Board Game Lovers Gift Guide

1. Glow Spotters: The Glow Spotters Troop is on a nature adventure, trying to count fireflies to earn their Firefly badges. Each player has a set of firefly boards numbered 1 to 10. Players roll the die and collect various-shaped glow tiles to reach the sum of fireflies on their boards. The first player to complete all their boards wins the game and receives their Firefly badge. 1-4 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 5 & up.

2. Is or Isn't: Play along with the adorable creatures that live in this game’s thesaurus. They will help you learn synonyms and antonyms. Players take turns moving their character pawn around the gameboard, landing on word cards or challenge spaces. When you identify the synonyms or antonyms on your bingo board, cover the squares with a token. Be the first player to complete a line of four tokens horizontally, vertically, or diagonally and win the game. 2-5 players • Playtime: 15 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

3. Bee Alert: Find the matching-color bee under the hive in this fun memory game that builds fine motor skills and helps players learn to take turns. 2-5 players • Playtime: 15–20 minutes • Ages 5 & up.

4. Team Digger: Playing cooperatively, players create five-card sequences moving their dogs from one dig site to another, digging up what is buried there. Players win as a team when they find all four bones before they dig up five of the unwanted objects. This is a great game for teaching early coding skills. 2-4 Players • Playtime: 30 Minutes • Ages 6 & up.

5. Crystal Cup Rally: Race to the finish line in this fun and fast-paced 3D board game. Crystal Cup Rally puts you in the driver's seat, racing around the track and collecting crystals to power up your vehicle. Discover shortcuts, boost your engine power, and throw down obstacles to slow down other racers in this immersive tabletop racing game. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 7 & up.

6. Ocean Limbo: It's time to answer the age-old question, "How low can you go?" in this fun physics game. In this strategic underwater experience, players slide ocean creatures down their boards to score the lowest points. Ocean Limbo introduces kids to physics and cause-and-effect relationships, allowing them to explore the ocean and learn about its many creatures. 2-4 players • Playtime: 25 minutes • Ages 5 & up.

7. Cross Lanes: Strike up some fun and challenge your sequencing skills with this multiplayer bowling game. Cross Lanes is a turn-based card game in which players take turns laying down cards that are either one more or one less than another card currently on the table. Throw strikes and spares to force other players to pick up more cards and be the first to get rid of your cards to claim victory. 2-4 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

Mid-Elementary Board Games

1. Arctic Riders: Spring has arrived in the Arctic Circle! Players practice addition and subtraction skills as they choose cards to create equations (and self-check their answers,) trying to get a sum that equals a number between 0 and 100. The object of the game is to solve equations and feed as many treats to the narwhals as they swim along the ice floe. 2-4 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 7 & up

2. Phantom Seas: Players take turns selecting navigation cards with compass instructions to direct their ships toward scattered treasures. Be watchful and navigate wisely, as other players have set sail for the very same treasures. The player with the largest bounty at the end of the game wins. A fun way to explore directional awareness and navigation. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 min • Ages 8 & up.

3. Shore Seekers: Practice addition and early multiplication as you roll the dice to move your turtles around the island. Collect cards to determine how many eggs will be in each nest. The player whose turtle has laid the most eggs when all the cards run out wins! 2-7 players • Playtime: 30 min • Ages 7 & up.

4. SavannaScapes: Learn about the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem with its amazing diversity of animal life. Players take turns moving around the play area choosing species tiles and placing them next to others to provide them with their needed habitats, creating an ecosystem. Point tokens are earned each time a player meets the needs of their animals or when an event tile is played. The player with the most points when all the rounds are complete wins. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 min • Ages 7 & up.

