2023 Board Gamer’s Christmas Gift Ideas | Games For Any Budget

Gift good times these holidays with our Gift Guide tailored to all budgets! We have unique Christmas present ideas tailored for every budget, including Under , Under , and Under 0 (for that special someone).

Every year, Christmas rolls around, and like clockwork, thousands of people fall victim to the “What do I actually get this person?” curse. I’m not saying you don’t know your friends well, but no one wants to receive yet another garish statement mug or an uninspired piece of kitchen-ware. This Christmas, break free from the monotony, ditch the predictable and dive into a world of strategic showdowns, laughter-inducing chaos, and memorable moments.

No one wants to be known as that person who keeps gifting seasonal scented candles. Seriously, your giftee is going to say “Wow, thank you! I love this”, smell it, and then as soon as you leave, shove it into the deepest recesses of their under-the-sink storage. Please, for the sake of your friends and family – let’s find a game that would fit them perfectly, and isn’t going to break the bank. Whether you’re looking for a game that’s quick and quirky, beautifully serene, or downright hilarious, we’ve got you covered – all for under $20.

In Saboteur, you and your friends become dwarf miners digging for gold. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! There’s a sneaky saboteur in your midst trying to thwart your gold-digging dreams. Sniff out the saboteur (and not those gaudy pine-and-gingerbread scented candles) and claim your gold – each player has a role to play, Miners will try to sniff out the Saboteur while digging towards gold. Saboteurs will do their best to lead Miners to coal instead. Play tunnel cards strategically to forge your path: use maps to navigate, but watch out for broken equipment and treacherous cave-ins – all part of the game’s exciting twists.

I love this game in big groups – the more chaos, the more fun. You would not believe how gullible some people are and how easy it is to get gaslit and targeted.

Fluttering Souls is a game that’s as beautiful as it is engaging. Collect sets of stunning butterfly cards while navigating the twists and turns of this two-player game. It’s a serene yet thoughtful escape, perfect for those post-Christmas lunch vibes. Plus, it’s more visually appealing than any vanilla bean candle could ever hope to be!

Based on the Japanese legend of the apprentice merchant Takahama and his lost bride-to-be Akiko, collect a kaleidoscopic range of butterflies and attract the ethereal White Butterfly – a symbolic visit from a lost loved one. The game takes place over 3-5 rounds, and the first to collect 3 White Butterfly tokens wins.

Fluttering Souls is a must-recommend for those couples who are always together, as well as any fans of beautiful butterflies.

Claim your treasure and be the last adventurer standing in Dungeon Mayhem, a fast-paced and hectic card game from the creators of the hit tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Barbarian, paladin, rogue, or wizard – only one will stand! Draw cards, make temporary alliances, sling spells, and channel mighty powers to achieve victory! Your goal is to reduce everyone else’s hit points to zero before getting knocked out yourself.

It’s the perfect stocking stuffer for that friend who’s always wanted to battle dragons but thinks complex rulebooks are best used as doorstops.

Fans of popular video games like scribbl.io, Pictionary and Jackbox Party Pack games will love this game!

Think you’re the next Picasso? Prove it in six seconds. This fast-paced drawing game is the perfect party enhancer, making you laugh harder than when Aunt Karen tries to explain what a TikTok is. Forget about that cinnamon-spiced candle and let the doodles do the talking. Your aim is to draw ten objects in one minute, and have your friends guess what you drew to score points! Each card has 10 items that have a common theme and there are three difficulty levels – Easy, Tricky or Almost Impossible.

Six Second Scribbles is one of my favourite games to pair with any form of social lubricant – as the night goes on, the drawings will get goofier and goofier! If you and your friends want to play a game with minimal setup and no complex rules this Christmas, then Six Second Scribbles is the perfect gift for a good time.

“Thanks (insert your name here), I love this toaster you got me! I’ve never had bread so perfectly toasted!” said no one ever. Okay, well, I’ve had to say it before – don’t ask. Anyways, let’s level up your gift-giving game with these affordable games under $50, and save your giftees from turning into A-list actors this Christmas.

Ok, you’ve probably all played Codenames and loved it, but Decrypto is it’s bigger, brainier brother.

Decrypto is a great party word game for up to 8 players. You’re a cryptographer, weaving secret codes to keep your team in the loop while confusing your opponents. Work to interpret your own team’s numerical codes and crack the opposite teams codes. It’s a fine dance between giving your team helpful clues without making it too obvious to the other team what your secret words are.

It requires skill, creativity, and a bit of sneakiness. And unlike a toaster, it won’t leave a burnt taste in your mouth if you get it wrong!

Next, we have ‘Micro-Macro Crime City‘, a game that turns your dining table into a bustling metropolis filled with crime and mystery. Get your detective hat on and solve crimes in this engaging, black-and-white illustrated game. With sixteen cases for you to solve, each case asks you to uncover where someone or something has gone. What’s interesting is that the map depicts time as well as space, so you can watch a case unfold over time.

