Our 2022 board game gift guide has tons of suggestions for every gamer on your list!
Many of my favorite holiday memories come from the fun games played with friends and family. Whether you’re enjoying a warm cup of cocoa with a classic card game, dining on cookies while you laugh with a new party game, or taking advantage of those silent nights with a strategy game, the moments you spend playing games with your loved ones is time well spent.
Below we’ve rounded up our top game recommendations for 2022! To help you, I’ve separated into categories by age.
Previous Holiday Guides: 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018
Find all our favorite games for all ages saved on our Amazon Storefront.
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2022 Board Game Gift Guide
Toddler Games (Ages 2-5)
Quacks and Co.
My favorite kid game of the year! Quacks and Co teaches kids sophisticated game concepts in a way that is easy enough for 5 year olds to understand.
Magic Mountain
This plinko style game is a ton of fun for kids! It’s great for kids starting around age three but you can include younger siblings as well! Choose to play competitively or cooperatively.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Turtle Splash
I love this clever memory game. It combines a dexterity element with a simple yet tricky memory element to make a game that’s fun for kids and parents alike!
Difference Junior
My kids are obsessed with Spot the Difference challenges so this game has been a hit! Perfect for bringing to a restaurant or on a trip!
Critter Cruise
Critter Cruise has been a favorite memory game in our home for a while! I love the adorable Noah’s Arc theme and how easy it is to adjust the difficulty to match your child’s ability.
Bubble Trouble
This giant game can be played on the floor and is perfect for kids who require a bit of movement during their activities.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Tongues Out!
I love a game that has a cute toy factor without sacrificing on the game element. Tongues Out is a cute memory game perfect for kids who are still inclined to play with the pieces.
Kids (Ages 5-8)
Unlock! Kids
Perfect for your budding detectives! Unlock! Kids is filled with age appropriate mystery adventures. They’re even language independent so your emerging readers can solve the mysteries too!
Disney Kingdomania or Marvel Battleworld
Marvel Battleworld and Disney Kingdomania have been complete hits with our kids this year. Perfect combination of toy + game.
Watch our full review of Battleworld.
Watch our Reel for an overview of Kingdomania.
Specific
Quickly identify animals based on three unique characteristics. This is a great game to set out for kids to grab and play together.
Similo Harry Potter
The Similo series is a favorite card game in our house and the Harry Potter set is too adorable!
Ice Hoppers
Flip frogs into the pond to complete objectives! Zany and silly fun that is sure to get your kids laughing and having a fun time.
Block Ness
This abstract strategy game is great for kids. The cute sea serpent pieces are inviting and the game play simple yet challenging.
1001 Islands
A simple tile placement game for kids. Excellent as an introductory drafting and set collection game. Fun for parents too!
Peek-a-Mouse
Peek through the windows of a mouse house looking for all the trinkets they’ve taken. Can you remember which rooms each item was in?
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Kids Chronicles
This kid version of the adult game Chronicles of Crime is so fun! They’ll enter a magical world where they’ll work to solve mysteries together. This game is app supported.
Happy Hopping
Flip frogs to complete objectives! This is a fun, silly, dexterity game great for those who loved games like Hungry Hungry Hippos growing up.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Family Games (Ages 8+)
Akropolis
Easy to learn, quick to play, addicting tile placement puzzle. This is the type of game that keeps you coming back to see if you can improve your score.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Explorers
I love this quick and clever exploration game. It has a modular board for high variety, a solo version, as well as additional task tiles for experienced players.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
King of 12
This game combines bluffing, trick-taking, dice rolling, and attempted mind reading all into one! Fast, fun, and best with 3 or 4 players.
Planted
One of my favorite games of the year! Planted is a beautiful drafting game where you’ll work to collect sets of plants, resources, and gardening tools.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
First Empires
We were so surprised by this beautiful, family friendly Risk-like game. All about claiming territories, First Empires manages to be a game about conflict that won’t elicit any around the table!
Quirky Circuits: Penny and Gizmo’s Snow Day
I absolutely love that this robot programing game has gotten a new look at a lower price. Fun for adults and kids alike!
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Mountains out of Molehills
I love the unique 3D board! Players will program their moles to move underground, while building molehills above. Everyone programs at the same time so hilarity will most definitely ensue.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Gigamic Wooden Puzzle Series
These gorgeous, fully wooden games make beautiful gifts and are perfect to play with just about anyone. I love using them as functional home decor. Set it up on a coffee table and watch your family and friends gravitate towards them!
Watch our Reel for an overview of Quoridor, Quixo, Pylos, and Quarto.
