The end of the year is upon us, and it’s filled with the usual sights, sounds, and smells. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, hot spice cider brewing on the stove, bells jingling, and of course, gamers arguing around the table. If you are reading this article, you are either a gamer or are getting ready to shop for one on your list. And if you aren’t sure what to get them this year, the BGQ crew is here to help.
As usual, we’ve played the games, consulted the elf on the shelf, and have our yearly recommendations ready for you. Whether you are just looking for something small for your kids or the next giant minis game for your significant other, we’ve got a recommendation for you. So grab a cup of hot chocolate, curl up by the fire with your tablet of choice, and let’s do some shopping!
2025 Board Game Gift Guide
Classic Board Games
Every year, we try to start off the guide with the classics. These are games that have not only left their mark on our hobby, but have also stood the test of time. If you are not sure where to start, any of these gems is a perfect choice. They have been enjoyed by countless gamers and continue to sell years later.
Ticket to Ride
Designer Alan Moon created this gem back in 2004, and it continues to make its way to gaming tables even to this day. It’s fun, accessible, and has a ton of expansions for added variety. In Ticket to Ride, you are trying to build train routes across major cities on the board. The gameplay makes this one quick to learn and fast to play. If you have played card games like Rummy or Gin, then Ticket to Ride should be an easy transition.
2-5 Players • Ages 8+ • 37 minutes • $43
Pandemic (review)
Designer Matt Leacock has created a cooperative game that has players racing against time to cure four diseases threatening the world. Pandemic is one of the most popular cooperative board games and has long since become a staple in every gamer’s collection. Pandemic is easy to learn and very challenging to win, which helps give the game high replay value. It has also inspired many thematic offshoots, should you be looking for more Pandemic options.
2-4 Players • Ages 13+ • 45 minutes • $35
Catan (review)
Catan is the granddaddy of board games and is probably most Americans’ first experience with a “Eurogame.” In this game of trading and construction, players must build up their settlements and roads by using the island’s five resources. The game features very easy-to-learn mechanics and a healthy dose of player interaction via the importance of trading resources. Catan is a game that every gamer will probably play at least once and is one of the ultimate “gateway games.”
3-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 90 minutes • $43
7 Wonders (review)
7 Wonders is a fantastic card game that introduced players to the card drafting (pick and pass) genre. In 7 Wonders, after you select your card, you then pass your remaining hand of cards to the player sitting next to you. The gameplay is unique, it has a quick playtime, and expands all the way up to 7 players with zero loss of quality or added length. 7 Wonders is easily one of our favorite games and one we’re always willing to play.
2-7 Players • Ages 10+ • 30 minutes • $38
Carcassonne (review)
Carcassonne is a tile-laying game with almost no setup time because you build the game board as you play! In Carcassonne, players are building out cities, roads, monasteries, and farms to try to score the most victory points. Each turn, a player will draw a tile and add it to the tiles already on the table. If the player completes one of their buildings, they score victory points for it. The rules are simple, the turns are quick, and the game is very accessible.
2-5 Players • Ages 8+ • 45 minutes • $34
Cooperative Board Games
Board games don’t always have to be about head-to-head competition. Sometimes, the joy of camaraderie and working together is what people crave. Cooperative board games pit you and your fellow players against the game itself. Some are more action-oriented, while others have a more puzzly nature.
One Hit Heroes
One Hit Heroes is a boss battler game where you each control a unique hero via a deck of cards. In this cooperative card game, your team shares just one health point and must survive a sequence of battles without ever getting hit. You’ll face off against a boss who has a custom deck of moves to try and land hits on your team. The more bosses you defeat, the more your Armory improves in the form of card packs you get to open up and add to your stash.
1-4 Players • Ages 8+ • 15-60 minutes • $59
Bomb Busters
This award-winning board game will have you and your fellow players trying to diffuse a bomb. Each player has a rack of numbers (wires) in front of them, and their goal is to find matching numbers among the other players’ tiles. However, you only have limited information to work with, so you’ll need to use your deduction skills to try and make the best decisions you can. Eventually, you’ll unlock some tools to help you out, but the bombs get harder as well.
2-5 Players • Ages 10+ • 30 minutes • $42
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Legends Board Game (review)
Street Fighter is one of the most iconic fighting video games, and this cooperative board game tasks you with taking down some of the game’s nemeses. From Ryu, to Chun-Li, to Blanka, all the classic Street Fighter characters are here. Players will create their deck by mixing together their fighter’s unique deck with a fighting style deck. Their goal is to move around the stage, chain combos together, upgrade their character powers, and defeat minions and the nemesis. The game captures the fighting-game flavor (attacks, counters, timing) in a simplified coop board game format.