5. Mirror Mansion: Solve the mysteries of the mirror mansion in this engaging game of reflections. Mirror Mansion is a unique game that introduces geometry to kids by dropping you in the middle of a treasure-filled mansion. Use mirrors and your memory to explore the mansion and collect jewels. At the end of the game, the player with the most jewels takes home the gold. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

6. Gumball Words: Spell your way to victory in this sweet and colorful word game. Players take turns moving around the gumball machine game board and collecting letter tiles. Using the tiles collected, you must spell as many words as possible. Gumball Words is an award-winning game that promotes vocabulary, spelling, and communication skills, making it the perfect game for second and third-graders. • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

7. Time Jumpers: Go back in time to witness some of the greatest achievements, discoveries, and events of the 20^th century. Players take turns moving around the category portal to collect cards and fill their dashboards with cards in chronological order to meet certain goals like collecting a card from each category or having the largest time span between two years. Players earn points based on these goals and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins! 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

Upper Elementary-Teen Board Games

1. Chalk-A-Word: The more words you know the greater your chances. Use your letter cards to create new words or add to existing words in play. Spell as many words as you can and earn the most points before the chalkboard gets wiped clean. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

2. Nite Lights: Players light up the sky, stacking their firework cards and blocks on the board by creating and matching color patterns in this colorful strategy game that helps sharpen spatial reasoning. 2-4 players • Playtime: 45 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

3. Eagle Chase: Learn interesting geographical and historical facts about some of the most well-known (and not so well-known) locations in the United States. Players travel the country, visiting as many locations as they can by playing their cards and rolling the dice, while also trying to catch up with the Eagle to earn extra points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up. 

4. Owl Solve That!: Team up with the detectives from the Owl Solve That! Agency to find the answers. Players earn one point for each number card they use. Utilizing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, each player creates equations that match a solution card in their hand. To win, be the first player to reach 25 points on your score card. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

5. Do You Know Shakespeare?: Increase your knowledge of Shakespeare and his literary works by playing this fun trivia game. Place your book pawns next to answers you believe are true. Receive a shilling for each positive point you earn by selecting a true answer. The player with the most shillings after five rounds wins! 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 min • Ages 12 & up.

6. Star Gazer: Strategize and create constellations in this space-themed tabletop game. Players use the galaxy board to take turns placing, removing, and swapping star tiles to recreate the star pattern on their gazer card. Patterns are worth one, two, or three points — depending on their difficulty — and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Star Gazer helps children develop analytical, spatial reasoning, and visualization skills. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

7. Matter: Master the elements to control the board and score the most points in this elemental strategy game. Players must use situational analysis and deep thought to develop a winning strategy. The game progresses as players take turns placing markers and elementals across the board. Collect score tiles by having the most powerful adjacent element. But be careful! Every element has its weakness. 2-4 players • Playtime: 40 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

Board Game Gift Guide: Social Games

Liven up game night, date night, or your next holiday gathering with these fun social games!

1. Eye to Eye: Ice-cream brands? Things that squeak? Write down three answers from the category card and see how well you know the other players. Be the player to see “Eye to Eye” the most to win the game! 3-6 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

2. Asymbol: Build it like an architect with Asymbol! In this hilarious and interactive board game, players take turns drawing category cards and creating the subject using any number of the 47 pieces in the game. Be the resourceful builder and correct guesser to score points and win! 3-6 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

3. Get 4 & Score: Pick a category, then list four words that begin with each of the four letter cards. Earn points for each letter you complete before the timer runs out. 2-8 players • Playtime: 20–30 minutes • 8 & up.

4. Take Your Pick: Early or late? Serious or silly? Which options will the other players choose to describe themselves? Match their pick in this fun way to get to know one another better. 3+ players • Playtime: 20 minutes • 8 & up.

5. Time Jumpers: Travel back in time and learn about some of the greatest achievements, discoveries, and events of the 20th century. Players move around the category portal collecting cards trying to place them in chronological order while competing against other time jumpers to earn the highest score. 2-5 players • 30 min • 8 & up.

6. Kahootz!: Take charades to the next level with this exciting, fast-paced game. In this wacky and silly game, teams take turns rolling the dice, drawing cards, and completing challenges while racing against the hourglass to earn points and advance along the game board. Many gifts for board game lovers come with a hard limit on the number of players, but the more players, the merrier with this party game. 6+ players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

7. Qualities: Get to know your friends and family better with this guessing game. Players vote and try to predict how others will rank certain activities, values, or qualities. If you guess correctly, you get the Quality card — collect two sets of these to win! This game promotes self-awareness and social-emotional learning and is a fun and engaging way to develop communication skills. You may even discover some truths about yourself along the way. 2-7 players • Playtime: 25 minutes • Ages 12 & up

Board Game Gift Guide: Strategy Games

Shopping for a tabletop gamer who loves a challenge? Then pick up a couple of our top-rated strategy games that will pique their interest!

