Jeff and I are both a little swamped with upcoming projects (like The Bones), so we’ve been slow to post. Given the time of year, though, I thought I’d toss out the obligatory materialist question that befits Black Friday:
What game-related gifts are you planning on giving this year and to whom do you give the gift of games?
Got a gift that’s at the top of your lift to receive? Go ahead and share that, too, if you like. Everything from gamer gag-gifts to big-box board games and big-ticket video games are welcome here — we want to know what games or game-adjacent products you’re excited about this time of year, whether you’re giving or getting. (And we might be remiss if we didn’t mention the sprawling holiday sale at Fantasy Flight Games, this year.)
I’m getting things for my parents now I’ve lured them back to board gaming. Sadly, the things I really want to get for them all seem to be out of print, which is an obstacle. I may have to improvise based on what they like.
I’m picking up several game gifts this year, for various friends. I’m buying: ‘Dead Reign’ for my zombie-infatuated friend; ‘Arkham Detective Tales’ for my squamously betentacled friend; ‘Once Upon A Time’ for my fey friends; and Hot War for my paranoid, all-hope-is-lost friend.
I’m at a loss to identify any game-related items of which I am currently desirous.
Queex: Have you tried Noble Knight Games for out of print goodness?
Hi, Fantasy Flight employees! Have fun back in the warehouse packing peoples’ holiday sale orders! I’ll be at home not doing that this year!
::waves::
(If you haven’t got a copy of the Fireborn RPG, that’s my recommendation from the FFG holiday sale. Will and I both wrote parts of it back before we really even knew each other. I have no idea if the game works as envisioned, but the background conceit is a fantastic idea.)
I’m buying a copy of Last Night on Earth for a non-gaming family I know that’s sick of playing Risk at their cabin. That’ll either open their eyes or sour them on games forever.
God help me, I’m getting my eight year-old daughter Pokemon cards. (You can get 100 random commons and uncommons for $8 at Troll and Toad.) I have no illusions that she’ll actually *play* with the things, but I can always hope.
For me, the want list is mostly video games. I have a bunch of board games here I still haven’t played (like Tribune), and I’m falling behind on those in a hurry. Worse, there’s just not room in my budget for $60 gambles on sequels to games that I liked, but maybe didn’t love. The setting of Assassin’s Creed II doesn’t demand that I play it, for example, so I can’t go dropping money on the hope that I’m wrong.
Likewise, my shopping list this year is so small that it doesn’t feature many game players — things are too tight for big-ticket presents. So I’m living vicariously through your answers.
Jeff,
You could get your non-gaming family “Ticket to Ride.” It is the perfect game for the non-gamer.
For the non-gaming family, I would echo Christian’s suggestion of Ticket to Ride as a great game to give. If you want to introduce them to Euro style games, then classics such as Carcassonne, Alhambra, and Wits & Wagers are good choices. Carcassonne is a great choice because it also looks and feels good.
For my hardcore gaming friends, buying anything can be challenge, since we share tastes in common and it gets very difficult to find something new and interesting.
Dad and mom in the family in question are both accomplished TV and movie writers, so I’m looking for something that has some story to it. They don’t really strike me as an elegant play mechanics bunch; they’re more a backyard margarita party family.
I’m horribly excited about the Sega Genesis Firecore System. Looks like a great Christmas gift…and just totally throwback to a time when video games were simpler.
http://www.buy.com/prod/sega-genesis-firecore-classic-game-console-20-games/q/loc/108/listingid/51592926/212208382.html?adid=17654