1-4 Players • Ages 12+ • 3-90 minutes • $31
2024 Choices:
The Mandalorian: Adventures
Roll Player Adventures
Dorf Romantik
Party Games
While the name may suggest that these are games to play at a party, they are really more about social interaction and casual gameplay. A party game can usually accommodate a large number of players (but not required) and features really simple rules with lots of interaction.
Brick Like This!
A party game with LEGOS? Sign me up! In Brick Like This!, players pair off into teams to try and complete LEGO models as quickly as possible. The catch is that only one teammate can see what the finished model looks like, while the other one is the only one who can touch the LEGO pieces. So the first person will need to use their communication skills to try and get their teammate to build the correct model as fast as possible.
2-8 Players • Ages 8+ • 15 minutes • $19
Hot Streak (review)
The best part of any football game’s halftime show is not the flashy bands or dancers; it’s the mascot race. People in giant animal costumes are rushing across the field, falling down, bumping into each other, and otherwise just comically trudging across the course. Yet in Hot Streak, you are not the racer, but the gambler betting on which mascot you think will win. There are four mascots, and they will walk, run, crawl, fall over, and generally bounce their way to the finish line. It’s silly, fun, and has some great components as well.
2-9 Players • Ages 6+ • 20 minutes • $45
This Game Is Killer: Alien on Board
This Game Is Killer is a deadly party game about being hunted by a Xenomorph aboard a cargo vessel in deep space. The object is simple: Survive at any cost and remove the alien threat before it kills everyone. Each round, you will be dealt two cards, with one played as where you are on the ship and the other as what you do. Once cards are revealed, along with the alien’s position, it’s time to see who survives and who doesn’t for the round. Hopefully, you can survive long enough to eject the alien into space and win the day… but don’t count on it.
3-10 Players • Ages 10+ • 15 minutes • $15
2024 Choices:
Flip 7
The Gang
Mutton Bustin
Two-Player Games
Not every game needs a group of players to be enjoyable. Whether it’s simply you and a friend, or you are looking for something to play with your significant other, a 2-player game will fit the bill.
Duel for Cardia
Duel for Cardia is a two-player tactical card game where players are battling for signet rings. Each player uses an identical deck of numbered cards (1-16) that each has a unique special ability. However, when cards are played, the lower value card activates its power while the higher value wins influence (a signet ring). Duel for Cardia will have you trying to read your opponent and maybe even bluff them a little, making it perfect for a quick game night match.
2 Players • Ages 10+ • 15 minutes • $16
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth (review)
Based on the much-loved Command and Colors system, Star Wars: Battle for Hoth drops players into, as you might have guessed, the iconic battle from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. One player takes on the defending rebel forces, while the other wields the might of the empire. The gameplay is scenario-based, but it also includes 2 mini-campaigns for players looking for a bit more. For those looking for a light war game that just about anyone can handle, Star Wars: Battle for Hoth is a great choice.
2 Players • Ages 8+ • 30 minutes • $59
Tag Team (review)
Tag Team is a two-player card game that combines the feel of classic arcade-fighter with deck-building and “autobattler” mechanics: you each pick a team of two unique fighters and start with a deck of only 2 cards, and then gradually add cards to your deck, but never changing the order of the cards. That means that your deck plays automatically each round, with timing, block/attack, and strategy determining the winner.
2 Players • Ages 10+ • 10 minutes • $25
2024 Choices:
The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth
Sail
Sky Team
Eurogames
In stark contrast to war games, the eurogame prioritizes managing resources and collecting victory points over direct conflict. Many games fall in this category, from light to heavy, and the euro game can appeal to a broad number of gamers.
Emberheart
Journey to the mystical land of Emberheart, where the King has summoned you to rid the island of the evil dragon poachers. In this Worker-Placement-With-a-Twist game, you’ll gather teams of workers, send them to locations for goodies, and try and dodge the dragon’s Flame. The art is excellent, the components feel good, and the decision space is neat. Will you emerge victorious, or will you get burned?
2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60-90 minutes • $39
Nusfjord
Ahoy, matey, the Elders are hungry for fishies! Nusfjord is an Uwe Rosenberg classic, with a Big Box (that’s actually smaller than the OG base game box) readily available with all the expansion decks included. This is Uwe at his best, placing workers, building your village, and so many fish meeples. Fisheeples? The play time is quick (30-45 minutes), and it has a great, puzzley solo mode. Grab a deck of Herring and get fishing!
