Greenfield Games Holiday Gift and Gathering Guide 2023!

• Posted on 19 December 2023
• By Store Staff
• 0

See what our staff has to recommend this holiday season for gifts and gatherings!

Hell-oh ho ho everyone! The holidays are approaching, and faster than any of us would like. We're still fully stocked up and ready to help everyone full their stockings. We've gathered our staff and asked what they think are the best recommendations for this holiday season! Let's see what they have to say...

SETH:

HeroQuest

What a fun, simple, cooperative adventure game! Originally created in the 80's, all its charm is reproduced in this new edition. You choose to play as a spell-slinging Wizard, a Barbarian with a glorious BROADSWORD, or several other cool heroes, or even as Zargon himself!!

It's loaded with nostalgia which will simultaneously please an ancient gamer like myself, while either exciting or causing great anguish to a table full of screen-obsessed little kiddos.

There's tons of scenarios, plus expansions, so there's guaranteed to be plenty of great gaming nights. 

Plus! A new feature with this new edition: via the use of a free downloadable phone app, you can play solo, running all the adventurers, while the app controls an incredibly nerdy Zargon.

Codenames Duet:

I like Codenames a bunch, but with just two people, it doesn't work very well at all. Enter Codenames Duet! This brings all the tension and challenge of team vs team play into a cooperative set-up for two. 

It's easy to pick up, easy to pause a "campaign" and wait for your next vacation to continue, and easy to travel in a moderately-sized Ziplock bag. Plus, it makes you both feel smart when you do well, and ends pretty quick if you're not feeling so smart that night.

It's my go-to game whenever we take off for a weekend or more.

ROSE:

Evergreen:

A game about strategic planning and thinking ahead. Each player gets their own little planet board on which they shall be growing a vast network of trees. There is a drafting phase where you grab cards to upgrade your abilities and determine where you will be growing your tree empire. At the end of each drafting phase comes the end of the season where the trees you've planted will absorb sun and gain you victory points. At the end of the year the one who gained more points will be crowned the ultimate planter.

I really like the art design of this game which depicts lovely and majestic art from different biomes.

KATIE:

Forbidden Jungle:

My husband and I have been long time fans of co-op games and the Forbidden series of games are among the best. In the latest of the series, Forbidden Jungle, players are trying to outrun venomous aliens, shift locations and assemble the portal to escape the jungle.

This is probably my favorite of the series. While the rules remain fairly simple to grasp, there are a lot of good choices to be made here. My favorite aspect of this game is shifting around the tile locations. You must shift them around to form the portal, but you also must be mindful of their connectivity so that the aliens cannot get to you. Some of the tiles also have location abilities that are key to winning!

Strong recommend for families with older kids and adult gamers!

BUBBA:

Wavelength:

So Wavelength is not only one of my favorite recent party games, it's one of my favorite recent games. This is a PERFECT game for a medium to large get together when you want something for everyone to do together. What really makes the game for me is how much it relies on interpretation of someone else's perspective. You really need to get on the same "wavelength" as your teammates. The clue giver is given a target on a spectrum from A to B and has to find something that they think would make their team guess the target correctly. Becuause you only get to give the one clue and can't clarify on it further, the door is WIDE open for comedic misinterpretation. It leaves so much up to individual perception and makes a fabulous ice-breaker or party game. 

Flamecraft:

Flamecraft is one of my favorite games from this year. It's very cute with fun art and punny names, it has great components for its price point, and for me it's that perfect mix of engaging enough to keep me interested without making my head spin. I really like that while all dragons of a particular resource type have the same ability, they all have unique art and names. It's fun, has great art design, FABULOUS theming, and is a mechanically solid game. For its low price point, you really can't beat it.

Black Lotus D20:

This oversized D20 has a resin replica of the Black Lotus, perhaps Magic's most iconic card, cast in clear resin and makes the perfect stocking stuffer! You really need to see this die in motion to see how cool it is. Check it out HERE!

Cuisines of the Multiverse:

Something I'm not shy about is the fact that cooking is one of my primary hobbies. It's a good creative outlet and a very basic skill that I think most people should know. That's one reason I'm elated that we now have a little cook book section! There have been a lot of geek themed cook books published recently and something that has really surprised me is the quality of the recipes. Not only are they fun, thematic, and tasty, they keep me on my toes and make me work with ingredients I'd never have thought of before. If you've got a fan of the MtG Multiverse on your list and are feeling stumped, this will make a perfect gift! (Or you could just keep it for yourself :3 )

EVAN:

Mysterium:

One of my personal favorite games and one I was very happy to receive as a gift several years ago is Mysterium, an atmospherically spooky murder mystery that almost feels like a blend of Clue, one of my favorites as a kid, and Dixit, one of my current personal favorites. I love the art on all of the cards in Mysterium, but I guess I’m kind of a sucker for atmospheric and abstract art pieces. But I’m also a big fan of cooperative games, which is a place where Mysterium really shines with its mechanics revolving around collaborative deduction through the clues given to you in the form of visions presented by the ghost. I’m also a big fan of the asymmetry in the design of the game, with one player trying to guide the other players down the right path in order to discover the true murderer through the beautiful art that this game has to offer.

We hope this helps folks who have questions or still need recommendations for your gifting/partying season!

From all of us here at GGs, may all your holidays be filled with awesome gifts, tasty food, and fun!