5 Gift Ideas For The Board Gamer That Has Everything
I’m guessing you’re here because you know a board gamer. They have every game you could think of, and others you didn’t know existed. Their storage is full and you wouldn’t know what game to get them even if they had room on their shelf. What you need are some gift ideas for the board gamer in your life, that isn’t actually related to board games! Fortunately, that is exactly what I have compiled a list of below. What are the chances of that!
I have tried not to include your typical board game accessories. They will be covered in a separate feature another day!
LCD Pad
An A5 size LCD pad is the perfect board game accessory that a board gamer is unlikely to already have. Scrambling to find pen and paper when you realise the game doesn’t have its own scorepad at the end of a game is not the best. Having an LCD writing tablet to hand will save this! These work a bit like those kids toys that have iron filings in, but are actually good and leave a nice crisp line when you write.
Scores can be tallied, or notes written down. When you’re finished, a quick press of the delete button and you can start again. A lock button on the reverse stops the note being deleted by accident too. The LCD pad comes with the added bonus that every time you use it you have saved a piece of paper – that’s got to be a good thing! It’s also cheaper than a nice Parker Pen and a notepad! All in all, it’s a great gift idea that the recipient will get plenty of use out of.
Sengu Calculator
If the modernity of an LCD pad isn’t for you, why not go old school with a calculator! When I was at school the teacher’s used to tell me I had to learn maths because I “wouldn’t always have a calculator in my pocket”. Mobile phone companies showed them! So why is a calculator on my list when most people have one on their phone? Many gaming groups think it is de rigueur to remove mobile phones from the gaming table. Secondly the calculator I have hunted out feels so much more in-keeping with playing board games than tapping it out on a touch screen.
Firstly, it is made of wood like so many meeples and tokens that will be played with. Secondly, the bamboo wooden calculator is blocky and is so much more stylish in its retro way than any mobile phone will be. The bamboo calculator is solar powered too, so will work even when your mobile phone has run out of juice. Oh and have I mentioned it’s also functional, that’s right it will add up your scores just as well as a mobile phone will!
Snack Bowls
Cheesy Wotsits may be a step too far, but within reason most people will have snacks at game night. So you need an amazing reciprocal for your nibbles. You could look to a cool studio ceramicist to create something homemade and very personal which will probably be cheaper than you think. They might also double up on the table as component holders.
Alternatively though, you might want Spiderman or a Stormtrooper serving your snacks. Your wish is our command as Rubies have a range of snack bowls for you to chose from! Pimp your present by adding their favourite sweets too!
Wine Cooler
With snacks sorted, you need to look after the drinks too. I have selected the Le Creuset Wine Cooler as it is high quality and comes in a range of colours. Perhaps you can match it to their favourite meeple colour!
The Le Creuset Wine Cooler can be kept in the freezer and when sitting down to games night the sleeve fits over your bottle of plonk and keeps it chilled while sitting at the table. In fact, it will even chill down a bottle that you forgot to put in the fridge! This has the added advantage that people don’t need to be hopping up and down from the table to keep topping up their glass. It’s a luxury item for sure, but one that is well worth having! It is also great if you are off for a picnic or day out and need to keep your wine chilled. This present gets even better with their favourite bottle of plonk or a bottle of prosecco!
Thermos Mug
So perhaps the antithesis of the previous recommendation is the thermos mug. Thermos’ ability to keep hot things hot and cold things cold is the closest thing to real life magic. I know if I studied vacuum insulation I might decipher the mystery but I’m not entirely convinced.
It is not the cooling power of this mug that I am recommending this for though. It is the ability to keep hot things hot. More specifically, tea and coffee. This mug is sealable at the lid and you can sip directly from it so there is no risk of spillage. It’s a bit bigger than a standard mug too so you won’t be up and down from the table quite as often to brew up.
However, this mug doesn’t just work at the gaming table! This mug comes with a life hack from me. If you’ve been gaming into the small hours you can make your morning drink of choice in this Thermos mug and it will still be hot enough to enjoy the next morning! You don’t even need to crawl out of bed for that first hot beverage of the day.
I have tried other brands and they haven’t lasted through the night. This one does and it is so much cooler than a teasmaid! It also doubles up as a great gift for commuters!
So there you have it, my five recommendations for board gamers that aren’t actually board games or traditional board game accessories. The perfect gifts for board gamers that have everything!
Happy shopping!
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