Small Strategic Stocking Stuffer Selections

It’s December, complete with the looping tones of Boney M’s Christmas Cheer devouring your sanity over 4 hours in the shopping mall and indecision over what gifts will elate your significant other, friends or younger members of your celebrations. As a reader of Cardboard Quest, you realise that board and card games are fantastic gifts for introducing people to your cherished hobby and with the right presents around Christmas times, you can bring families together through games. In the next week or so, we’re going to be putting together some ideas for gaming gifts, things we (and hopefully other gamers) would love for Christmas to try and inspire you to spend as much money over the Christmas period as we do to mitigate our guilt. I mean.. help you find the right gifts 🙂

If you’re on a smaller budget, buying games for a few people or want to give a little something extra with the main course then the “stocking stuffer” range of games should be your focus.

There are many devastating ships combinations to reduce your enemies to shrapnel!

There are many devastating ships combinations to reduce your enemies to shrapnel!

Star Realms
Players: 2-4
Who’s it For: Sci-Fi Fans who enjoy head to head card games or deck builders.
Cost: R150

I’m yet to play with someone who at the end of their first game doesn’t appreciate something about Star Realms. White Wizards Games has managed to craft a beautifully designed combination of a CCG hit points duel and your favourite deck-builder into a science fiction universe. Want to influence your opponents draws? Make sure you recruit ample Star Federation ships! Want to constantly barrage them with warship superiority? Make sure you draw Blob cards often! Cheap, playable in 20 minutes, easy to teach and already with a couple of expansions it’s no wonder why Star Realms is the first stocking stuffer on the list.

Even though you'll be politely declining cards, there will be the odd foul word mumbled while playing No Thanks!

Even though you’ll be politely declining cards, there will be the odd foul word mumbled while playing No Thanks!

No Thanks!
Players: 3-7
Who’s it For?: Those who’d enjoy quick simple card games with a great jab of interaction.
Cost: R220 

Full of skepticism, I opened this card game to play with my family recently and was amazed by the amount of fun in this little box. In No Thanks! players are trying to collect the lowest values of a deck of cards by taking the low / sequential cards while playing “pass tokens” to push off higher value cards to other players to score the least points at the end of the round. At the start of a round you randomly remove 9 cards from the simple deck of 33 cards (numbered 3-35) and each turn players will pass by using one of their tokens or take the card, along with whatever tokens have accumulated on it. By collecting sequential cards, you only score for the lowest card in a sequence, making grabbing cards sometimes appealing. Great little game with push your luck and set collection mechanics that plays in 5 mins a round!

Avast Maties, It's Your Treasure I Be After! ARRGGHHH

Avast Maties, It’s Your Treasure I Be After! ARRGGHHH

Dead Man’s Draw
Players: 2-4
Who’s it for?: Those who love push your luck games with loads of player interaction

Cost: R375

Based on a popular Stardock video game, Dead Man’s Draw allows players to push their luck as they search through the loot deck trying to grab more booty for their stack! Each turn you’ll draw cards one by one and decide whether to be a greedy knave and try grab more loot or whether to bank what you’ve snuck off with so far. Should you draw a card that matches one of the 10 suits that you’ve already drawn that turn, you’re bust and all the treasure goes to Davy Jones Locker! Seems simple enough lubbers, but what if I told you that each card you draw gives you an immediate power, such as pillaging other pirate’s loot, sneaking cards back from Davy Jones’ Locker or even getting to peek at the next card without commitment. Great theme, quick play time and a cannon blast of “take that” mechanics means most copies of Dead Man’s Draw won’t be marooned on the shelf for long!

INTERRUPTION TO SCHEDULED READING

Want to win a copy of Dead Mans Draw from Cardboard Quest? Check out our Facebook Competition!

Unzip the mind of a Ninja to find the rolling combinations of warriors inside.

Unzip the mind of a Ninja to find the rolling combinations of warriors inside.

Ninja Dice
Players: 2-5
Who’s it For?: Anyone who loves chucking dice, foiling others plans and Ninjas!
Cost: R350

With the most enticing packaging of any any small game we’ve seen in ages, Ninja Dice is a push your luck dice rolling game where it doesn’t only matter what faces are showing on your dice, it’s also the direction they face as well! Each player’s Ninja Clan competes with the others to complete randomly generated scenario objectives such as locked doors and samurai’s by rolling their ninjas to have the necessary skills to overcome these. While many games have this mechanic, Ninja Dice sets itself apart by having your opponents roll their threat ambush team die during your turn, which can steal victory coins or even end your chances of attempting to overcome the scenario! If their threat abilities point towards your dice, they may steal coins, however if your power ability die point in an arc toward your skill dice you can multiply their abilities to finish multiple obstacles with a single die! By overcoming obstacles and finishing scenarios you earn victory coins and after 3 rounds the Clan with the most coins wins. It’s fast, fun and keeps you engaged constantly to overcome your obstacles or steal from your opponents.

Its all about using deception, luck and poking into people's business to win true love.... right?

Its all about using deception, luck and poking into people’s business to win true love…. right?

Love Letter
Players:2-4
Who is it For?: The person you want to introduce to games but don’t have the budget for
Cost: From R150

Much like the original Renaissance themed Velvet Bag version, Love Letter offers light intrigue, bluffing, luck and deception in the most cultured fashion. Comprising of just 16 cards in the deck, players must attempt to get their letter of affection to the princess by controlling the card that is closest to her standing in the court at the end of the game. Players compete by using card abilities to protect their own secret identities. discover other players identities as well as expose their nefarious and lurid intents towards the fair princess and have them eliminated. It’s a marvelous little game that now comes in more flavours than Häagen-Dazs as you’re able to get Munchkin, Adventure Time, Batman, Legend of the Five Rings and… The Hobbit versions of Love Letter from most friendly local game stops. Or even better, why not try the Christmas-themed version called Letters from Santa?

These are some of the best little fillers we think that you can gift to bring joy to your friends and loved ones this Christmas. Get down to your FLGS and try give them some support over this Christmas and we hope that these games give those special people as much joy as they give us.

  • Brett FISH Anderson

    A great selection, thankx. Discovered Star Realms recently and absolutely dig it and should look to getting some of those expansions. No Thanks is a winner and have not played any of the others yet but good to know they’re around!

    • Stuart McGarrick

      My whole family was totally entranced by No Thanks! which was something I’ve never seen in such a simple concept. It made me realise that often despite the lack of minis, big boxes and sprawling rule books you get some really interesting games in small packages 🙂

  • Dom

    I just ordered Star Realms for myself and I blame you, Stuart.

    • Stuart McGarrick

      You’re welcome 😛

    • DieJason

      ONE OF US. Now only Paul needs to fold and the whole CBQ team will own a set. Also, you might want to look at getting some of those Crisis expansions next year (not so much the Heroes one, but the others are great).

  • Greg

    Can totally support Ninja Dice, but don’t forget to add the location cards, they have great artwork and make the game seem bigger than it is. I’d add Jaipur, although it might not be in the lower budget category, it’s beautifully illustrated, easy to learn, and fun to play 🙂