It is that time of year when thoughts turn to scratching names off seasonal gift lists.
Typically, the older one is, the more challenging it is to buy them gifts, simply based on them having a home full of things accumulated over years and years. What do they still need/want, and do they have room for? The list of ideas can be rather short for many.
Unless of course the person on the list has a hobby they are truly dedicated to.
I doubt you could find a serious hobbyist that doesn鈥檛 themselves have a list of items they still wish to add to their collections.
That is certainly true for most serious board gamers. There is always some game that has called to a player but they have not yet picked up, generally because they have opted for another game when in the store. They may want the latest version of Pandemic, but opted for the new Photosynthesis expansion.
Of course the trick can be knowing what 鈥楿ncle Bill鈥� needs, all right what he wants in terms of a game? A collection gets to be a rather large pile of boxes, and usually it鈥檚 probably best to simply ask for a few ideas.
That said, most gamers will appreciate the effort if one is crafty enough to fashion a game.
Personally, few games in my collection am I prouder of than the Arimaa set I made for myself. The pieces are backgammon stones, extra sets are always a wise purchase for a game crafter, with the artwork found online, carefully cut out, and applied to the pieces with a glue stick, overlaid with decoupage and then sprayed with a clear coat finish. Some felt on reverse side and the set was complete.
Since a commercial version of Arimaa had a short run, and the game is an absolute abstract strategy game, anyone liking such games is going to love a well-made set.
That is one thing about abstract strategy games, there are a rather broad number of games which as classics you can鈥檛 just grab at the store, even a well-stocked games shop.
So some crafting is the best answer for games such as Jetan (Martian Chess from the books of Ray Bradbury), the wonderful Chase the best use of dice in a game ever made, and Blooms, Nick Bentley鈥檚 2018 release gem.
The other option most gamers are likely to appreciate is if you find a vintage game in nice condition.
For example, I have a couple of copies of the later reprint Inside Moves, but a version of the game under the name Camelot from decades earlier, older than yours truly, is easily my favourite version. Imagine the generations that may have played the game before it came into my possession.
Or the Park Brothers game Citadel circa 1940. The game might have been a Christmas gift to children whose father was somewhere in Europe with the Canadian army during World War II. Imagine the smiles in opening the present and yet the shadow of uncertainty of the era. That is what makes a vintage game such a compelling addition, and a great gift too.
In the end, games are simply the ultimate gift, one that offers immediate fun of play after opening, and quite literally decades to come.
