Eight Tabletop Games That Make Great Holiday Gifts

We haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving yet and already we’re being bombarded with commercials about Christmas and there are huge holiday themed displays almost everywhere you shop. Since we’re just about to ramp up to level 9000 on the Christmas-O-Meter I thought this would be a good time to share some tabletop game suggestions. The theme for this post will be easy to play tabletop games that are fun and will (mostly) actually fit in a Christmas stocking if you’re looking for a few good stocking stuffers. Most of these games will also be budget friendly, coming in at $20 or less. These games are available at your local game store or on Amazon. I’ve included the Amazon price for each game at the time of this writing.

Love Letter

Love Letter is a card game of risk, deduction and bluffing with just 16 cards. A game takes about 15 minutes to play and players must earn favor points with the princess. The cards represent the princesses suitors and members of the royal court. Each card has a different effect. Players play multiple rounds and the first player to 4 favor points wins the game. This is a great warm up game or filler game when you have a few minutes. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there’s only 16 cards, Love Letter is fun and full of strategy. 2-4 players. Price: $9

Get Bit

You’re a robot! You’re in the water! A giant robot eating shark is chasing you! Get bit is a fun card game that uses bluffing and deduction to determine who…wait for it…gets bit. Players place their robots in a line and then use the cards to determine the line order each round. Last robot in line loses a limb, and you actually get to pull an arm or a leg off of your little robot avatar. The goal is to be at the front of the line at the end of the game when there are only two players left. Get Bit is simple to learn and fun to play. Games take a few minutes and in spite of its simplicity you’ll want to play it over and over. 2-6 players. Price: $16

Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island is a cooperative game where the players are trying to retrieve treasure from ancient ruins on a sinking island. Players must work as a team to collect the treasures and escape the island before it sinks entirely. This is a cooperative game so that means all players are playing against the game and must work together to win. This game has great components and the board is made up of randomly placed tiles so it’s different every time you play. This is a great family game and even young kids can grasp it with the help of adults. (Forbidden Island is the one game on this list that may not actually fit in a Christmas stocking) 2-4 players. Price: $16

Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens has a great little promo video that explains everything:

Exploding Kittens: A card game for people who like kittens and explosions and laser beams….and sometimes goats. This is a fun little party game that takes about 10 minutes to figure out. Players take turns drawing and playing cards trying to avoid exploding, which knocks you out of the game, while using the cards to manipulate the other players and hopefully exploding them. 2-5 players and you can expand it for up to 9 players by adding a second deck. Price: $20

Machi Koro

Machi Koro is a neat little game where each player is the mayor of their own city. Players compete to grow their city by building public works, food factories, entertainment and more, while trying to prevent their rival mayors from doing the same. This is a great fast paced game that is easy to learn and plays in about 20 minutes. Dice and cards. 2-4 players. Price: $20

Sushi Go

Sushi Go is a fast playing card game where players try and assemble the best combination of sushi dishes as cards come out. Points are scored over multiple rounds by collecting the most maki rolls or making full sets of sashimi. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins and is declared the Sushi Master. Sushi Go uses drafting, hand management, and collecting strategies. Great artwork and a great game for family game night with kids and adults. 2-5 players. Price: $11

Guillotine

Guillotine is a light hearted game that takes place during the French Revolution. Billed as “the revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head”. Players are guillotine operators who are competing for the best nobles – or at least their heads – over the course of three rounds. If you want to be the best guillotine operator that means you’re going to have to amass the best “trophies”. Guillotine is a card game for 2.5 players that uses hand management and play action cards to manipulate the order of the line so you collect the most valuable nobles. Price: $12

Hey That’s My Fish!

Hey That’s My Fish is a great little family game that works equally well with adults or children. In Hey That’s My Fish players control hungry penguins on an Antarctic ice floe trying to collect the most fish. Competing players try to block you and the ice floe continuously gets smaller as you play. Players try to win by collecting the most fish by the end of the game. This is a great little game with nice artwork and a lot of tactical depth for a small game. For 2 – 4 players. Price: $15

8 Tabletop Games That Are Easy to Learn and Fun to Play!

This is by no means an exhaustive list but these are some of my favorite small, easy to learn and play tabletop games. These games all make great gifts and they all really will fit in a Christmas stocking with the possible exception of Forbidden Island which is a bit bigger. The best thing is that you can be playing any of them within a few minutes of opening them as they won’t require hours of assembly or rules reading in order to start having fun!