Best Christmas Stocking Filler Gifts for Board Gamers

Written by Charlie Pettit

Stocking Fillers for Board Gamers that AREN'T Games

We'll start with a few suggestions for those board gamers amongst us who seem to have everything, with some suggestions that aren't games...

Dice

We're eyeing these from Critical Kit - find them here

You can never have too many dice (a statement I make frequently), but they make a perfect stocking filler gift. You can get all sorts of different and beautiful dice, from dice themed to characters they may like or enjoy, to genres and tropes, to RPG books specifically, or even just with fun things buried inside. If you’re not sure where to start, figure out your budget first – fun dice tend to be a bit cheaper (try the likes of Q Workshop), but sharp edge, hand made, and unusual material dice are more costly. We like those offered by The Thornless Rose, Critical Kit, and many more – don’t hesitate to shop around!

Tea and Coffee

You may be surprised to hear that tabletop has made the leap into the beverage market, but it has! A great way to get a gift for someone if you’re not certain what they’ve already got, because you can never have too much tea or coffee. The places to look out for this are Honey Badger Games (who also do a range of sweets themed to meeples and other game related things, as well as Tea for Cats (no really)), and Meeple Design (more on them later). 

Art

Speaking of Meeple Design, many of us are proud board gamers, and whilst board games may have taken up half of the house already, there’s always room for a tasteful nod to them so that no one can be in doubt of our favourite thing to do. Meeple Design creates beautiful prints inspired by board games in a mostly minimalist style. They’ve set up a number of agreements with the publishers, so everyone benefits from their range – including the person you buy a print for!

Dice Holders / Guardians

We love these dice guardians by RachMakes!

A cute little gift that we’ve seen more and more of over the years are Dice Holders. These are usually pretty little creations that simply hold a dice or a set of dice. Dice Guardians tend to be the former, but there are some beautifully crafted versions of the latter. They’re the kind of gift you didn’t know you needed until you had, and they’re thoughtful enough and small enough to be perfect stocking fillers. 

Upgraded Tokens

There's a fantastic market for deluxe components in games, probably prompted by Kickstarter projects offering more and more fantastical pieces in thanks for a larger pledge. If you haven't bought the deluxe edition of a game though, often you can pick up just the components – we've talked regularly about being able to buy and paint the Flamecraft Dragons – so if you know your recipients favourite game, these little extras are a great stocking filler.

Alternatively, if you don't know their favourite game, we'd recommend looking at Sinister Fish's deluxe components that are a bit more generic and can be used with many different games!

Buy Upgraded Tokens from Sinister Fish

Stocking Filler Board Games

If those options didn't take your interest, we've collated a few games that come in a tiny package, but offer a huge amount of board game!

That’s Not A Hat

That’s Not A Hat is a funny, part memory part bluffing game that comes in a small box. It’s full of cards that aren’t a hat (though they might be) but they could be. It’s a really great stocking filler game not just because of its size, but because it’s so quick to learn how to play, and suitable for all ages – just what a Christmas day game needs! 

Buy That's Not a Hat on Amazon

Sosig

Good things come in small packages and Sosig is one of those. A fun little card game that’s full of silly opportunities. You’re building the best Sosig you can, but you’ll need to meddle with your opponents ones to prevent them from getting a higher score than you! Small enough to fit in a pocket, but with plenty of game to play, it’s a great one to pop into a stocking (or even hang on the tree!).

Buy Sosig on Amazon

DroPolter

The Kings of small box, big game are Oink Games, and DroPolter is one of many that could be featured. We like this one for the festive season particularly because of the lack of any barrier to entry – it’s simple, and family friendly. You pick up a section of odd knickknacks, from plastic rings to shells, and upon turning over a card need to drop those from your hand. You can’t use your other hand, but you can’t let anything drop either! Small, laughter inducing, and competitive – perfect!

 

Pack O Games’ Games

 

Pack O Games offer matchstick sized games that pack a punch – despite being tiny, they cover a huge range of styles and fun, all well thought out and perfectly balanced. These are great options for regular gamers, as you can pick the kind of game you want, whether that’s an all in family friendly style game, or a more hobbyist game. The worst part is picking which ones you leave behind!

Booster Packs

If your recipient is a trading card player, you can’t go wrong with popping a few card packs into their stocking. These can be from about £4-8 a piece, but you sometimes find that supermarkets reduce them when new sets are looming – Sainsbury’s for example will sometimes reduce the cost of Pokemon and Disney Lorcana packs. You could also add in a few card sleeves, as TCG players always need more card sleeves!

Buy Booster Packs on Amazon

Cards Vs Gravity

You may need to take this out of the box to make it a stocking filler, but the pro version comes with a handy pouch that means you won’t miss anything by doing so – but Cards Vs Gravity is a super fun dexterity game that I’ve carried around in my coat pocket since first playing. The pro version also has a bottle stopper with a magnet and a magnetic disc to either affix to the magnet or place on top of a glass, to build your structure out from – so no matter the set up at home, you can always get a game in!

Buy Cards Vs Gravity on Amazon

Button Shy Games’ Games

Button Shy Games specialises in games that fit into a small wallet, but they’ve had some real crackers over the years (pun intended). These are small enough to fit into a stocking with ease (actually, quite a few could!), but have a big enough range to suit any gamer. You can also get a number of their games as a print and play, which means you download the digital files and can print them yourself. This is perfect for keeping to a budget, but also for any last minute gifts!

 

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