PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Price

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

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We’re so excited to be bringing you our biggest ever gift guide! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you this year. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

In this edition of the Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, we have endeavored to strike a balance between the most affordable price we could find for each product and the most reliable outlet to get your gifts to you in time for the holidays!

Please enjoy this assortment of dice games, puzzle games, brain teasers, card games, puzzle books, group & party games, murder mysteries, escape room games, and board games, all organized in price from lowest to highest. We’re sure you’ll find the right gift for any puzzler on your list!

Any amounts in Pounds have been placed where they’d land roughly when converted to dollars. And please note that shipping is not factored into any of these prices.

Happy puzzling!


Quick search links


Puzzle Books, Magazines, and Puzzle bundles

Since most of the puzzle books, magazines, and puzzle bundles in this year’s gift guide are between $5 and $15, and most subscription services are between $15 and $30 per year, we figured we’d bundle them all up front before we get into all of the games, puzzles, and other terrific holiday treats!

Pencil-and-paper puzzles are alive and well, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites with you.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids ($5.88)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Various Prices

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted


Up to $10

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Star Trek Fluxx: The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion (Looney Labs, card game)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And now you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here!]

Zendo Expansion Packs 1 and 2 (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Zendo challenges you to arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. Essentially, you’re trying to deduce what the secret rule is by building different designs.

And if you need additional rules to spice up your Zendo game, these two expansion packs offer new twists for all difficulty ranks, adding new wrinkles to an already devious game! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

Math Dice (ThinkFun, dice game)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger, party/group game)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]


Up to $20

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games, board game)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again. ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius, brain teaser)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos, escape room/solve the mystery game)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys, card game)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium, puzzle by mail)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games, fill the frame puzzle)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

Tenzi (dice game)

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius, brain teaser)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan, escape room / solve the mystery game)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)

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Codenames (Czech Games, card game)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games, party/group game)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

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12 Days (Calliope Games, card game)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

Fluxx (Looney Labs, card game)

When it comes to the constantly-evolving gameplay of Fluxx, there are all sorts of flavors to choose from! There’s Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)


Up to $30

Slapzi (Tenzi, party/group game)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)

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Puzzometry (jigsaw puzzle)

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

Athena (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Decrypto (IELLO, party/group game)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)

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Qwirkle (MindWare, board game)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games, escape room / solve the mystery game)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt, card game)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

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Gloom (Atlas Games, card game)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc. (brain teaser)

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Unlock! Games (Asmodee, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)


Up to $40

The Light in the Mist (Allplay, solve the mystery game)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

Wavelength (Asmodee, party/group game)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games, board game)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games, board game)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits, marble puzzle)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer, board game)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

Sagrada (Floodgate Games, dice game)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games, board game)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure, brain teaser)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!


Up to $50

Zendo (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games, dice game)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute, puzzle game)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box: Davy Jones’ Locker (iDventure, brain teaser)

This multi-stage puzzle box (on the left) is completely self-contained. Explore every inch of its surface to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further puzzles. Delve into Davy Jones Locker and solve these nautically themed challenges! ($49.99)

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games, board game)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)


$60 and Over

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods, jigsaw puzzle)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)

Lightbox (Eric Clough, brain teaser)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger, marble puzzle / game)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Age

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’re excited to be bringing you our biggest gift guide ever! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

This guide is broken down by age group, so we’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for puzzlers of any age on your list!


Quick search links


For Ages 6 and Up

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

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Qwirkle (MindWare, board game)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)


For Ages 7 and Up

Tenzi (dice game)

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer, board game)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games, board game)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)


For Ages 8 and Up

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger, marble puzzle / game)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius, brain teaser)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger, party/group game)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

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Star Trek Fluxx (Looney Labs, card game)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here. And be sure to check out our full review of Star Trek Fluxx!]