Silver Series
This game is all about using each card action to the best of your ability to learn what cards are in your possession and work to get rid of them so you score the lowest points possible. Easy to learn, expandable, and fun for the whole fam. While you can begin with any of the games in the series, we recommend starting with Silver first!
Chronicles of Avel
This game blew us away with its straightforward rules and immersive gameplay! This is a great first Dungeon Crawler kids and parents alike will love playing together.
Teens and Adults (Ages 12+)
Guild of Merchant Explorers
I love everything about this game. The art is gorgeous. Simultaneous actions keep the pace moving along. And the strategy is engaging. Excellent through and through.
Everdell
Everdell is as fun to play as it is beautiful. This is a must play in my opinion.
Watch our Reel for an overview of the base game, Pearlbrook expansion, and Spirecrest Expansion.
Warp’s Edge
If you’re looking for a great solo game, then look no further! Warp’s Edge feels like a retro space game that packs a strategy, bag building punch!
Harry Potter House Cup Competition
My favorite Harry Potter board game! This is an excellent introductory worker placement game that’s perfect for any teen or tween that’s looking for an excuse to test out their Hogwarts student prowess.
Watch our Reel for an overview.
Nidavellir
I love how you’ll cleverly work to position yourself to recruit the best heroes by bidding for your drafting order. There are so many ways to victory and choosing which one is best for you each game can be tough!
Viticulture World
This cooperative expansion for Viticulture is an absolute treat. If you are a fan of the original game, you’ll absolutely love the incredible challenge this expansion provides.
Read our full review or watch our Reel overview.
Wildstyle
If I were to get a game for teens, it would be this one! Wildstyle is a fun, fast paced real-time game that has you collecting cards, tagging city spots, and completing objectives as fast as you can!
Wingspan Asia
The long anticipated Asia expansion for Wingspan is here! Not only can it be played with the base game, but it is ALSO a stand alone two player game. So if you’ve been looking for a way to get your friends into Wingspan, this could be it!
Port Royal: The Big Box
The Big Box gets you everything you need! Expansions, ability to play Solo, cooperatively and competitively! You can up the strategy or simplify the game for family play. No matter what, you’ll love all of the push your luck pirate fun!
It’s a Wonderful World
If you’re looking for an excellent engine builder, this is it! Simple to learn, highly strategic, challenging, and fun!
Party Games
Master Word
Follow the guide and discover the Master Word in this cooperative party game. Great for small groups.
Ready Set Bet
Captures the excitement and frenzy of the horse race. You’re sure to have an absolute blast cheering on your horses!
Libertalia Winds of Galecrest
Libertalia has all the fun feelings of a party game and plays excellently with 6 players.
Wavelength
Great for big groups. Try to guess where a target falls on the spectrum of two opposite things. Simple set up, easy rules, lots of fun! There’s also a free app so you can play today and check out the game.
Stella: Dixit Universe
My favorite Dixit game! Great for the family or as a party game with friends.
Hero Hockey / Klask
Each holiday we love to host tournaments and the kids love Hero Hockey for this! Hero Hockey is the kid version of Klask. Klask is the fully wooden, more aesthetically pleasing version of the game. Both are fun!
Space Invaders
The no fail, put a smile on everyone’s faces, high fives all around game. Launch discs onto alien ships in this board game version of the arcade game.
Watch our Reel featuring gameplay.
Gamer Gifts and Accessories
Game Mats
The best gift we ever gave ourselves wasn’t a game, but a game mat! Once you get one, you’ll never want to play without one. We recently compared all the top game mats from all the companies and have linked our overall top favorite. Check out the full post for the list of mats we tried!
Read our board game mat comparison guide.
Card Organizers
These are essential for any gamer. I love using them both for kids and when I want an extra hand while playing. These organizers are my favorite as well as these curved ones.
Travel Case
One of our favorite things we’ve made is our travel case for small games. Not only does it save space on the shelf, but it’s so wonderful to have a case filled with 16+ games ready to grab and go out the door.
Read this post to learn all about how we made ours.
Fancy Wooden Bowls
Wooden bowls are my favorite component tray. They are sleek, stylish, and the pieces slide out easily.
Board Game Arena Subscription
For the gamer who has it all, they’ll enjoy the gift of a Board Game Arena subscription. Play many of the latest hits with friends, family, and others around the world. This is a great way to try games before you buy them. And hey — maybe we’ll catch a table together sometime!
2022 Board game gift guide. Board game gift guide 2022. 2022 Board game gift guide.