1-5 Players • Ages 10+ • 60 minutes • $61
Shackleton Base: A Journey to the Moon
This is a strategic, heavy Euro board game where you take on the role of a space agency sent to build and expand a lunar base in the Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s south pole. Over three rounds, you’ll draft shuttle tiles, place different types of astronauts in worker-placement spots to gather resources, build structures, and advance corporate projects. In each game, you also pick 3 out of 7 corporations to use, each with its own unique scoring mechanics and goals. This adds a great amount of replay value to the game and would be a good choice for gamers who enjoy optimization puzzles with tight resource management.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 60-120 minutes • $66
2024 Choices:
River of Gold
Wyrmspan
Pirates of Maracaibo
Solo Games
Solo games are just what they sound like: games that can be enjoyed by a single player. Many times, they can also be played cooperatively with other players, but the main benefit of a solo game is that you can enjoy it when it’s just you! These games may have you trying to optimize the best moves, or even fighting against an “AI” enemy.
Corps of Discovery (review)
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny is a cooperative deduction game in which players are on an expedition to explore the land. Based on the comic book of the same name, the game is played out on a large grid, and you will be using some Minesweeper-like mechanics to figure out where certain resources are and where danger might be lurking. The game also comes with many different sheets, so even if you beat a scenario, you can try again with different location results. If you like logic puzzles and exploration, Corps of Discovery is a great option.
1-4 Players • Ages 11+ • 60-90 minutes • $39
Kinfire Delve: Callous’ Lab
This card game takes characters from the world of Kinfire and drops them into a dice-rolling dungeon delve. Each round, players will need to roll dice to tackle one of the four obstacles in their path, and while they may optionally play cards to boost their chances, your cards are also your lifeblood, so you don’t want to spend them unnecessarily. Make it all the way to the bottom of the deck, and the final boss awaits you. What’s great about Kinfire Delve is that you can play cards to help your partner, helping to keep things interesting even when it’s not your turn.
1-2 Players • Ages 10+ • 60 minutes • $26
Resist! (review)
Resist! is a fast-playing, card-driven solitaire game in which you take on the role of the Spanish Maquis, fighting against the Francoist regime. Over a series of rounds, you undertake increasingly difficult missions, which you’ll need to complete to earn points. The core tension lies in using your fighters revealed (gaining power) but losing them from future turns, vs unrevealed (weaker abilities) to keep them for another turn. You need to balance immediate gains vs long-term resources. It’s relatively quick with moderate complexity, but it is known for being quite challenging.
1Players • Ages 10+ • 20-40 minutes • $20
Card Games
Card games come in many shapes and varieties, but they usually lack a large game board and tons of plastic pieces. This not only makes them more budget-friendly, but also a lot easier to take with you on the go.
Moon Colony Bloodbath
Moon Colony Bloodbath is an engine-building, engine-losing tableau game. Using a shared deck, the players build out their colony, trying to attract colonists and earn money. However, pretty soon things start to go wrong on the moon, and bad things happen that will cause people in your colony to die. So it’s not just a game about building up your engine and tableau, but also trying to survive for as long as possible when robots begin to revolt.
1-5 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-90 minutes • $45
Citizens of the Spark (review)
Citizens of the Spark is a card game in which players take turns attracting citizens, taking actions, and claiming sparks. The more citizen cards a player has of a specific type of, the more powerful that citizen’s action becomes. During the game, you’ll draft groups of cards into your tableau, activate one citizen type each turn, triggering others to follow if they share that type. The variable setup (choose 7-10 animals out of 30 possibilities) means every game will be just a bit different as well.
1-5 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-60 minutes • $54
Comic Hunters
In Comic Hunters, you are a comic book collector trying to find rare editions of your favorite comic books. Over three rounds, you visit different locations to draft cards, build your personal collection of heroes, and chase high-value traits like “Number 1” issues and first appearances. You earn points not only from the value of the comics you collect, but also from the sets you can make of different types. The way you acquire comics also ranges from pick and pass drafting to an auction, so the gameplay changes up throughout the game. Oh, and the game is fully licensed by Marvel Comics, so the artwork is all classic Marvel comics covers.
1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60 minutes • $25
2024 Choices:
Ashes Reborn: Red Rains
Sea Salt and Paper
Fateflip Washed Ashore
Thematic Games
Sometimes you don’t want to hunt for victory points, but instead, want a game that draws you in with its story or world. These games usually combine great production values with engaging gameplay that draws you in from the very start.
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game (review)
Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game is a fully cooperative, miniatures board game that follows the story of the first Metal Gear Solid video game. As you might expect, the heroes here are Solid Snake, Meryl, Otacon, and Gray Fox, the Cyborg Ninja. You’ll use their unique skill sets to avoid detection as you try to complete objectives across multiple scenarios throughout the campaign. This is a stealth action game where players are trying to be sneaky, but may have to get into a shooting match at some point. The board game is also very true to its video game roots, and you’ll find a lot of easter eggs calling back to the source material.