1. Amalgam: Fill your cauldrons with an amalgam of ingredients to create the most potent potions. Use your memory to gather and collect as many of the same types of ingredients as you can for the strongest result. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

2. Dish ’em Out: Rival diner owners hustle to seat and serve the morning rush of hungry customers that have arrived for breakfast. Different food types have longer cook times, so planning is everything in this fast-paced strategy game! 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

3. Zone to Zone: Players roll the dice to strategically move across the gameboard while also blocking the movements of their opponents. The first player to move more than half their pieces to the starting positions in the opposite zone wins. 2-6 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 12 & up.

4. Planet Voyagers: Journey through the Solar System as you strategize to play your hand by either advancing your rocket or researching other planets to gain more points. The first player to reach Neptune or earn 12 points wins! A fascinating astrology game that made the Seattle Times 2021 Holiday Gift Guide. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

5. High Tail It!: Run and jump your way to the finish line in this energizing game of animal athletics. High Tail It! is an exciting game of kangaroo racing in which players jump over one another to advance around the game board. Plan out the best paths and make the most of every turn to be the first player to get all five kangaroos across the river. High Tail It! helps sharpen problem-solving skills and encourages players to look at the board from all possible perspectives. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

6. Fossil Sweep: Step into the fascinating world of fossils! Use strategy and decision-making to match fossil layers and uncover ancient treasures before they’re lost to time. Play your cards wisely to clear your hand and score points—just watch out for the “Sweep” card that ends the round. The player with the fewest points wins the fossil hunt! 2-5 players • 20 min • 8 & up.

7. Chess on the Loose: Play chess like never before with this monstrous take on a classic game. Chess on the Loose is one of the best board games for gifts if you are looking to bridge the generational gap between grandparents, parents, and children. This game turns up the fun factor with three new ways to play: Avoid the dreaded Frankencheck, search for treasure, and gain a competitive edge by controlling UFOs in this wacky, fast-paced board game. 2 players • Playtime: 45 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

Board Game Gift Guide: Family Games

Start your own family game night with these fun and educational games that are a hit with kids, teens, adults, and everyone in between.

1. Walk the Dogs: With 63 adorable dogs, this family game barks fun while reinforcing basic math skills. But be careful, the dog catcher could catch you first! A family-fun counting, multiplication, and predicting game. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

2. Pelican Cove: Think fast to get your pelicans nested before time runs out in this fast-paced game. Each pelican has their own preferences. Can you make them all happy? Only time will tell! 1-5 players • Playtime: 30 min • Ages 8 & up.

3. Kilter: An irresistible family-fun game where players place as many blocks as they can before the seesaw tips. Got caught off-kilter? Collect the blocks that fell and reuse them on your next turn. The player to successfully place all of their blocks first, wins the game! 2-4 players • Play Time: 15-20 min • Ages 8 & up

4. Ice Tumble: Players take turns rolling the die and collecting ice blocks. Then they stack their blocks carefully to make an ice sculpture, without any tumbling off. The first player to successfully place all their ice blocks and their fox pawn on the sculpture wins the game. The blocks are slippery, so be careful or the sculpture may come tumbling down. 2-4 players • Playtime: 15 minutes • Ages 7 & up.

5. SlideAscope: Get ready for a tile-matching thrill! Strategically place tiles to match sides and create cascading combos. Watch as tiles slide and unlock new matching opportunities. Outsmart your opponents and score high to win in this game of spatial reasoning and critical thinking! 1-5 players • 20 min • 8 & up.

