BGE's Tabletop: Games and More! Holiday Buyer's Guide 2023

Check out BGE's Holiday Buyer's Guide for Gift Ideas this Holiday Season!

You can click on any of the links below to take you to a specific Gift Guide Section, or you can scroll down and browse all of our sections!

• For the Local Gamer
• Kids: Ages 2 - 4
• Kids: Ages 5 and 6
• Kids: Ages 7 - 10
• Pre-Teens and Teens
• Family Gift Ideas
• Games for Larger Gatherings
• All Ages
• For the Strategy Gamer
• The Magic: The Gathering Player
• The Pokémon Collector
• Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer
• Tabletop Roleplaying Beyond D&D
• Warhammer
• Dice, Dice, Dice!

For the Local Gamer

The best gift to give to the local gamer? A gift card! You can purchase these online, or in our store. They can also be used to pay for our play space fees, tournament entry fees, and other classes, programs, or events we offer in the store! You can pick up a physical gift card in our store, purchase one digitally online, or visit us in the store and let us know how much store credit to add to your gamer's account!

Gift cards come in any denomination possible!

Ages 2 - 5 

Games for the Young(est) Gamer - HABA Games

Imported from Germany, HABA makes excellent games geared toward younger players. Their product line starts at games for ages 2 and goes all the way to family games that parents can enjoy too! Check out some of our suggestions below!

Animal Upon Animal: A Christmas Stacking Game

The animals are climbing all over each other to form an ever-taller Christmas pyramid. But which one will make it to the top? The players decide by carefully balancing squirrels, snow bunnies, penguins and reindeer on stars, fir trees, sleds, and even on top of each other. The first player to place all of his or her figures safely on the pyramid wins this wobbly Christmas stacking game. A wobbly Christmas-themed stacking game.

Players: 2 - 4
Time: 20 minutes
Age: 4+

For Kids Learning to Interact and Take Turns

My Very First Games: First Orchard ($29.99)

In this simple roll and pick game, players roll dice and pick fruit from the fruit trees. You have to be quick though because the raven is trying to eat all the fruit. This game is perfect for practicing matching and learning to take turns.

Check out this review from a previous BGE customer: 

"First Orchard was the very first board game we bought our daughter years ago and it is still our top choice for kids aged 2-4. This cooperative game works beautifully as your child's first introduction to board games..."

Specialty Wooden Puzzles from BeginAgain ($11.99 - $39.99)

Mixing kinesthetic (hands-on) learning at an early age is great for helping with developing hand-eye coordination and puzzle solving.

Check out some wooden alphabet puzzles from BeginAgain:

 

Kids: Ages 5 and 6

Siblings Working Together! - Unlock! Kids

Adapted from the hit Unlock! series of games, Unlock! Kids invites young players and their families to test their mental fortitude and problem-solving skills in a set of escape games adapted from other Unlock! adventures.

Brain Boxes!

Check out some of these excellent trivia style games for all ages!

Kids: Ages 7 - 10

Super Heroes and Anime

There are loads of super hero-themed games out there for this age group. Check out some of our recommendations!

Naruto Monopoly and Dragonball Z Clue

 

Marvel Codenames

 

Pokémon

Pokémon is very popular among this age group! You can get some single packs, pick up an Elite Trainer Box, or any of our other speciality Pokémon boxes. And if you're looking for the best bang for your buck when it comes to packs. Picking up a booster box is usually the best route to take!

 

Poke

Fun and Quirky Card Games

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

As in Snap and Dobble, each player places a card from their hand face up into a community pile while saying taco/cat/goat/cheese/pizza in player sequence. When the card matches the mantra — boom! — everyone slaps their hand on the deck, with the last one to slap picking up the cards. Whoever rids themselves of cards first wins!

 

Pre-Teens and Teens

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is all the rage during this time! If you have an adventurous person in your life around this age, the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set may be the perfect gift for them. This will open a whole new world of adventure, creativity, storytelling, reading, and problem-solving!

The Essential Kit is the best bang for you buck as you also get a DM screen, character cards, and other goodies not included in the Starter Sets:

 

Family Gift Ideas

Check out our selection of great games for families!

These games make for excellent gifts and games to play during the holidays. They can be played young and old!

HerStory

TELL HERSTORY: You’re an acclaimed author, writing a book to tell the stories of remarkable women in history. Discover iconic historical women as you do research, draft chapters, and complete the highest scoring book to win!