This adds an interesting element to the game, where you’ll hunt down characters and piece together their stories. I’d heartily recommend these for anyone who loves I Spy and Where’s Wally styles of games.

For the explorers among us, ‘Land vs Sea‘ is the perfect under $50 board game gift for couples! In this beautiful tile-laying game, players are either the Land or Sea (or the Cartographer in a 3 player game) taking turns to place 2 double-sided hex tiles containing a mix of land and sea shapes. Carefully place tiles to close as many land or sea areas as possible whilst ensuring your rivals’ opportunity to score is minimal. Whilst simple on the surface, there’s a level of depth with bonus points, stealing, and the unseen flip side of the tiles. This also ensures longevity and replayability, which is something I find important for any Christmas gift.

Land vs Sea is an excellent game for couples – it can be as cooperative or competitive as you want… so if you love proving that you’re the better half, challenge them this Christmas!

Last but not least, ‘Citadels‘ invites you to a mediaeval world where you’re an aspiring ruler. Each turn, players assume a diverse range of different character roles, all with unique abilities, and must acquire gold and erect buildings to win. Buildings have different bonuses depending on your character, so the usefulness of your character and your buildings is constantly changing, making for extremely engaging gameplay and strategies that change every turn.

The player with the most points from buildings wins, and players will get more if they have eight buildings or at least one building of each colour.

Citadels is a perfect game for family or groups of 2-5 close friends, because there are plenty of opportunities to use your knowledge of other people to guess what they have in their hands!

Now we’re playing with a bit of a bigger budget. You’d think a bigger budget means an easier gift-giving time, but with a bigger budget comes (frankly) insane options. Have you seen these Knight paperweights from Hermes? I could buy 19 chess sets for that price and guess what, they each come with four Knights!

Ahem, anyways – Christmas is all about spending time with your loved ones, and if you’re looking for gifts at this price point, then why not get a great gift that encourages spending that time together. Look no further for some great board games under $100.

Does your giftee love dogs more than they love people? Then Bark Avenue is the paw-fect game for you. Your goal is to be the best dog walker on Park Ave, NY! Choose from a variety of actions: visit the park, shop for treats, make sure they poop, and take photos of your furry friend. But, it’s not all tail wags and puppy kisses. You need to get them home on time or risk losing your tips and good reviews. As your dog-walking prowess grows, so will your ratings and abilities. Use public transport to get to all of the best destinations, such as the dog park or pet shops, and be home in time to get the most pay!

I won’t lie, the best part about the game is at the end of every round, you’ll cycle out each dog you’ve played with and see plenty of new dogs to pick up and walk – if you or your giftee has a furry friend, try to spot their breed (there are over 80 dog cards).

Winner of over 20 Board Game Awards, Everdell is a game that mixes worker placement strategy with Animal Crossing vibes!

In this game, you’re responsible for building new cities for various forest critters. Don’t be deceived though, as this is through and through a challenging experience. You’ll be responsible for settling new territories and preparing for the winter by placing workers, playing cards, and gathering resources or taking special actions. With the sheer number of different cards and possible combos, there are near-infinite strategies and working cities to construct, meaning that the replay value of this game is through the roof. There are so many decision paths based on how cards interact with each other – you may be holding out for a card that’s the perfect combo piece, but then you may not use your resources effectively until then!

Side note: The game pieces themselves are gorgeous (my manager wants you to know that “THE BERRY PIECES ARE SQUISHY”)!

Want a really unique gift? Here’s a board game for under $100 that will make them feel dumb, and they’ll love you for it.

In Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, you’re part of Sherlock’s Irregulars (his youth intelligence agents) cooperating to piece together clues and evidence to solve mysteries around 1800s London. You are presented with interesting cases and will proceed to interview persons of interests to accumulate clues. As you follow more leads, you open doors to potential suspects and paint an incredibly vivid image of characters related to the case. It’s like a choose your own adventure book, slowly unfurling out as a murder-mystery adventure the more you read on.

When you and your friends are confident you’ve found the culprit, head to the end of the Case Booklet and answer the questions. You’ll score points for answering the case questions correctly, while losing points for every lead you followed to solve the case.

That’s where feeling dumb comes in! Sherlock always scores full points, and when you read his explanation it is solved so beautifully, and you just know you’ll never compare.

But here’s the thing, despite losing way too many points for following 20+ leads, I don’t regret it at all. By following more leads, you experience more of the story and its characters and that is rewarding in its own way.

This is a gift idea we cannot recommend enough for mystery lovers, or even book lovers! The game is so wonderfully written it is truly a joy to read.

And that brings us to the end of the article! This Christmas, swap out the practical for the playful. If you’re still not convinced that board games are a great budget option to level up your gift game, think about it this way. You could get everything on this list, or… a candle.

Happy Holidays!

– Ryan