6. Sneaks: Does your family love the fast-paced card game "Spoons?" Then They'll love Sneaks! This quick-thinking matching game will keep you and your family members on the tip of their sneaks! Practice decision-making and quick-thinking and see how many sneakers you can grab. 2-8 players • Playtime: 20-30 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

7. Prickly Path: Help Coyote navigate the blooming desert! Strategize and decide how to jump over expanding cactus groups and rocks to stay on the path. Arrange your cacti for vibrant, though prickly, fun as you master the desert challenge! 2-4 players • 20 min • 8 & up.

Board Game Gift Guide: Educational Games

When shopping for a good gift, board games with an educational core are loved by both parents and kids. These games entertain and teach valuable skills and knowledge to all players, regardless of age. From math and science to language and critical thinking, a wide variety of educational games are available to suit any interest and age group.

1. Trifusion: Can you craft the longest chain in this strategy-based, path-building game? Trifusion is an award-winning game that tests your spatial reasoning skills. Players take turns adding tiles to the play area to extend existing paths and score points. With endless path possibilities awaiting, Trifusion offers countless hours of fun and learning. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

2. Rolling Bones: Build an anatomically correct skeleton in this bone-shaking game. Rolling Bones is an exhilarating dice-rolling game that teaches kids about human anatomy and probability. On your turn, roll all 18 dice and try to build as much of the skeleton as possible. Players may press their luck and reroll certain dice to build more of the skeleton and rack up more points. But beware, rerolls will cost you more each time. 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 7 & up.

3. Shape Whiz: Put your math skills to the test to crack the clues in this geometric race to the finish. In this game, each player starts with a hand of shape cards. At the beginning of each round, a clue card is revealed. Players then race against one another to find the shape card that matches the clue. The first player to eliminate all their shape cards takes the trophy in this fun geometry game. 2-4 players • Playtime: 15 minutes • Ages 10 & up.

4. Feats of Cheese: Build a tower of cheese and test your balancing skills in this thrilling physics game. Stack your cheese wedges as high as they can go in this deliciously fun game of strategy, skill, and luck. If your tower falls, so does your chance of scoring points. When a player's tower collapses, every other player gains points equal to the number of mice in the tower multiplied by the number of cheese wedges in the tower. Who's got what it takes to build the tallest tower? 2-4 players • Playtime: 10 minutes • Ages 7 & up.

5. Word Bits: Stretch your creativity to make words in this fast-paced card game. In each round, one player rolls all four of the letter dice. Then, one of the 80 creative category cards is flipped over. The first player to make a word related to the category from the letters on the dice wins the round and takes the card. Keep rolling and spelling until all the cards are gone. The player with the most cards is crowned the winner! 2-4 players • Playtime: 20-30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

6. Tally On: Flex your math skills to fill up delivery trucks, get packages out on time, and collect cards along the way. Try to have the most cards by the end of the game to take home the victory. But be careful! If you exceed the truck's limit, you miss out on the entire stack of cards. This family-friendly game can be played on three different difficulties to accommodate players of all ages. 2-4 players • Playtime: 10 minutes • Ages 5 & up.

Board Game Gift Guide: Communication Games for Kids

Does your kid need a little help developing their communication skills? These fun and engaging games make it easy to broaden their vocabulary and learn new communication skills without even realizing it. Whether you have a kindergartener or a teenager, there's a communication game that can help them come out of their shell.

1. Pickles' Pig Tales: Join Pickles the Pig on a journey of fun and adventure in this engaging storytelling game. Weave fantastic and whimsical tales as you help Pickles reach the castle by working together to create the story one sentence at a time. Each player takes turns reciting the story and adding another sentence around the image on the card drawn. 2-5 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

2. Sticks & Stunts: Build stick structures, answer trivia questions, and perform daring stick stunts to fill your bingo card in this creative and entertaining game. Sticks & Stunts is a unique game that helps sharpen spatial reasoning and communication skills. Players on a team must work together to complete challenges and win tokens. This game will bend your mind and encourage children to discuss possible solutions. 2-6 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

3. Color Huey & The Four Seasons: Explore the colors of the seasons with Huey the Caterpillar in this educational and artistic game. Color Huey & The Four Seasons is a color-matching game designed to help develop early reading and communication skills in young minds. It’s perfect for your preschooler and helps give them a head start on matching, color and word recognition, and communication skills. This game is also a great jumping-off point for conversations about the colors your kid sees around them daily. 2-5 players • Playtime: 10 minutes • Ages 3 & up.

