Easy Games and RPGs to Bring to That Holiday Swap
Do you need a game to bring to a holiday swap? Something even the non-gamers would enjoy? We’ve got you covered.
If you have holiday parties to awkwardly shuffle and make small-talk through coming up, you may have holiday parties to get a swap gift for. Use this opportunity as an excuse to get one of your unsuspecting friends or family members into one of your favorite games. Or games in general. All of these games have relatively low entry points, are easy to learn, fun to play, and are sure to be somebody’s new favorite thing.
1. Catan
People who don’t play Catan don’t get the hype or only know it from that one episode of The Bing Bang Theory that one time. (That’s not a joke, my parents literally said, “Oh, the game from BBT” one year and I had to take a moment to stare silently at a wall.) But as soon as you’re a few rounds in everybody becomes really invested in trading sheep for bricks or having the longest road. This game is massively popular to the point of being a meme, but it’s massively popular for a reason.
2. FATE Core System
For people who aren’t already deeply invested in tabletop RPGs, FATE is a perfect introduction. The rules are relatively easy, the necessary dice are unique, but you can honestly fudge it with a handful of regular D6, and the system is very flexible. It’s one of those systems you can play any kind of game in. I’ve played a Pokémon FATE game. We drove the GM to never GMing again, but we (the players) had a lot of fun before that.
3. Hades
Is throwing a video game in a swap dicey? Yes, you don’t know what systems other people have, if any. But if your swap approach is to put in an item you’d be happy to get back and take home yourself, this is a solid pick. It’s light and repetitive so it’s easy to play for a few minutes between other things or for hours at a time. But it also has “God Mode,” which give your character a defense boost and then gives them an additional 2% to their defense every time the die until they reach a 80%. You fail up. And when you or your friend become completely addicted, there’s a sequel now.
4. Villainous
This game honestly has it all. Easy rules, friendly for everyone, all of your favorite childhood bad guys, and lots of expansions for when you want to add to the evil party. If this feels like a game that’s not worth adding to a swap unless there’s a Disney Adult in the room, I promise it’s a very fun game for everyone. Being a Disney Adult would just better the already very fun game.
5. Carcassonne
Carcassonne is one of those meeple games that looks like it’s going to be complicated and difficult until you start playing. And then you realize you’re just building a map in a way that visually makes perfect sense. It’s fast-paced, very competitive, easy to learn, and one of my favorite meeple games out there.
Just so you know BoLS may collect a share of sales from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them.
