Board Games To Bring To This Year’s Holiday White Elephant Swap
Do you need a game to bring to a holiday swap? Something even the non-gamers would enjoy? We’ve got you covered.
Do you have holiday parties to awkwardly shuffle and make small talk through coming up? If so, you may have holiday parties to get a swap gift for, which is great! This is a perfect excuse to get one of your unsuspecting friends or co-workers into one of your favorite games. Or games in general. All of these picks have relatively low entry points, are easy to learn, fun to play, are reasonably affordable, and are sure to be somebody’s new favorite thing.
Catan
People who don’t play Catan don’t get the hype or only know it from that one episode of The Big Bang Theory that one time. (That’s not a joke, my parents literally said, “Oh, the game from BBT,” one year, and I had to take a moment to stare silently at a wall.) But as soon as you’re a few rounds in, everybody becomes really invested in trading sheep for bricks or having the longest road. This game is massively popular to the point of being a meme, but it’s massively popular for a reason.
Need something under $20? Grab the card game. Under $10? Pick up the official dice game.
Cat Ladies of Maple St.
There is almost certainly going to be a cat person in the group during your gift swap. And if not, there’s going to be someone who likes the idea of cats in an internet-meme sort of way, which is perfect for this cat-themed strategy card game. Like some of the best/worst family board games, this is a mixture of cut-throat and heart-warming, as everyone competes to be the best cat lady. Cat Ladies of Maple St. also comes in at less than $20, so if you need something fast and affordable for your swap, you’ll be all set!
Tetra Tower
If you’re afraid that the people in your swap aren’t going to be interested in story-driven or strategy board games, Tetra Tower is a much more physical approach to games. A little like Jenga in reverse, this game will have you stacking Tetris-like block shapes on a tipping platform. Try to keep things balanced and don’t let the platform tip all of the way over and ruin your block tower!
Villainous
This game honestly has it all. Easy rules, friendly for everyone, all of your favorite childhood bad guys, and lots of expansions for when you want to add to the evil party. If this feels like a game that’s not worth adding to a swap unless there’s a Disney Adult in the room, I promise it’s a very fun game for everyone. Being a Disney Adult would just make already very fun game better.
Not into Disney princesses? There’s also a Star Wars and a Marvel edition, and a bunch of expansions that can be played as stand-alones.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is one of those meeple games that looks like it’s going to be complicated and difficult until you start playing. And then you realize you’re just building a map in a way that visually makes perfect sense. It’s fast-paced, very competitive, easy to learn, and one of my favorite meeple games out there.
Sushi Go!
Sushi Go! is easy to leanr and great for all ages. It’smostly just a game about set matching. Players score points by collecting different pieces of sushi or dumplings and other similar things you might find in a sushi restaurant. Each type of card scores in slightly different ways, but often score big points if you complete a set. It’s a game about weighing if you should take the safe bet, or hope for lucky pull later for major points.
Like cute sushi, but want different mechanics? Try these…
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