Disney Sorcerer's Arena

Become the next Master Summoner in this Disney-themed strategic battle arena game, where every choice you make determines your legacy! Recruit a fantastical battle-ready roster of Disney and Pixar heroes and villains, creating incredible combinations that provide endless replayability. Once you’ve summoned your characters to battle in the Sorcerer’s Arena, strategize their every move using their unique abilities to earn the most victory points. Learn as you go in this expandable tabletop game inspired by the popular mobile game, overpowering your foes to win the ultimate Disney and Pixar battle royale!

Players: 2 - 4
Ages: 13+
Time: 35+ minutes

Asmodee Bestsellers!

These are Asmodee's best-selling board games from the last year. The top 40 best-selling board games from one of the biggest board game companies in the hobby.

A selection of great games to play at family gatherings!

Below is a great selection of games that you can bust out at your family gatherings during the holiday season! They are great party games and can support more than 6 players!

Swearmints

A portable party game about making up your own slang!

• Combine 240 nonsense words to create all-new slang terms
• Earn "mints" by creating the best new slang
• Fits in your pocket in a cool mint tin

Exploding Kittens Plus the Party Pack

There are all sorts of Exploding Kittens add-ons. You can get a full group of up to 10 players with the base game and the Party Pack!

A card game for people who are into kittens and explosions and laser beams and sometimes goats.

Tapple

Get ready for a new edition of the fast-paced award-winning word game that levels up family game night as players compete against time. To play the game, pick a card with a category and press the timer. Then, shout out words related to the category that start with a certain letter. Once the related word is announced, tap the corresponding letter tab. Challenge loved ones to this game as you come up with words before the 10-second timer runs out. Play this fun game as a fresh new way to improve vocabulary and add excitement to game nights.

Monikers

A party game in 3 phases. At the start of the game, you will receive a set of cards featuring names of famous and historical people. You goal is got get your team to guess as many names as possible in the allotted time. Round 1, say anything about the person, just don’t say their name. Round, only use one word to hint at the game. Round 3, perform charades to get your team to guess the name. The cards get shuffled, but don’t change between round 1 and round 3, so creating clever hints in round 1 that can be paired down in rounds 2 and 3 are important for your success!

 

 

All Ages

Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventures

For the Pixar fans in your family. Toy Story: Obstacles and Adventures lets you put on your favorite Star Command spacesuit or your best rootin'-tootin' sheriff badge and join the likes of Buzz and Woody on six fun-filled adventures! This is a cooperative deck-building game, meaning players will work together to build unique card combinations to play with. Join some toy friends from all four major films to strategize against dangers and hazards that are trying to keep you from victory!

Players: 2 - 5
Ages: 8+
Time: 30-90 minutes

 

Disney Villainous

Take on the role of your favorite Disney Villain and learn your own devious way to win the game. From Captain Hook to the Queen of Hearts, discover your own unique abilities while simultaneously trying to thwart your opponents' schemes. Play this game on its own or mix & match with other Disney Villainous titles! Bring in the green, the red, the purple, or the orange boxes to play and add more villains to your fingertips. Choose your villain wisely and find out who will triumph over the forces of good to win it all!

Players: 2 - 6
Ages: 10+
Time: 40 - 120 minutes

 

For the Strategy Gamer

Dune Imperium Uprising

 Mr. Beast recently won a Dune Imperium Uprising tournament!

Uprising is a stand-alone expansion that expands on Dune: Imperium's blend of deck-building and worker placement. Continue to balance military might with political intrigue, wielding new tools in pursuit of victory. Spies will shore up your plans. Vital contracts will expand your resources. Or learn the ways of the Fremen and ride mighty sandworms into battle! Plus, a new six-player mode pits two teams against one other in the biggest struggle yet! The choices are yours.

The Imperium awaits!

Players: 1 - 6
Ages: 13+
Time: 60 -1 20 minutes

 

Expedition (Ironclad Edition or Standard Edition)

The sequel to Scythe sends players on a new adventure into Siberia, where a massive meteorite crashed near the Tunguska River, awakening ancient corruption. An expedition led by Dr. Tarkovsky ventures into the taiga to learn about the meteorite and its impact on the land. Itching for adventure, heroes from the war privately fund their own expeditions to Siberia, hoping to find artifacts, overcome challenges, and ultimately achieve glory.

