So it’s time of year to start talking and thinking about Christmas gifts. I really think that this year you’re going to want to early. Some things will be more limited because of the shipping backlog that is going on. And of course, I’m always going to encourage you to get your friends board games.

But let’s talk about what board games I’m going to be doing a list on first. I’m doing Gateway Plus Games. What does that mean? A gateway game is a game that you can introduce to anyone. Gateway plus is one that you introduce to people after that. These are for the people who are just getting into board games but maybe haven’t gotten far past the level of gateway games. They know and like games like Splendor, Catan, Ticket to Ride, and others. What’s the next level games to introduce?

Calico

This is a game I’ve talked about before and it’s barely a next level game. The game is very simple to play. You have two tiles in front of you can you put one onto your quilt. Then you take one of three tiles and put it in front of you. You do that until your quilts are full. But it’s challenging because of scoring. If you get a group of three of a color, you get a button. A certain size or shape of the same pattern, that’ll attract a cat. And then scoring pieces that want to match patterns and colors.

The game is way more challenging then you’d expect. And most of the time you are hoping that the one piece you really need will come out. There is a lot to worry about with what is going on, but it’s still a blast. The game can be a bit cutthroat feeling if someone takes a piece you need, but generally people want to optimize fo their own scoring.

Roll Player

You might have introduced your friends or family to Sagrada. That can be a slightly past gateway game depending on the set-up. But it’s generally quite friendly and fun dice drafting game. Roll Player steps that concept up just a little bit and makes it a whole lot nerdier. You’re still drafting dice, but now you’re using them to build a Dungeons and Dragons or other RPG character. And all you’re trying to do is match the stats to where you want them to be.

The game works really well and the Monster and Minions expansion adds in more to the game. Now you have to deal with monsters as well, which I think adds to the overall game. It makes it feel like you’re doing more. This one is gateway plus because there is just a little bit more going on with making money, buying cards, and casting spells. But it’s still easy to get into and for a friend who is a bit more nerdy.

Photosynthesis

Another more abstract game like Calico. Photosynthesis is all about growing trees, but in a very cutthroat way. Here you are planting trees, growing trees, and then when the trees mature harvesting them for points. But the game has a really clever mechanism to it. The sun rotates around the board, so you get light points (action points) to use based off of how many and sizes of your trees seeing the sun.

Where the game gets cutthroat is that you can block out the sun from other people. Two trees of the same height, if the sun is hitting one that one can block the other. Or larger trees have a bigger reach as to what they can block. This is going to be for that person who likes moving the robber around in Catan.

Hanamikoji

This is a two player only game, but it’s very thinky, and I think for a lot of gamers, especially maybe a chess gamer (which chess isn’t gateway) but someone looking to branch into more hobby board games, this will be a good puzzle. The game is extremely simple, you do four different actions each round. But each choice is to hard to make.

You either take a card to score, which is hidden, discard two face down, give your opponent the choice of three cards for winning favor or get two pairs of cards and your opponent picks one. The push and pull of trying to control the favor of the Geisha is really well done in this game and the game plays extremely fast.

Dice Throne

The final one is also two player and it’s on Kickstarter right now as a Marvel version. So if you have a big Marvel fan in your life you can get this for them. Otherwise, you can always pick up the fantasy version that is already out there. Pick two of your favorite duel packs and you can get playing right away. This is generally a two player head to head dice battling game, but you can play it more.

In fact, I really like the three player version where it is king of the hill. If you attack the person with most life you get a bonus. It’s a really good game with more strategy than you might think with Yahtzee style dice rolling. When you upgrade cards, how you push your luck and use cards to manipulate dice make this a more challenging and fun version of something like King of Tokyo, which I consider a Gateway Game.

What game would you get that is Gateway Plus? This is something that I see a lot that people want that next game on board game groups. And people give games like Scythe or Gloomhaven, or whatever their favorite game might be. I wanted to put together this Christmas list of ideas for you for friends who are interested in games, or games to ask for yourself if you’re just getting into the board game hobby.

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