Well, the holiday season is upon us, and it’s time to start looking for gifts for loved ones (and assorted family members too). Gamers are notoriously hard to shop for because…. reasons. We’ve polled our writers here and we’ve come up with a few lists that might help you find some gifts for that special gamer in your life. With all these lists, we will use Amazon affiliate links (and if you buy things from clicking these links, we might make a commission that help us keep the proverbial lights on here)
You can check out our previous lists at: https://opinionatedgamers.com/category/holiday-gift-list/
We have always been big fans of Escape Rooms and Puzzle games, and we think they would make great presents as well.
The Escape Game
We have reviewed a number of physical escape rooms, and a gift certificate to one of these establishments would be a great gift. I think it’s safe to say that our favorites have been at The Escape Game – you can get gift certificates here…
Reviews: Playground, Mission: Mars, Prison Break
They also have a number of play-at-home options including online escape room options.
They also have a boardgame – Escape from Iron Gate – which we have reviewed, and which you can get online.
Hunt-a-Killer (play at home):
We just reviewed one of their standalone games earlier today, and they have a number of different games available now so you can find one that has a theme that matches your style. They even have a jigsaw puzzle mystery, which could appeal to some.
They also have a subscription service that will give you a monthly installment of a six-month long adventure. They are normally about $30/month, but appear to be on sale currently.
EXIT Games
The EXIT series from Kosmos has been one of our favorites. There are probably over 20 different adventures now, each giving you an hour of fun in a slim compact box.
We have plenty of reviews here online
This is a nice 3-game set – https://amzn.to/3ALi9K0
and you can search for similar ones on Amazon.
Escape the Room
This series from Think Fun has some great boxes, including one that looks like a dollhouse!
Escape Room: the Game
This series uses a neat plastic electronic box that you fit plastic keys into. We’ve reviewed a few of their adventures: here and here.
- The box for adults: https://amzn.to/3ijV6Qs
- The box for families: https://amzn.to/3XAYRkr
Escape Room in A Box
There have been a number of games in this series from Mattel , but we found the Isabel and Kira duology especially good: https://amzn.to/3Ube3C2
The Walking Dead version was also challenging: https://amzn.to/3F4j9vm
UNLOCK
The Unlock series are games which are contained fully in a deck of cards. These rely a lot upon visual inspection of cards, and they have a nice series for kids as well
- Star Wars themed box – https://amzn.to/3XxMW6V
- UNLOCK Kids: https://amzn.to/3ANrvVX
IDVenture
For those that are looking for more physical puzzles, the Cluebox series from idVenture is well done. https://amzn.to/3id8R3a
They also do some great Internet requiring puzzle games – Fire in Adlerstein was a big hit here – https://amzn.to/3F247pY
Escape Room Jigsaw Puzzles
The Quezzle series from Uniworld was so much fun to do – https://amzn.to/3GPTgAS
Ravensburger has a nice line of Escape Jigsaw puzzles – https://amzn.to/3AMlk4e
Other games we’ve tried and recommend
- The Vandermist Dossier – review / link
- Blackbrim 1876 – review – link
- Print+Cut+Escape – review – link
- PnP sets from Lock Paper Scissors – review of Envy – link
- They are now offering a lifetime VIP box – $49 for everything they’ve made – https://lockpaperscissors.co/vip-box
Surely you can find something for the puzzle lover that you need a gift for!
Until your next appointment,
The Gaming Doctor
