Some of the best stocking stuffers you've never heard of.

The Card Gamer

Hello my name is David and I run thecardgamer.com. I'm not a pro gamer or a gaming expert. I'm just an individual who loves board games and enjoys sharing views and opinions about them. My specialty is smaller boxed card games but i will review anything I feel is interesting including bigger games. Thanks for checking me out. David thecardgamer2000@gmail.com thecardgamer.com

David Marie

(spacedogg)

United States
Cleveland
Tennessee

The holidays are creeping up on us so I thought I would take some time and talk about games you might want to give that special gamer in your life. There are some great games to choose from this year. Most people have titles like Dominion Hinterlands and the Legend of Drizzt on their list. And the "hardcore" gamers probably have stuff like A Few Acres of Snow (hint), Troyes (hint), or an imported copy of Trajan (HINT!) as well. I definitely have those on my (way too) long list of things I want under my tree.
My goal here is to illuminate some of the lesser known titles that may have slipped under your nose. The games that come from independent developers who sometimes go unnoticed when the big boys show up with a sparkly new "million dollar" production.

The first title I want to look at is Jump Gate from Matt Worden Games. Jump gate is a surprisingly polished gem from a small developer that plays just as well as any of those "million dollar" productions. This game was actually picked up by Schmidt Spiele, re-done all purty and renamed Space Mission.
(p.s. I NEED a copy of that version cry

Here is my full review in written or in video format:
Jump Gate Written Review
Jump Gate Video Review

The second title I'll mention is Hemloch. A fantastic two player game that immediately hooked me and everyone else I played with. If I had a big board game distribution company the first thing I would do is buy Small Box games and spend money advertising the great two player titles coming from this tiny company. Let me put it this way; 3 of my favorite two player games were made in the last two years, from the same company. That company is Small Box Games and those games are Bhazum, Omen: A Reign of War, and Hemloch. Hemloch is a great two player card game where you take two matching decks of cards and battle over four Locations. Think Battle Line, mixed with Magic, and a touch of area control.

Here is my full review in written or in video format:
Hemloch Written Review
Hemloch Video Review

Finally I'll mention a game that can be played with people of all ages. It's Bears! from Fireside games. Obviously this game is not going to be for everybody but man is it a fun little game of dice. 2-4 people are racing to match up pairs of dice before everyone else. It may get loud but that's probably why it's so fun. You can even add another copy and play up to eight, or another and.....you get the idea.