GAMES

Holidays are the best time of year because they let you dominate your family under the pretense of joyful celebration. Have an uncle who won’t stop teasing you? Watch him fall silent as you march over his armies in Risk. Got a cocky cousin? Lay waste to her settlements in Catan. Want to find out who’s really funny in the family? Quiplash will put them to the test. Or, if you just want to tune the holiday spirit out for a while, there are plenty of post-apocalyptic wastelands and planets far, far away to explore. Choose right and there won’t be a shortage of fun around the fireplace this year.

Guitar Hero Live

Music will soon be created by artificially intelligent robots, so who has time to learn a real instrument? Unlike previous titles, the new Guitar Hero puts you on a real stage, which makes it the perfect gift for aural voyeurs.

Destiny: The Taken King

Who is the King? What is he taking? Is it your destiny to find him? Maybe, maybe not. The only way to find out is to surrender your life to this game.

Fallout 4

War: war never changes. And neither does our desire for more adventures in this charming post-apocalyptic role-playing game. Befriend a dog, the local ghouls, or even a super mutant!

Star Wars: Battlefront

It's Star Wars the video game, do you really need to hear more?

Rust

Rust is the best Mad Max video game you can buy, and it doesn't even have cars (yet). It's the only "early access" title we recommend, but it's a wild ride even in its unfinished state.

Xbox One Elite Controller

You don't need this controller. Nobody does. But guess what? It's the time of year you get to have things you don't need! You'll be the envy of your friends with this gaming status symbol.

Quiplash

Have you ever wondered if you're funnier than your friends and family, but didn't have a way to prove it? Well now there's Quiplash: a game that rewards funny people with measurable points.

Grim Fandango Remastered

Grim Fandango is a game so nice they made it twice. Now you can play a remastered version of the 1998 classic, and if you've never played it before, it's a great time to start.

Nvidia GeForce Now Game Streaming service

Don't want a big game console or a clunky gaming PC in your room? This is a box to end all boxes. (Just make sure your internet speeds can handle sending games from the cloud.)

Bananagrams

Bananagrams is likeScrabble but scrappier, faster, and even more vicious — and yes, "Qi" does count. Bonus: Bananagrams is as fun to play as it is to say.

Exploding Kittens Card Game

Created by Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal, Exploding Kittens is the perfect card game for people who prefer everything to be coated in five layers of hyperbole. No kittens were harmed in the making of this game, but there's no telling what will happen if you don't buy it.

Catan, 5th Edition

Catan (née Settlers of Catan) takes the brutal world of territorial and economic expansion, in which winners face vast riches and losers face certain doom, and turns it into a casual board game.

Solitaire cards

Created by legendary designer Susan Kare, these playing cards bring her 25-year-old Windows 3.0 Solitaire graphics to life. The perfect gift for geeks of a certain vintage who need to ease their transition from cyberspace back to meatspace.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player's Handbook & DM Guide

If you want to learn how to become a real dungeon master (the kind without whips and chains), D&D 5th Edition is for you.

Magic: The Gathering - Arena of the Planeswalkers

This is a game for people who say to themselves: "You know, I like Magic: the Gathering, but I wish it was even nerdier." Arena of the Planeswalkers enhances MTG with little figurines for that rich tabletop fantasy feel.

Lego City Spaceport

The Space Shuttle is dead, but you can carry its legacy forward. Seriously — it's up to you. Please build this Lego set and make America's space program great again.

Blockitecture Sets

For those who feel Lego has too much of a corporate cookie-cutter feel, there's Blockitecture. Let your child's imagination run wild — with taste.

The Art of Lego Scale Modeling

Lego can be an art, but if you don't want to get your hands dirty and make it yourself, there's this coffee table book.

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