4. Handy: If you're looking for card game gifts for a fun-loving friend or family member, this one will surely come in “handy.” This cooperative building game is reminiscent of classic games like Twister. Players take turns drawing cards that tell them what finger to place on what color ball. This hands-on, action-packed game teaches vital collaboration and communication skills as players collaborate to create a carefully-balanced hand tree. 3-6 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

5. Pairamid: Discover hidden treasures and unlock the secrets of the pyramids in this award-winning game of collaboration and betrayal. Players take on the role of researchers and may work together to advance and unlock the final tomb, but at the end of the day, it's every researcher for themselves in this treasure-hunting adventure. Collect the most treasure by the end of the game to take the crown! 2-4 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

6. Save the Pie: Work together to outrun Beary Bear and save the pie before time runs out. Save the Pie is a cooperative game where players put their brains together to help Tibbar and his friends make it to the pie maker with their delicious berries. If your team successfully helps all five friends get to the pie maker, everyone wins! 2-6 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

Board Game Gift Guide: Math & STEM Games

Unlock the world of math and science with STEM board games! Give your child an enjoyable opportunity to develop their skills in mathematics and foster curiosity for scientific exploration. Stimulating, educational entertainment helps children of all ages form a lasting connection with these ever-expanding fields – so why not join them on this intellectual adventure?

1. Sumology: Master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to conquer your foes and come out on top in this fast-paced tile placement game. Sumology is what happens when you cross math and Scrabble. You get an exciting math game where players take turns playing tiles to build equations by combining new and existing tiles. This award-winning game will sharpen your child's math skills and teach them to think on their feet and strategize to score as many points as possible. 2+ players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

2. Grill Party: Grill up some fun with this three-dimensional strategy and matching game. Grill Party teaches kids how to compare groups of items and encourages careful planning to edge closer to victory while slowing down the other players. Strategically swap foods from the grill to satisfy all of the requirements on the food cards in your hand. 2-5 players • Playtime: 20-30 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

3. Expanders: Race to place all your tokens before your opponents to win this strategic math game. Expanders is a fun and challenging game that sharpens your child's addition skills and planning and problem-solving skills. Players start by placing a token on one number on their side of the board, then place additional tokens on surrounding numbers whose sum equals the first number. The game continues until one player runs out of tokens. 1-4 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 7 & up.

4. Cow Cents: Make sense of dollars and cents with this engaging money management game. Cow Cents teaches your child how to add, subtract, and sort coins to reach specific goals. Collect the most money by the end of the game to win this fun money-counting game. 2-6 players • Playtime: 30 minutes • Ages 6 & up.

5. Space It!: If you're looking for gifts for board game lovers who are also space enthusiasts, get ready for blast-off. Space It! is an exciting game that challenges players to create sequences using three or more tiles. This is a great introduction to algebra and encourages kids to think about the various relationships between numbers. 2-5 players • Playtime: 20 minutes • Ages 8 & up.

6. Plundering Times: Ahoy, mateys! Lead your dragon pirate crew to plunder the Islands of Numbers in this epic math adventure. Use multiplication and addition to match or get close to each island’s number without going over. Remember, the best captain wins by collecting treasure chests and raiding rivals for gems. Master your memory and two-step problem-solving to build the greatest hoard and claim victory! 2-4 players • 15 min • 8 & up.

SimplyFun Games Make the Perfect Gift

Whether you're looking for gifts for board game lovers in your life or just treating your family to a new game, SimplyFun has what you need. There is something exciting and interactive for everyone. SimplyFun games make the perfect gift because unlike trendy toys, gadgets, and trinkets, our board games enrich your most cherished relationships, and have great re-playability. So if you're looking to spice up game night, or give the gift of play, with nearly 150 board game titles you'll find the perfect board games for everyone on your gift list.

You might also enjoy: What It Means to Give the Gift of Play To A Child