Christmas is on the horizon. It’s time to start thinking of gifts to get people. No good ideas? I got you covered! Whether you’re looking to get some good family time this Christmas break or give a spot-on gift to your college-age relative, board games are a sweet deal. But oh no! You can’t give Settlers of Catan or UNO as a gift since you did that for the past six years! Got you covered again. I’ve compiled a list of the 10 best board games to gift this Christmas season.

1. Sleeping Queens

With snow cooping up children inside, a great pastime is to play board games with them! Games with no strategy (i.e. Candyland – though some propose otherwise) can quickly become painfully stale. Sleeping Queens is the solution. It plays differently each time, yet is simple enough for all ages 4 and up to understand.

2. Dicecapades

This is perhaps the most off-the-beaten path game out there. It’s fun for all ages, but a quick warning: this game might have you scurrying about the house, building towers out of dice or straining your mental recesses for the slogan of an ad campaign from 1986.

3. Farkle

The game is simple and very transportable (great for road trips). But the simplicity does not detract from and actually adds to the energy the game brings. The strategy is simple to understand, but impossible to master. This will be a family favorite.

4. 10 Days in Asia

Is going overseas for Christmas too expensive? No worries, you can still experience the thrill of travel with this game. Use airplanes, boats and even railroads to travel the Asian continent. And, as an added bonus, it helps you touch up on your geography.

5. Dutch Blitz

Put simply, this is the best speed game out there. It brings out the best and worst of friends, but never fails to create a memorable moment. As the box suggests, it truly is a “vonderful goot game!”

6. Dominion

If you are not motivated enough (or are too fiscal) to join the cult following of Magic The Gathering, but still want to invest in a multi-dimensional card game, this is it. Since you don’t use all the cards each game, it never plays the same way twice. It’s pure brilliance.

7. King of Tokyo

The best description I’ve heard for King of Tokyo is that “if Yahtzee was fun, this would be it.” If you enjoy childish monster characters mixed with complex tactics, this is the game for you.

8. Blokus

This is heaven for spatial thinkers. Rarely in a game can you so utterly block your opponent and rarely in a game can your opponent be so slippery to trap! It keeps you on your toes until the end and can turn on a dime.

9. Scrimish

A fantastic 1 v. 1 card game. Essentially, it plays like Stratego but with cards. The strategies are endless, deception runs rampant and it is truly an epic dual of the minds.

10. Race for the Galaxy

Finally, a game for those thirsting for an intellectual challenge. It takes a few games to fully understand the rules; it takes a few months to start comprehending strategy. But for those willing to invest in it, once learned, it plays efficiently and excitingly.

Honorable Mentions: Cover Your Assets (As good as it sounds); Liar’s Dice (Yes the one from Pirates of the Caribbean); Mille Bornes (A delightful French racecar game)

Special thanks to Carter Bedsole