pleased there are this many of you reading today. Thank you.
Without too much further ado, let’s get into the gift guide. This year, I’ve divided into several areas for consideration, and hopefully that’s a little bit helpful. Like last year, there are three games in every category. There might be one or two points of overlap, but I really don’t think so. Incidentally, this is also the biggest gift guide I’ve put together. Is that wise? Who knows!
Great games you’d probably have to import
If you’re up for doing a little leg work, these three games could be interesting options for a gift for somebody who likes games a little off the beaten path. These three games, all published in Japan, are probably ones you’d have to import, and if you’re doing that, you ought to do it sooner rather than later.
First, check out Nana, a quick-playing card game of memory and intuition. It’s got a permanent place in my board game bag, as it’s easy to teach, fun to play, and very portable — not to mention that it’s got adorable illustrations.
Schadenfreude is one of the hot trick-taking games coming out of Japan, and it’s a little harder to find with the easier means (you won’t find it on Amazon Japan, at least not with U.S. shipping). Trust me, it’s worth the extra bit of effort to go through an importing service like Buyee or ZenMarket. This is a clever game with a twist on trick-taking: Second place takes the trick. The game ends when somebody passes 40 points, and the winner is the player who is the closest to 40 points without going over. Check it out.
One of the most fun game experiences I’ve had over the last several years is playing rounds of Viking See-Saw, a dexterity game designer by one of the giants of gaming, Reiner Knizia. You and your opponents are placing cargo on a ship that tilts back and forth like a see-saw, but inevitably, things are going to fall off the boat — leaving you with even more to put on the ship. I wrote about Viking See-Saw in early August.
Nana is available on Tricky Imports or Amazon Japan, Schadenfreude can be found on Bodoge, and Viking See-Saw is available on Amazon Japan. You can probably find them elsewhere, with Zen Market or Buyee, but there are some starting points for you.
Games for two
If you love to play two-player games, whether that’s with a friend, a partner, or a family member (or strangers! why not?), these games — all of which released in 2023 (sort of — you’ll see) are worth your attention.
RUN is the latest offering from Fowers Games. Designed by Moritz Dressler, this is a tactical two-player chase game on a grid that pits a dispatcher against a runner. Information is limited, so you’ll have to exercise your best deductive and inductive skills to end up in the winning seat. [Fowers Games]
Lacuna is a beautiful two-player offering from CMYK that comes in a tube. If that’s not enough to get you interested, I don’t know what is. The premise for the game is actually perfectly described by the publisher, so I’ll just borrow theirs: “Draw an imaginary line between two flowers, place your pawn, and collect both flowers. Win by collecting the most flowers in the most colors!” Got it? This is a great one. [CMYK]
Sail is a cooperative trick-taking game for two released by Allplay and designed by Akiyama Koryo and Korzu Yusei, Sail is a reimplementation of the game HAMELN CAVE. If you want to pass the missions included, you’ll need to work together to navigate a treacherous sea, navigating rocks and shoals and avoiding a dangerous kraken. [Allplay]
Trick-taking (and trick-taking adjacent) card games
I know what you’re thinking right now: Matt, you’re saying, why aren’t there more trick-taking games on the list? Only 33% of them are trick-taking games! To you, I say, read on. There are more. And specifically, there are more right here, in this section. Also, one game is not a trick-taker, but it’s adjacent. (I can’t believe we’re up to 900 words already. You’re great if you’ve read this far. I hope you’re feeling ready for another, I don’t know, 900 words. Ack.)
Once the hard-to-find trick-taker Texas Showdown, Seas of Strife, designed by Mark Major, combines two interesting elements: trick avoidance and changing must-follow options. If an off-suit card is played, that suit becomes eligible to follow, and the winning card is the highest one from the suit with the most cards played.
Inside Job, the first published game from Tanner Simmons, is a team trick-taker in which one player is secretly seeking to sabotage the team, attempting to keep the team from finishing their missions. Somebody will probably call this “Werewolf meets trick-taking,” which isn’t wholly wrong, but it’s missing a little bit. Remember The Crew, further down this list? It’s sort of that, but there’s a saboteur on board. It’s neat.
This one isn’t a trick-taker, really, but as a ladder-climbing/shedding game, it’s close enough to make this part of the list. Five Three Five, designed by Kenichi Kabuki and released stateside by the inimitable Portland Game Collective, sees players looking to rid their hand of cards first, playing melds and, most interestingly, overwriting melds by adding their own cards to previous players’ played cards. [Portland Game Collective]
New classics
I am certain that if my copy editing professor saw “new classics” here, he’d send me a strongly worded email and probably retroactively fail me, forcing me to go back to university to obtain my university studies degree all over again. Thankfully, I’m relatively certain he doesn’t read this, and if he does, he probably would have done that already.
At any rate, these are games that I’d recommend to families and game groups without hesitation.
The Crew, designed by Thomas Sing, is a cooperative trick-taking game that features one of the best learning curves I’ve seen. You and your team try to complete missions, which start pretty easy and end up ranging from ‘very difficult’ to ‘extremely difficult.’
If you love word games, Decrypto, designed by Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, calls to mind games like Taboo and Scattergories, but it’s so much more than those classics. It’s a game of decoding messages and trying to intercept the opposing team’s messages. It’s such a fantastic option.
I can’t say enough good things about Wolfgang Warsch’s The Quacks of Quedlinburg, which I wrote about back in May 2022. It’s a game all about filling your bag with potion ingredients, then pulling them out one-by-one and trying not to explode.
New in 2023
There are so many incredible games released every year, and 2023 has proven no exception. I’ve played just a drop in the bucket of games released this year, but here are three of my favorites.
Fit to Print, from Peter McPherson, is a game I wrote about earlier in the year — it’s a real-time tile-laying game in which you’re laying out a newspaper. It has some absolutely charming art and a great theme, and it’s such fun.
If you like the idea behind Wordle, but you’d like to lie when you play, Fiction is a great option. It’s a one-versus-all game in which one person acts as a clue giver — but you can lie once per turn. This game is a blast to play.
There are so many more games that I just need to play more — so rather than another item, here’s a short list of some games I’m looking forward to playing: Zoo Vadis, Aurum, Ptolemy, Hipparchus, Point City, Trailblazers — you get the idea.
Stocking Stuffers
If you’re looking for a game to stuff in an oversized novelty sock, here are three options that should fit — depending, of course, on what else you’ve got in said sock.
Naturopolis is a wallet game from Button Shy Games. At just 18 cards, there’s a brilliant cooperative game tucked in here. It’s crunchy, thinky, and a bit difficult. In just 18 cards. Man. [Button Shy]
A Deckscape game — you choose the game that appeals to you the most! These are the smallest-boxed exit-style games I’ve played that are worth playing, and what I’ve played has been great.
SCOUT, published by Oink Games and designed by Kei Kajino, is a 2022 Spiel des Jahres nominee, comes in a small box, and is a true delight. It’s a ladder-climbing game in which you can pick up cards that have been played just before you when you beat them — which is important, because you’re not allowed to rearrange your hands. Finding a meld requires you to shape your play accordingly. It’s super clever and very approachable.
Well, there you have it. Thank you once again for joining me for a Don’t Eat the Meeples gift guide. I’ll be covering more games that might be interesting options for you, and I’m aiming to write about some games you should reliably be able to pick up late, should you find a need. I’ll see you back here next week for (hopefully) something a bit shorter.