Athena (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games, dice game)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Math Dice (ThinkFun, dice game)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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12 Days (Calliope Games, card game)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius, brain teaser)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Slapzi (Tenzi, party/group game)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]


For Ages 9-10 and Up

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games, escape room / solve the mystery game)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

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Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids (puzzle book)

Recommended by several top solvers, this just might be the perfect gateway puzzle book for the young solver in your life. ($5.88)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games, board game)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games, party/group game)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute, puzzle game)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)

Unlock! Games (Asmodee, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games, fill the frame puzzle)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games, board game)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt, card game)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games, board game)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

Sagrada (Floodgate Games, dice game)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)


For Ages 11-12 and Up

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Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan, solve the mystery game)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

Zendo (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

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Puzzometry (jigsaw puzzle)

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)

Decrypto (IELLO, party/group game)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys, card game)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits, marble puzzle)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]


For Ages 13-14 and Up

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

The Light in the Mist (Allplay, solve the mystery game)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

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Gloom (Atlas Games, card game)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure, brain teaser)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!

Wavelength (Asmodee, party/group game)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc. (brain teaser)

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

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Codenames (Czech Games, card game)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Lightbox (Eric Clough, brain teaser)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods, jigsaw puzzle)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games, board game)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again. ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]


For Ages 16 and Up

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment, solve the mystery game)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)


For Ages 18 and Up

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium, solve the mystery game)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)


Most puzzle books would probably fall in the Age 9-10 and Up range, but oftentimes, the cluing is geared toward an older audience, so to avoid confusion, I’ve bundled the majority of the puzzle books here.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Category

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’re excited to be bringing you our biggest gift guide ever! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

We’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for any puzzler on your list!


Quick search links


Puzzle Books

Pencil-and-paper puzzles are alive and well, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites with you.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids ($5.88)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Jigsaw Puzzles / Fill the Frame Puzzles

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

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Puzzometry

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)


Brain Teasers

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc.

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

Athena (Project Genius)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Lightbox (Eric Clough)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]


Puzzle Games

Zendo (Looney Labs)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)


Board Games

Some of the puzzliest games on the market today are being made by top-flight board game companies, and we’ve got some marvelous games that will appeal to puzzlers of all ages!

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again.  ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

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Qwirkle (MindWare)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

Yes, we’ve got a book in the Board Game section. Allow us to explain.

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)


Card Games

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12 Days (Calliope Games)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

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Star Trek Fluxx (Looney Labs)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here. And be sure to check out our full review of Star Trek Fluxx!]

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Gloom (Atlas Games)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

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Codenames (Czech Games)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]


Dice Games

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

Math Dice (ThinkFun)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Sagrada (Floodgate Games)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)

Tenzi

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)


Marble Puzzles / Games

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)


Escape Room / Solve the Mystery Games

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)

The Light in the Mist (Allplay)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

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Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

Unlock! Games (Asmodee)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)


Party/Group Games

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

Wavelength (Asmodee)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Slapzi (Tenzi)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

Decrypto (IELLO)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)


Items By Puzzly People

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

PN Product Review: Wonderland Fluxx

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[Note: I received a free copy of this game in exchange for a fair, unbiased review. Due diligence, full disclosure, and all that.]

Today, we’re reviewing the latest release from the fiendishly clever folks at Looney Labs: Wonderland Fluxx.

There’s only one way to properly start this review, so come down the rabbit hole with us, won’t you?

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For the uninitiated, Fluxx is a straightforward card game. You collect keeper cards and put them into play. Different combinations of keeper cards complete different goals, and each player has the chance to put different keeper cards and goal cards into play in order to win. So you might find yourself working toward completing the goal at hand when suddenly somebody plays a new goal, and the object of the game changes.

Along the way, players affect how the game is played by utilizing action cards and new rule cards which alter what players can and can’t do. Suddenly, you’ll have to trade your hand with another player, or start drawing three cards each turn instead of one.

The game can turn against you or spin in your favor in an instant; that’s both the challenge and the fun of playing Fluxx.

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I’ve reviewed a number of games from the folks at Looney Labs, particularly when it comes to new editions of Fluxx. In fact, I have a set series of steps I take when looking over and playtesting a new deck.

First, I spread out all of the cards in front of me so I can admire the artwork. Every edition of Fluxx has its own style — from the photorealism of Astronomy Fluxx to the almost Cubist style of some of the Star Trek Fluxx games — and I like to take in the aesthetic choices all at once.

