Top 10 board games for Christmas 2024
Trying to find a game that will entertain the family over Christmas can be a tall order - especially if there’s going to be a wide range of ages on the day.
Will the little ones be able to follow what is going on? Can we tempt the teens to join in? And what games are out there for smaller gatherings? If you feel stuck playing the same tried and tested favourites and want to liven up the afternoon slump with a bit of silliness or strategy, games expert Karl Webb has some suggestions for the latest crop of games to go on sale.
Karl runs the games department at Waterstones in Cambridge, as well their popular game nights and he has road tested every one of his 10 suggestions.
He says: “This has been a fantastic year for board games. For many, table-top board gaming is an increasing part of Cambridge culture. I am seeing a number of local gaming groups and gaming events thriving in attendance. In August this year, we at Waterstones hosted the biggest board games event I have ever experienced in Cambridge with an attendance of 180 people. And we are very excited to do so again next year and see our ‘Games Celebration Day’ grow even bigger.
“I’ve never found a more inclusive and affordable hobby than I have encountered with board gaming. They facilitate getting to know people in such a unique way and on any budget. I have had the delight of many years recommending and teaching games to all varieties of people. Some resistance I get is ‘I'm not smart enough’ but then I start describing any modern classic and they are surprised how easy it really is, and many of them can be played in under an hour these days. Board gaming is welcoming to anyone and I’m happy to advocate it. I have composed a list of games that promote positive social interactions and rewarding gameplay decisions.”
Karl’s picks for Christmas 2024
1. Nunatak, 1-4 players, aged 8+, 45mins, 2024, £34.99
Nunatak is exactly what I am looking for in a family game this Christmas. The production, presentation and artwork are impressive throughout. The fun of building an ice temple with gorgeous tactile pieces makes it a joy to play in a way that older traditional games don’t offer. The gameplay is simple while still offering interesting decisions of strategy on a number of scoring avenues.
Turns are very quick in Nunatak. There are four cards in a row available to choose and take. Doing so dictates where you can place an ice block in your colour on the temple, scoring in-game points for its location in the structure. You keep the cards and continue to take turns this way until the temple is fully built. Then you receive end-game points for the set collection of cards you took throughout the game. This question of ‘do I take a card for where I place a block or for the reward of bigger card sets’ creates constant clever positive decision making.
2. Courtisans, 3-5 players, aged 8+, 30mins, 2024, £19.99
In my opinion, Courtisans is the perfect stocking filler game of the year. It is small, very attractive, social and fun. The components are minimal and welcoming. The presentation is colourful and bright. This is a game that can be taught in five minutes and everyone is ready to go, with subtle room for negotiation and betrayal that doesn’t take over the gameplay length.
Each turn in Courtisans, players play three cards in one of six families into three areas: your score area, another player’s score area and into the court. Then they draw three new cards for the next turn. When placing a family card into the court you are deciding to increase or decrease that family’s influence. At the end of the game each card in a player’s scoring area that belongs to a family which has been positively influenced overall scores them 1 point. But each card from a negatively influenced family is -1 point. So it is going to require some political persuasion to influence the families in the right direction.
3. Disney Lorcana, 2 players, aged 8+, 20mins, 2023, £22.99
Maybe you have heard of Pokemon or Magic the Gathering cards? Well add to that list Disney Lorcana, which unlike those two is one-year-old and it’s therefore a fantastic time to jump in. The game has multiple entry level products and is one we support at our monthly Collectible Card Game nights. Lorcana lets you summon a variety of well known Disney faves, such as Mickey Mouse, Elsa, Robin Hood, and Cruella De Vil, to be the first to score 20 lore.
Lorcana shares a lot of design with many other head-to-head collectible card games but does a great job of being simpler than most others while still providing similar game experiences. Cards in hand can be used as resources or characters and actions. Then characters can be used to score lore or combat opposing characters to slow down their lore production. It’s a game with gorgeous artwork and I can’t help but sing songs from the films while playing it.
4. Sky Team, 2 players, aged 10+, 30mins, 2024, £29.99
This is the first year a two-player-only game has won the Spiel des Jahres (the biggest award a board game can get). Sky Team earns that title for being unique in its theme and co-operative gameplay. Two people play as pilot and co-pilot working together to balance all systems and land a plane. The limited communication in the game creates engaging risk and intimate gaming moments.