1-4 Players • Ages 14+ • 60-90 minutes • $109
War Story: Occupied France (review)
War Story: Occupied France is a cooperative narrative game set in World War II-occupied France. It captures the stakes and tension of espionage and resistance warfare, as your small team will need to use stealth and subterfuge if you hope to survive. The game is played over three replayable story missions, and you must use the specialties of your chosen agents to uncover information, enlist allies, and obtain weaponry. The gameplay is a mix between narrative choices and tactical planning, where your decisions and choices matter.
1-6 Players • Ages 12+ • 45-60 minutes • $43
DCeased: Gotham City Outbreak
DCeased: Gotham City Outbreak puts players in the role of the last uninfected Super Heroes fighting against zombie heroes and hordes. Players must work together and use their special abilities to survive on the infected streets of Gotham City. Gotham City Outbreak is a standalone, slimmed-down version of Dceased, making it quicker to play and more affordable. It uses the same core Zombicide gameplay, features unique characters, standees instead of miniatures, and simplified health/power tracking.
1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 60 minutes • $46
2024 Choices:
Tales from the Red Dragon Inn
Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West
Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend
Family Games
If you are looking for games that can be played not only with family members but also with non-gaming friends, then Family Games are an excellent choice. Easy-to-learn rules, friendly themes, and minimal downtime are hallmarks of the genre.
Ziggurat
Ziggurat is a cooperative legacy game played over six chapters. A legacy-style game means the game evolves as you play, and you will make decisions that affect all of your games to come. As the story progresses, you will make permanent changes to the game, adding new rules, materials, and pieces to the board. The game is light enough to be enjoyed with kids as young as 6, and they are sure to love the stickers and opening surprise reveals.
2-4 Players • Ages 6+ • 45 minutes • $40
Star Wars Super Teams
In Star Wars Super Teams, you are racing a pair of iconic Star Wars ships through the galaxy. Each round, players will be dealt a hand of cards and must play them to move the ships—some of which may belong to their opponent. There are also special power-ups to grab along the way to trick your opponent or give your own ships a nice boost. The game takes about 30 minutes to play, has simple rules, offers a mix of light strategy and fun chaos, and is ideal for Star Wars fans and family game nights. Plus, the starships have a great toy factor to them.
2-4 Players • Ages 7+ • 30 minutes • $29
Treasure of the Dragons (review)
The goal in Treasure of the Dragons is to collect as many of the 49 tiles as possible. At the start, the tiles are laid facedown in a 7×7 grid. On their turn, players may reveal as many tiles as they like until either they want to stop or they are forced to stop. If they stop voluntarily, they may collect sets of tiles and add them to their score pile. But revealing a spider or a dragon stops the player from taking anything, and they have to flip all the tiles back over. There are a few other wrinkles along the way, but it’s a quick-playing memory-variant that can actually be fun for adults, too.
2-5 Players • Ages 5+ • 20 minutes • $25
2024 Choices:
Star Realms Academy
Blast Track
In the Footsteps of Darwin
Stock Stuffers
If you are looking for just a little something extra for someone on your list, then check out these Stocking Stuffers. These are great games that won’t break the bank, are small in size, and are under $25.
Happy Mochi
Happy Mochi is a card game where you’re trying to empty your hand by playing cards in pairs; however, you can never rearrange your hand. So the way the cards are dealt to you is how you have to use them. You can only play adjacent cards from your hand following value or color rules—unless you make a matching pair, at which point you shout “Happy Mochi!” and you get to ignore the rules for that play. The cute mochi-themed art is fantastic, and the game has a quick playtime with light decisions. This makes it ideal for families or casual gamers looking for something quick and fun.
2-6 Players • Ages 8+ • 20 minutes • $10
Flip 7 (review)
Flip 7 is a push your luck card game where each turn you choose whether to draw another card and risk “busting” or bank your points and stop. The unique deck is made up of cards where there’s only one “1” card, two “2” cards, three “3” cards, etc, so the higher you go, the greater the risk of drawing a duplicate and causing you to bust. Along with number cards, there are special cards that give you bonuses, extra chances, or let you mess with opponents. Games are short, and it’s very easy to learn.
3-18 Players • Ages 6+ • 20 minutes • $8
Rainbow
It’s a quick, clever hand-management card game in which each round you choose to play either a single card, a set (multiple same number), or a run (sequential cards) from your hand to attempt to claim the best point cards in the center. The twist is that the cards you play become the new pool of points for the next round—so you’re constantly balancing “win now” vs “not giving your opponents too much” and setting up your future position.
2-6 Players • Ages 5+ • 10-20 minutes • $15
2024 Choices:
Seaside
Marvel Remix
Rafter 5
