Games With Small Packaging
The first and most obvious suggestion is small games. These are all over the place in the board gaming world, so you’ve got a lot to choose from. Instead of writing a description for every game, I’ll simply post a big list of them, as there are many. Not only are most of these games small, they’re also cheap! However, judge them not by their size, you should. A lot of small games are packed with strategic depth, and are great for casual gamers and serious tabletop enthusiasts alike. Without further ado, here they are!
The bolded titles are among the more popular/higher rated.
Arboretum $19.00
Avengers. Vs. X-Men Dicemasters $10.00
Bang! The Dice Game $15.26
Best Treehouse Ever! $19.99
Bohnanza $14.60
Cabo $8.99
Cards Against Humanity $25.00
Chrononauts $14.98
Citadels $20.95
Coloretto $11.62
Condotierre $22.79
Coup $12.88
Epic Card Game $14.14
Flowerfall $14.99
Forbidden Island $13.19
Fluxx $12.77
Get Bit! $26.99
Gloom $18.30
Haggis $8.99
Hanabi $12.99
HIVE Pocket – $19.20
Innovation $22.95
Jaipur $18.74
Kittens in a Blender $16.65
Loot $7.98
Love Letter $7.79
Mascarade $17.85
Mr. Jack Pocket $15.20
Once Upon a Time $20.95
One Night Ultimate Werewolf $16.51
Panic Lab $10.08
Pass the Pigs $9.99
The Resistance $13.99
Pixel Tactics $12.52
Red7 $10.83
Rory’s Story Cubes $7.85
Saboteur $12.99
Samurai Sword $19.92
Spot It $11.50
Star Realms $13.27
Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion $11.44
String Railway $28.84
Sushi Go! $11.29
Timeline $10.99
Zombie In My Pocket $24.95
Zooloretto: The Dice Game $29.95
LCG/CCG Decks
Living Card Games and Collectible Card Games follow a different release model, but they’re both perfect for stuffing stockings. The catch here is that you’ll need to know if the person you’re gifting to actually plays these games. If they do, buying an expansion deck or a few booster packs will be a well-appreciated gift. We’ll focus more on Living Card Games here. While both genres are a hobby unto themselves, Living Card Games fall closer in line with the rest of the modern board gaming world. Here is a list of LCG/CCG products you can shop through if you know anyone who plays these games! LCGs have lots of expansions that take the forms of singular decks, that usually retail for $8-$15. Each of these links will take you to a list of many products relating to the respective game.
A Game of Thrones: Second Edition
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
Pokemon: The Trading Card Game
Miniatures Game Expansions
There are varying degrees of miniatures games, and it would be impossible to cover them all here. For this list, we’ll be focusing on the more mainstream titles that have overlap with board game mechanics instead of being entire hobbies unto themselves (such as Warhammer: 40k). This is a particularly good time to purchase for Star Wars fans, as Fantasy Flight has three excellent Star Wars minis games out right now that are all fairly popular. Most of the minis in the lists below will run you $10-$20 dollars, though there is plenty of variety to be found outside of those parameters.
X-Wing: The Miniatures Game – Extra Ships
Star Wars: Imperial Assault – Ally/Villain Packs
Star Wars Armada – Extra Ships
Star Trek Attack Wing – Extra Ships
So there you have it. Think I missed anything? There are so many small games, card games, and minis out there that it would be nearly impossible to list all of them, so let’s hear your thoughts! Let us know in the comments what you like to do for board game stocking stuffers.
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Boardgamegeek.com has a store full of promos, most cost $5. Some great stocking stuffers there. I personally bought several this year.