The Official Engaged Family Gaming Holiday Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

Once December hits for many families it is time to start shopping for small gifts. Whether these are for a grab bag or to fill a stocking. Board games make great choices. They can be enjoyed many times, and these small boxes (or bags) do not take up much room.

Party Games

What are party games? Party games are simple to learn games that play well with a large group of people. Often these games are also good with mixed ages.

Flip 7

Age: 8+
Players: 3+
Buy Flip 7 here on Amazon

Flip 7 is a game that every family should have in their basic gaming collection. It is easy to learn, engaging, quick playing and good for a wide range of players. The goal for each player is to flip over seven unique cards successfully. Flip 7 is a push your game, so there is a luck element, and a higher risk to bust as you get more cards. Plus with the number of cards matching the value on the card, the higher value cards carry more risk of busting too.

A Flip 7 The Grinch Edition is available as a Walmart Exclusive. Buy Flip 7 The Grinch Edition here from Walmart.

Moose Match Mayhem

Age: 7+
Players: 3-6
Buy Moose Match here on Amazon.

From the makers of the popular Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, there is another fast-paced game to get everyone laughing. (Click here to get a copy of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza if that is not already in your collection!) Players are racing to get three sets of matching animal cards but avoid the avalanche and Yeti cards.

Patata

Age: 8+
Players: 2+
Buy Patata here on Amazon

Hot Potato has a new spin with Patata. Players draw a card with a question, and they take turns providing and answer as they pass the potato. If they get stuck or have a answer the other players disagree fits they get the card and a new one is drawn. The goal is to have the least number of cards at the end. There are also topping cards to make more dynamic game play.

There also is a darker side version that is for ages 18+. The label on the bag is red under the word Patata.

Person Do Thing

Can you get the other players to guess the target word with only a limited number of words you can say. There are three levels of difficulty. As you move more challenging, the words become more abstract. The guessing players make guesses and ask question to try and get to the target word. While you cannot act out the word, as guesses get closer or further away you can gesture to that player and tell them yes or no.

Cat Says Moo

Age: 6+
Players: 2-8
Buy Cat Says Moo here on Amazon

Match the animals or the sounds in this fast-paced game good for younger players. As players flip over cards, they are looking for matches of either the animals or the sounds they make. The tricky part is that the sound and the animal does not match on the cards. If you make a match not only do you get the card, but any that have accrued under them. Have the most cards when someone runs out of cards to win.

Poop Attack

Both Poop Attack and Poop Attack 2 have players put different attributes of animal dropping head-to-head to see which feature wins each round. With real photographs and six different features (frequency, hardness, length, width, smelliest, and yuck factor) players have lots of choices on what feature they think may win. This game is just as ridiculous as it sound and has us laughing though the whole game.

Small Box with Lots of Gameplay

Finding something small can be a challenge. These are some games that might be a good fit for a stocking.

Seekers Chronicles

Combine a few historical scientists with a near future setting in the year 2043 as you move through the scientific process (rounds). Players take on the role of an elite scientist in competition to achieve new breakthroughs in science. It is a card battling game that has a mix of resource management and strategy that players will enjoy.

Super Meow

Age: 6+
Players: 2-4
Buy Super Meow here on Amazon

An adorable game where players are buying cards from the market to add to their hand. Super Meow is a deck building game with the mechanic simplified to make it accesable to young games. There are no reading on the cards. The game box drawer becomes part of the game by being the labels for the market as well as the experior box is the trash for cards. The first player to have the Super Cat card and a cape card in front of them wins the game.

Duel For Cardia

Age: 9+
Players: 2 or 4
Buy Duel for Cardia here on Amazon

Players are trying to outwit their oponents and fine one of three possible paths to victory as they batttle for favor over the magical land of Cardia. With beautiful atrwork and simple rules, players can jump right into this game and begin their battle. To keep the game fresh and engaging as players get more expeienced, there is a second deck and additional rules to increase the difficulty.

For the Extra-Large Stocking or Grab bag

Sometimes you need something a little larger to fill an oversized stocking or to put in a grab bag. These games will both fill the stocking and be a great a addition to the receiver’s’ collection.

Next Station Paris

Next Station Paris is a flip and write game. It is the latest in the Next Station series with the previous two set in Tokyo and London. Each city in the series has something special and unique to that setting. For Paris it is the monuments set around the city. Players flip cards and simultaneously mark their sheet with 4 different colored pencils. Play moves quickly over four rounds.

Buy Next Station London here on Amazon.

Buy Next Station Tokyo here on Amazon.

Locus

Age: 8+
Players: 1-5
Buy Locus here on Amazon

Locus is a flip and write game where you are drafting from the flipped cards to optimize which area you fill in to get the most points. The name Locus means “ the place where something is situated or occurs”. The cards are polyomino shapes which you can flip, rotate or mirror to fit into a space in the zone of the matching color. For an extra level of challenge each color zone players are drawing their shapes has different scoring conditions.

Jungo

Age: 8+
Players: 2
Buy Jungo here on Amazon

Jungo has the simple goal of being the first player to get rid of all their cards. Players get rid of cards by playing hands of cards stronger than what is on the table. The stronger cards can be as simple as a higher value card or a greater number of matching cards. When players are dealt the cards in their hand, they may not rearrange the cards and can only play adjacent sets. So, players may choose to add cards to their hand to be able to make a stronger play later in the game.

The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Rings Trick Taking Game

Age: 10+
Players: 1-4
Buy The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Rings Trick Taking Game here on Amazon

With the mix of trick taking mechanics and cooperative play players work their way through the chapters of The Fellowship of the Rings. Each character has their own win condition, and all characters must succeed to complete the chapter. The characters in each chapter also very as well as additional challenges that need to be faced. For fans of the Lord of the Rings story this is a wonderful easy to learn and play game. Plus, the next edition, The Two Towers Trick Taking Game is being released January 16, 2026.