50+ Gifts for Board Game Lovers They’ll Really Like (Besides More Games)
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So you need gifts for board game lovers? You’re in the right place! As a board game lover myself, I know exactly the kind of thematic gifts I would love. And it may surprise you, but the answer actually isn’t more board games!
Well, not always, anyway. It’s just that since I have a lot of board games, it’s hard for those who aren’t in the hobby to get me a board game I want and don’t have unless I have a list.
We don’t want to count on your board game lover to have a list laid out for you. Besides, getting gifts for board game lovers that aren’t board games feels more personable and clever. That’s what I’m here to help you out with today.
First, let’s start out with a big ol’ list of gifts for board game lovers. Then, if you just can’t decide, we’ll get into some ways you can narrow down what your loved one might enjoy without spoiling the surprise.
Gifts for Board Game Lovers (Besides More Games)
You’ll have loads of options when it comes to finding gifts for board game lovers (besides more games). There are so many options, you can break them down by category!
First, check out accessories that will pair well with anyone’s favorite board game. Then, find great board game-related apparel and home decor. Finally, peruse some great books and gift cards board game lovers will enjoy.
Game Accessories
Rather than buying a board game lover yet another board game, try some game accessories. Wear and tear means that most board gamers are always on the hunt for more durable or more beautiful game pieces like the ones below.
Dice Towers
If you’re unfamiliar, dice towers allow you to roll any kind of dice with ease. They’re popular with D&D players but also with board game lovers. Some board games even include dice towers, but they’re usually not high-quality ones. That’s why dice towers make a great gift. Here are some great options:
- Some players may enjoy making their own dice tower with this DIY dice tower kit.
- Nature lovers will enjoy this gorgeous tree dice tower.
- This is a dice tower and storage for a 2-in-1 gift.
- A foldable dice tower is great for games on the go.
- For Wingspan fans, try this delightful Wingspan dice tower.
This is just a small list of potential dice towers to give, too. You may simply want to browse dice towers until you find one that seems right for your friend or family member.
Game Boards and Pieces
While you may not want to gift a board game lover another board game, you may want to gift them a beautiful board or pieces for their favorite game.
Hand-crafted Catan boards and pieces, for example, are popular among fans of Settlers of Catan. Wingspan, too, has lots of beautiful high-quality components available.
Check out Strata Strike for a wide variety of beautiful wooden game components for anyone’s favorite game. Use the tags on the left-hand side of their shop to find a particular game. Their options include Azul, Pandemic, Terraforming Mars, and more.
For a less specific gift that’s helpful to any board gamer, give them a laminator and some dry erase markers. That way, gamers can laminate the score sheets to their favorite games and use the markers to score again and again. Metal coins make a great durable option for any game, too.
Organizers
Inside or outside of the box, you can organize your board games in many ways. Board game token trays, for example, hold your pieces easily during gameplay so players don’t have to fish out the piece they need from a plastic baggie.
A good box organizer, on the other hand, keep your pieces in place when board gamers store their games. That makes set up a lot easier when it’s time to play. Some board gamers don’t even bother with token trays or similar components because a good insert holds the pieces so well.
Tower Rex sells great board game organizers for a wide variety of games. Some games include Carcassonne, Spirit Island, and Sagrada. Again, this gift works best if you know your board gamer’s favorite games.
Related Post: Brilliant Board Game Storage Tips for Every Single Game You Own
Apparel
Board gamers and video gamers alike love to wear apparel that shows off their fandom. Fortunately, there’s a lot of clothing out there for them to do this! Apparel for board gamers can mean clothing, jewelry, and other accessories for adults and children alike.
Clothing
If you’ve searched for gifts for board game lovers before and came upon a bunch of D&D clothing, you’re not alone. While some board gamers might also play D&D, this isn’t a D&D gift list! Here are a few awesome shops to find clothing gifts for board game lovers:
- Meeplizer sells loads of great board game t-shirts. I like this cozy game shirt a lot.
- Meeple Merch has a great catalog of board game apparel for specific board games with beautiful minimalist designs. They even sell some unique meeple leggings.
- Getting Dicey Designs has a selection of general board game shirts.
- MeeplesCrossing also has a limited yet great selection.
Do you know a shop that sells great clothing for board game lovers? Let us know in the comments or send an email to hello@catsanddice.com and we may add them to the list!
Jewelry
All kinds of jewelry make great gifts for board game lovers. From earrings to necklaces to cufflinks, you can give jewelry as a stocking stuffer or as a main piece for a special someone.
Meeples go great on earrings. Give the gift of these meeple stud earrings. Or, if your loved one prefers hanging earrings, go with these hanging meeple earrings. Multiple colors are available for each so you can choose your player’s favorite meeple color.
Board game lovers might prefer meeple necklaces instead, especially if their ears aren’t pierced. This pendant meeple necklace is nice and understated. For something a little more unique and crafted, check out the glass options from Jenefer Ham Glass. For anyone who wears a suit, some meeple cufflinks are a must.
Home Decor
Some avid board gamers dream of having a room in their home dedicated solely to gaming decked out with cozy pillows, plush furniture and pillows, and decked out with a beverage station for all kinds of gaming drinks. Help them make this a reality with these home decor gifts for board game lovers.
Furniture
The crowned jewel of any well-designed board game room, besides the game, is easily the furniture. Good storage is a must, and board gamers take great pride in a good “shelfie.” Furniture items are almost a guaranteed great gift for board gamers.
Tables are often designed just for gamers. A great gaming table will have a colored felt surface so pieces are easy to see and don’t slide around with a cover for the top. It’ll have slightly raised edges so dice stay on the table. Sometimes tables will have built-in coasters and spots for cards and pieces. Almost every great gaming table has a beautiful wood finish and comfortable chairs you can sit in for hours.
