Gift guide

Buying one for someone else

You know how old they are. You may not know a thing about board games, and you’d rather not hand over a box that ends up in a cupboard. Three games, sorted by who’s opening it, plus the things we’d want to know before buying, including the one you shouldn’t buy for a date.

Before you wrap it

Four things worth knowing

• They’re physical games, not apps. A board, cards, a spinner, pieces. The only thing online is a free spinner that stands in if the real one goes missing.
• Nothing needs batteries, and nothing needs reading. At least not Keeper Chaos, which is played entirely on pictures and colors. That’s the one to pick if you’re not sure whether the child reads yet.
• If a piece goes missing, write to us. We’ll replace it. It’s worth saying to whoever unwraps it, because most people assume a lost spinner is the end of a game.
• DisArmory can’t be given on a date. It’s open for preorder, but we haven’t announced when it ships, so it’s a lovely thing to order and a risky thing to promise for a particular morning.