The holidays mean lots of get-togethers. For the board gaming crowd, this holiday has tons of great games to give. Here’s the best of the best.
Horrified American Monsters (Ravensburger)
In the follow-up to the original Horrified, American Monsters brings back all of the familiar co-operative gameplay. Once again up to four players will team up to take on a new group of famous monsters in a more North American twist. The monsters you must defeat are the Jersey Devil, the Chupacabra, Bigfoot, the Ozark Howler, the Banshee of the Badlands, and Mothman. Each of the monsters has new unique conditions you’ll have to do in order to defeat them. The presentation, design, gameplay, are all just as stunning as the original. If you have a horror fan in your life, Horrified American Monsters is a must.
The THing: Infection At Outpost 31 (Mondo/TheOp)
If you have two horror fans in your life, The Thing: Infection At Outpost 31 is the best second choice. This Mondo limited edition features the strategy board game published by USAOpoly with new gorgeous artwork commissioned by the popular poster company. There’s an incredible level of easter eggs to the John Carpenter film and you’ll love just how competitive the game can get.
Super Mario Bros: Labyrinth (Ravensburger)
The original Labyrinth board game was released just a year after the original Mario Bros game. In 2021 you can bring the video game enthusiast out of their room and into the party comfortably in this Super Mario-themed version of the classic board game. Just as with classic Labyrinth, players maneuver titles on the board in order to be the first to lead their character to the goal while facing dangers along the way. The game uses the Mario IP very well putting in characters from the entire Mario library even my favorite WaLuigi.
Wingspan (Stonemaier Games)
Players are bird lovers (“researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors”) working to bring the most birds to their nests. To start the game, players get an action mat, five bird cards, two bonus cards, and five food tokens. Over four rounds, they can choose to play a bird card, gain food, or lay eggs to unlock other actions for each corresponding section to their mat. The player with the most points after four rounds wins. It’s an addictive game with the icing being the gorgeous pieces such as pastel eggs and bird art. This one is hard to keep in stock and might be the surprise board game hit of 2021.