What board game tables meet these specifications? Here are a few great ones:
- Enjoy a board game table with a removable topper.
- Alternatively, get a board game table topper to add to existing tables.
- A premium dining room board game table will go beautifully in any room.
- You could buy a custom order table with game pieces embedded.
- For a crafty board gamer, try a board game table plan.
Affordable and portable tables make great gifts, too. Whether a gamer loves to play on the go or wants a flexible option for their small space, sometimes a multipurpose folding table is the perfect thing.
A board game table is a very generous gift for any board gamer and is sure to guarantee a standing invitation to their home to play some games.
Decorative Items
To decorate your gamer’s current or future board game room, add in some of these decorative items to go with their furniture.
A game challenge board makes for unique decor while also being functional for gamers. Plus, it’s a great gift when you can personalize both the meeple colors and the wording.
Beam Geeks sell lots of great board game-themed signs and artwork, along with other board game items, so make sure to check them out, too!
Food and Drink
Gamers love to eat and drink while enjoying their games, but they’re also very cautious about a mess. That’s why thematic yet cleanly dishware will make great gifts for board game lovers.
For some nice game-related mugs, check out MeepleMerch. Don’t forget to get some themed coasters, too.
Snacking, on the other hand, is best done with dip clip bowls. While different dip foods make great gaming snacks, you don’t want dip spilling all over the pieces! These clips will make sure that doesn’t happen. Plus, it makes snacks more portable for games that require moving around.
And if your gamer also happens to bake, then some meeple cookie cutters are a must. They might look just like a gingerbread cutout to the untrained eye, but any good gamer would know better.
Books
Board game lovers tend to also be avid readers. (I know I am!) It’s probably because they spend so much time reading rule books. That’s why books about board games make great gifts for board game lovers, too.
CATAN: The Official Cookbook
Catan players can take their game night to the next level with this cookbook. Filled with recipes unique to Catan like Over-Knight Oats, Robber’s Discard Delight, and Rocky Road Cookies, this book is sure to lead to great game night treats.
The Player of Games
Part of a fictional series by Iain M. Banks, this book is about Jernau Morat Gurgeh, one of the best game players of all time in a futuristic society known as The Culture. He’s so good, he gets bored, until he’s finally presented with the greatest gaming challenge of all time. But it poses a great risk, too.
The Everything Tabletop Games Book
This book, written by Bebo of Be Bold Games, makes a great coffee table book for any modern board game enthusiast. With guides on choosing games to winning them, this book will make a great gift for boar game lovers.
The Oxford History of Board Games
Many board gamers are also history buffs, especially war gamers. This book on the history of board games is sure to pique the interest of any avid board gamer with interesting tidbits about obscure board games from the past.
GameTek
If the board gamer you know ever asks questions like, “How many times do you have to shuffle a deck of cards in order for it to be truly random?” then GameTek is the book for them. Asking and answering all kinds of strange questions related to gaming and life, this book will entertain and educate for hours.
Playing at the World
Another good book for the history buffs, Playing at the World dives deep into the history of wargaming specifically. It covers well-known games like chess along with lesser-known games in the past and in modern times.
Your Move: What Board Games Teach Us About Life
What can board games teach us about life? That’s what Your Move aims to answer. A good gift for the philosophical gamer, it’s a nice quick read, too, as the book is really a series of essays paired with beautiful pictures of games.
Books on Game Design
If you have an avid gamer in your life, odds are good that they’ve at least considered designing a board game themselves. Help them out with a great book (or kit) on game design. Some favorites include:
- Game Design Workshop
- The White Box
- The Board Game Designer’s Guide
- Kobold Guide to Board Game Design
- Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms
- Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
Don’t forget to offer to playtest their game, too! The real gift to give any budding board game designer is your support.
Related Post: 30+ Books for D&D Players
How to Narrow Down Board Game Gift Ideas
Wow! That’s a lot of gifts for board game lovers. If you’re overwhelmed with the options, never fear. You can ask yourself three simple questions to narrow it down and find the perfect gifts for board game lovers.
- Do you know your loved one’s favorite game?
If you know your loved one’s favorite game, then that gives you some options to focus on. If they love Catan, for example, then you can focus on Catan-themed gifts.
And if you don’t know their favorite game, that still narrows it down! That just means you’ll focus on gifts that are not game-specific, such as books or storage.
- What kind of board game gifts do they already have?
This question might take a little investigating to answer but will be worth it. Find out what kind of board game gifts your loved one already has. Then, avoid those so you don’t give them repeat gifts!
You might know, for example, that your friend or family member has a favorite board game themed shirt. Then, instead of giving them a shirt, maybe give them a mug to go with it.
- Do they seem to enjoy obvious board game gifts or do they prefer something more understated?
Related to the second question, note if your friend or family member has a lot of board game related gifts readily out or not. They might love board games, but not love decorating their home with board game items, for example.
If you’re really stuck, you could also always play it safe and go with a gift card. That way, board game lovers can get themselves a nice gift! Good places to get a gift card include:
That narrows it down for you, then! In this case, stick to game accessories, books, or other understated gifts for board game lovers.
And if you really want to get another board game for your board game lover, you can absolutely do that, too. Again, just make sure to put in some legwork first. See if you can get a list of desired games from your friend or family member.
If not, see if you can sneak a picture of their board game shelf. Then, ask for recommendations in the comments below or in a board game related group on social media.
Hi there! I’m Kristen. I’m a game writer, a Dungeon Master, and like you, I love tabletop games. Visit our About page to learn more about me.
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