Players roll dice secretly behind their personal screens and take turns placing a dice on a space of the cockpit; preparing systems, balancing tilt and clearing the path for a smooth landing. It is a game of risk mitigation and signalling priorities with your gaming partner. The game comes with numerous game modes and difficulties that will have any couple keep coming back to it again and again.
5. Wyrmspan 2-5 players, age 14+, 2.5hrs, 2024, £59.99
Wingspan has been a super hit in the board gaming world. I am impressed by the number of people who have heard of “the bird game”. This year they came out with Wyrmspan, transforming it from making bird habitats to homing great mythical dragons. There is a little more complexity added to the original game, but I believe the additions make it a superior game to what was already a beloved design. Even the production is beautiful in its art style and components.
In Wyrmspan, players are excavating a landscape of caves and collecting resources to lure beautiful dragons of the sky to live in these new homes. You also want to progress on a Guild Master track to gain special abilities along the way. The excavating of caves increases the level of engine building and pushes the game to the most complex on this list, but undoubtedly it is one of the best releases of the year.
6. Diamant, 3-8 players, aged 5+, 20mins, 2005, £19.99
Do you want to explore ancient caves and come back with treasure and fortune? Well, now you can, but don’t let your greed get the best of you. There are dangers in these caves. Push your luck games are some of the simplest and most entertaining games. It is like gambling but someone actually wins and in Diamant everyone is dealt the same luck. This is not a new game, but a new edition came out this year at a very affordable price point of £19.99. It can be played by a large group and from a very young age.
There are five caves to explore in a game of Diamant. The cave deck contains rubies, golden artifacts and hazards. Rubies are evenly split between the number of players in the cave. After each flip, players decide whether to stay in the cave or run away. ‘Running away’ gives you the leftovers that couldn’t be previously split but means you are out of play until the next cave begins. ‘Staying in’ means you are trying to get more treasures, but if a hazard card appears a second time then those who stayed die.
7. Ingenious, 1-4 players, age 6+, 30-40mins, 2004, £19.99
Continuing the trend of new editions at excellent price points, there is a new smaller box version of Ingenious now at just £19.99. This has been one of my go-to recommendations for years for anyone hesitant but curious about what modern games have to offer. The reason for that is that it feels and plays just like a traditional game of dominoes. So it gives the feeling of playing something so familiar yet fresh, interesting and clever.
You want to play hexagon-shaped dominoes onto the board to colour match as much as possible. For both hexes of your domino, you score one point in that colour for each match in all directions until met with a non-match. The game ends when the board is full. Your final score is counted from whichever is your weakest colour meaning you do need to score on all six colours because if you neglect a colour, then other players will close it off leaving you in last place. It’s a perfect entry to modern-designed games.
8. Herd Mentality, 4+ players, aged 10+, 30 mins, 2020, £24.99
Sometimes you just need a game with almost no teaching required that can be played straight away. Herd mentality is a quiz game that asks subjective questions instead of asking for facts and knowledge. It is a great icebreaker and conversation starter that is perfect for family gatherings with those you might only see once a year.
Questions might be “best Ice-cream flavour” or “scariest jungle animal” and the group will decide what is the correct answer by writing what you think will be the majority answer. Unlike other trivia games that make me feel stupid, this one is social with fun reveals.
9. Lost Ruins of Arnak, 2-4 players, aged 12+, 90mins, 2020, £57.99
Some people may be looking to buy a gift from an already established gamer; someone who appreciates a deeper game that offers a good sandbox of ways to develop their gameplan. This Indiana Jones-themed worker placement / deck building hybrid game may look sprawling at first glance, but is made up of surprisingly simple systems independently. The explorer theme and presentation really shine through, and it is charming to play.
Primarily players take turns doing single actions available from the cards in hand from a deck that you can develop and add to by buying additional cards. Alternatively, you can deploy one of two workers onto action spaces on the board to gather resources or explore new jungle. The game is a lot of fun with many areas of tension as players aim to race up the research track the fastest.
10. Codenames, 4+ players, age 8+, 20mins, 2015, £19.99
Looking for a team word game of deduction and clue giving? Codenames is excellent with a larger group and very easy to learn with a room full of people who want to feel clever. The co-operation, communication and tension in the game is a joy to play. If you love words and games, you’ll love Codenames.
In Codenames there is a grid of words and one Spymaster on each team knows which words belong to which team. They will give one-word clues to give a hint to their team in selecting the right words in the grid. A wrong selection might be a score for the opposing team or worse cost you the game entirely. So be careful finding those agents.