Expeditions is a competitive, card-driven, engine-building game of exploration. It is designed to evoke similar feelings to Scythe even though the mechanisms are different: Play cards to gain power, guile, and unique worker abilities; move your mech to mysterious locations and gain cards found among the tiles; use workers, items, meteorites, and quests to enhance your mech; and use power and guile to vanquish corruption.

This standard edition of Expeditions features plastic mech miniatures and plastic base snaps.

 

Players: 1 - 5 players

Ages: 12+

Time: 90 - 120 minutes

ANKH: Gods of Egypt

In ANKH: Gods of Egypt, take control of one of the legendary Gods of Egypt, each with unique game-changing powers, and lead your devotees in an epic conflict for eternal life. Shape land, build monuments, gain followers, unlock Ankh powers, and fight with legendary Guardians. Vie for power as soon-forgotten gods wage bloody war for control of the land and the people's devotions. Only one god will emerge triumphant in the new age of monotheism. Who will it be?

Players: 2 - 5
Ages: 14+
Time: 90 minutes

 

Mansions of Madness

Great for fans of Cthulhu and Lovecraftian macabre, Mansions of Madness is a fully cooperative board game of horror and discovery for one to five players. Players take the part of investigators, entering the darkened rooms of haunted Arkham mansions and other sinister locales to discover strange secrets, solve cunning puzzles, and battle otherworldly dangers. Includes 32 plastic figures and a free companion app!

Players: 1 - 5
Ages: 14+
Time: 2 - 3 hours

 

 

The Magic: The Gathering Player by Elizabeth

Magic: The Gathering Commander!

Commander is a very popular format nowadays, and we run Commander nights on Wednesdays. If you're new to the format, we have dozens of decks available, in all varieties of colors!

 

Universes Beyond Commander Decks

For MtG fans or prospective players who are also fans of Warhammer 40k or Doctor Who, these commander decks are excellently designed, incredibly flavorful ways to play the game!

 

Lord of the Rings Scenes!

Both functional cards and art exhibits, these scene packs contain six original cards that can be put together on an included stand to form a gorgeous rendition of an iconic scene from the books! To seal the deal, these bundles also include 3 set booster packs.

 

Bling Out Their Collection with Some Sleeves and Deck Boxes

A Magic player can never have enough sleeves and deckboxes. We always recommend Dragon Shield Mattes, available in a rainbow of colors, and Dragon Shield inner sleeves for the especially valuable cards you want safe from water damage and scraping against the top of the card. For deckboxes, the universally beloved Gamegenic Squire offers a convenient and high quality box with no annoying flaps to take up space on your table.

Check out our Dragon Shield sleeve options.

Finally, why not consider a gift card? A gift card can pay for singles that the player wants without you needing to know their exact tastes, or even pay for entrance into one of our drafts (nearly) every Friday night!

 

Tabletop Roleplaying Games Beyond D&D by Elizabeth

Wanderhome - Pastoral Animal Fantasy

Wanderhome is an absolutely incredible tabletop RPG with minimal rules, no dice, and options for no GM. Players become wandering animal people in a pastoral fantasy world that's at once bright and cheery but also mournful and looking to move on from a past tragedy. This game is incredible for exploring themes of home, connection, and redemption. If you want help creating your Wanderhome world, consider picking up...

The Quiet Year - Cooperative Worldbuilding

The Quiet Year as well! This cooperative game tasks your whole playgroup with creating a world carving out itself from a hostile outside disaster, where it's up to your group to make decisions and improvise characters that can later become key figures in your game proper. Not just for Wanderhome, The Quiet Year can be a great way for DMs to allow players to be directly involved in the creation of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign's world!

Check out all of our other Indie Tabletop Roleplaying Games!

BGE's Tabletop has a solid selection of indie tabletop roleplaying games. Be sure to check out website or stop in the store for a great selection!

Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer

If you have a D&D Player in your life, there are some excellent gifts for them. D&D players could always use more dice, so be sure to check out our dice section. Also, D&D players love things that help them organize, so check out our RPG Player Companions. And, wait, there's more! Is the D&D Player in your life the DM (Dungeon Master), well then, the list of things you can pick up for them is seemingly endless. Check out our DM's section below!

RPG Player's Companion

DM's Section

Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Books

We have plenty of D&D titles and plenty of adventures a DM can add to their arsenal! Check out some below!

 

Dice, Dice, and More Dice!

Check out all of our dice offerings! From plastic dice to resin dice to metal dice to d100s!

d100s!