Avengers: Infinity War
Now, this is going to be for both the trade paperback and the movie. For those who aren’t familiar with the term trade paperback (TPB), that is when comics from a given run, generally six or so issues, are put into a single book, so  you can get the whole story arc without having to track down the separate comics themselves. If the person is a big super hero fan, I wouldn’t be shocked if they already had Infinity War, the movie, but they might not have the TPB. And my guess is they would like to read it.

Marvel Legendary
A massive game if you consider all of it’s various expansions, but even in the base game, you have a lot of fun to play with. In it, you are building a deck of cards by spending points and then also having to attack villains. The game gives you a solid super hero feeling, and since my initial review of it, I’ve come around on it being a better game a bit more. I think it is possible with this game to get some bad combinations of characters when you have more expansions. However, if they already have the base game, consider getting them an expansions for the game as they do add in fun new characters.

The Reckoners
A book series about super heroes, this is a great trilogy of books that looks at a group of insurgents who are trying to stop all the super heroes, because none of the super heroes are good. It’s a young adult book series written by Brandon Sanderson, and they are really fun and enjoyable as adults, not just for teen age kids.

The Reckoners Board Game
Maybe you know someone who already likes the series, the board game would be something to consider getting them. The game has some pretty simple mechanics, but is extremely hard to win. Also, the components in the game are amazing.  It is also a lot of fun because you get to see the Epics as the super heroes are known from the books, and you get to play as various members of the Reckoners team. Both The Dice Tower and Watch It Played have good information on the game.

Cold Steel Wardens
Maybe you want to go in a different direction and the person is a super hero fan and an RPG fan, Cold Steel Wardens one of the possible super hero RPG’s. This game is grittier than your standard super hero fair leaning into the Iron Age of comics where things were tougher and grittier in the comics. You still get to have super powers, but the world isn’t going to be flying around and having flashy parades, it’s going to be doing the grunt work and worrying about being attacked. Kristen wrote a nice review on it a little while back, or at least the system, so you can go check out her article on that.

Action Figures/Funko Pops
Maybe they already have the books and the games, there are plenty of other things that are super hero related to consider. One of the biggest areas is the action figure realm. There are tons of amazing action figures out there. I personally am a big fan of the Marvel Diamond Select figures as they are bigger than your standard action figure and come with nice props and amazing details. DC also does some very nice figures as well. Or maybe you don’t want to spend that much money or a looking for a stocking stuffer, Funko makes figures with large heads and very cartoony looks that are very popular right now.  Try and find their favorite hero in those and give them that. 

Super Hero Legos
Maybe you want something for a younger kid who might not what something that people would consider collectible. Lego now has a ton of super hero sets that you can get. They often tie into the movies, so if they have a favorite movie, see if you can track down the characters in Lego form. This also works well for adults.

Blackest Night/Brightest Day
Finally a dip into the world of DC. If you have someone who is into the DC universe, consider the TBP for those two sagas. In particular Blackest Night tells a really good story. It also something that is very different from your standard super hero fair in Blackest Night, while you do get plenty of hero moments there is good depth in the story being told.

TPB
Finally, there are a ton of classic stories and TPB’s that you could look at getting.  From Marvel, House of M and Secret Invasion are two that stand out as really strong options. DC has Infinite Crisis that is really good. Then there are non-Marvel and non-DC options that are strong. I personally am a huge fan of the Powers series by Brian Micheal Bendis. It’s super hero adjacent as it follows around a couple cops who are dealing with super powered criminals.

There are a ton of other options for super heroes as well. There are a lot of movies, obviously, in the Marvel world, so if someone who is a big Marvel movie fan, help them fill in their collection. Or go into a lot of other areas as well, movie posters, custom artwork, or clothing.

Have you gotten a super hero themed gift before? If so what did you get or what have you wanted to get?

Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter at @NerdologistCast
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.

Gloomhaven
The poster child for the big box game, Gloomhaven has all the components and tons of hours of game play. The game mechanics are smart as the card play is clever and adds a lot of strategy to the game. It is a beast to take down and set-up, but if you can afford the game, for someone who is looking for that combination of a big game with a lot of strategy and story, Gloomhaven is amazing.

Near and Far
Another one that’s been mentioned before, this is a story driven campaign game, but they do a really good job of keeping part of it was a game and part of it as the story aspect. There are definitely a lot of decisions to be made as you go out and explore and as you spend time in the town trying to build up your party to explore. You can even technically win the game without doing any of the story part.

Mansions of Madness
This game again has a lot of story, but there is an epicness to the game as you explore through houses and other locations as you try and unravel the mysteries and madness of this Lovecraftian game. As compared to some of the other Lovecraft games, it tells a tight story and the app integration into the game works really well and makes the book keeping aspect of the game a whole lot easier.  You get to feel like you’re investigating these mysteries.

Arkham Horror LCG
Another Lovecraft game on the list, this game is a whole lot smaller and faster than the rest of the games. In fact it’s just a card game. However, this card game still feels big because you are going through a cool story and the decisions you make and the level of difficulty you play the game at, makes the game tough. This is the epic Lovecraft game for when you don’t have as much time.

Shadows of Brimstone
This one you could argue borrows or Lovecraft adjacent, but really it’s trying to be its own thing as it’s a big box game with a lot of rules and you are trying to complete missions, role play your characters, and save the town of Brimstone from the dimension that is opening up around it. What I like about this game is that it is Weird West, which isn’t a theme that I’ve seen used that much before in board games or any media and I want to see more of. The game does, however, have a beast of a rule book, though the rule book is laid out pretty well.

Pandemic Legacy
Probably the easiest of all of the games on the list to set-up and get into. The rules for this game are probably the simplest of any of the games, but the story of this game gives it an epic feel. Now, it’s probably the game thus far on the list that you can get the fewest number of hours game play and only Arkham Horror LCG plays in as short a time, though with Arkham Horror LCG, there are more scenarios to play through. However, this game is epic, both seasons of it, and they are both definitely worth playing, especially as their prices are a bit lower now.

Root
This asymmetric game is definitely an epic struggle between the factions with a lot of interesting decisions to be made by the players as you try and be the first to the victory point total. The fact that each factions in the game plays differently means that it’ll give the players a lot of different experiences as you play in different roles through multiple playthroughs of the game. And it’s pretty easy to teach all things considered because the basic actions for each faction end in the same result.

Star Wars: Rebellion
This game has been described as, by the Dice Tower, “Star Wars in a box”. I think that’s a very apt description. While Imperial Assault might be boots on the ground, Star Wars: Rebellion is the epic galactic struggle between the Rebels and the Empire. You get to try and complete missions, build troops up, defeat the enemy and if you’re the Empire, track down where the rebel base is hidden. The game play is fairly long, but the decisions and turn structure means that there isn’t much downtime. This game is only really a two player game though.

Now, there are ton more epic games out there. I have yet to play Twilight Imperium 4th Edition (or 3rd Edition) and those are some of the most epic space games. I also have games like The Reckoners and Scythe that I’ve picked up recently but haven’t gotten to the table yet. What are some other epic feeling games that I’ve missed?

Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!

Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter at @NerdologistCast
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.