Next, I pore over the keeper and goal cards. These are the heart of every game, and exploring which aspects of a given world — science, pop culture, nature, etc. — are highlighted helps immerse me in that world, which is part of the fun of playing a themed Fluxx game.

Finally, I delve into the action and new rule cards. This allows me to see how the new setting/theme is incorporated into the gameplay itself. Whether it’s the clever renaming of a rule card (one I’ve seen before) to reflect the new setting, or a brand new rule that mentions something intrinsically memorable about the setting, this whets my appetite for actual playthroughs to test the game’s refreshed mechanics.

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Reviewing Wonderland Fluxx made these steps a delightful experience. The art is, as you might expect, wonderful, full of whimsy and charm, often incorporating Sir John Tenniel’s actual illustrations.

The hand-sketched style immediately gives the game the classic feel of the stories, putting players in the mindset of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.

Some of the keeper cards also grant additional actions to the players who use them — like taking additional cards, resolving creeper cards that would prevent you from winning the game, canceling surprise cards played by other players, etc. — that make them more desirable and handy than Keepers in other editions of the game.

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They do so in thematically appropriate ways for the stories as well, like the “Drink Me” potion affecting gameplay or the vorpal sword dispatching the Jabberwocky creeper card. (Though I was surprised the Cheshire Cat keeper didn’t make something disappear.)

This pattern continues with the action and new rule cards as well, right down to how the rules are worded. Some cards evoke the demanding mercurial style of the Queen, while others are more playfully worded. As you might expect from a card introducing a rhyming rule, the text of the card is written in verse.

And naturally there’s a card that makes everyone get up from their seats and move around the table.

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[Hey, we’ve taken a crack at this riddle once or twice ourselves.]

These little touches are what keeps each new edition of Fluxx fresh and interesting. It’s not just a new deck with a new theme, it’s a genuinely different play experience from that offered by a different Fluxx deck.

Alice in Wonderland has been revisited and reworked in pop culture many times — from American McGee’s Alice and Jeff Noon’s Automated Alice to Frank Beddor’s Looking Glass Wars series and Batman’s Mad Hatter — but by choosing to stick closely to the original, Wonderland Fluxx already feels timeless, a familiar denizen of the family game closet, plucked off the shelf over and over again to enjoy.

Kid-friendly enough to welcome players of all ages, yet tricky enough to keep regular playthroughs fun and engaging, Wonderland Fluxx is a terrific gateway game, sure to open a door to a whole new world of tabletop play and surprises.

[Wonderland Fluxx is now available from Looney Labs and certain retailers.]


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PN Product Review: Zendo Expansion #2

[Note: I received a free copy of this game in exchange for a fair, unbiased review. Due diligence, full disclosure, and all that.]

Even the best designed games need a little sprucing up from time to time. This is especially true of logic/deduction games, where after a while, it can feel like you’ve seen every trick either the game or the other players can offer.

And there are very few game companies that consistently deliver great expansions. It’s a brutal tightrope to walk; you have to add to the established game in an interesting or fresh way, but without breaking the rules, introducing problems that players won’t know how to handle mechanically, or betraying in some manner the spirit of the original game.

For the team at Looney Labs, though, creating an expansion pack seems like another day at the office. We’ve reviewed expansion packs in the past for Fluxx (Fluxx Dice), Just Desserts (Just Coffee/Better with Bacon), and Star Trek Fluxx (the Bridge Expansion), and each one revitalizes the game and adds delightful new wrinkles without hampering any of the qualities that made the original game such a treat.

Today, we’re looking at a new expansion pack for one of the company’s most immersive and challenging puzzle games: Zendo.

In Zendo, the players pull pieces from a communal pile in order to build different structures, using pyramids, wedges, and blocks. One player, the moderator, chooses a secret rule for the players to uncover, and builds two structures. One of these structures follows the secret rule, and one does not, and both are marked as such.

Secret rules can be as simple as “must contain all three shapes” or “must contain exactly four pieces.” They can be as complex as “must contain more blue pieces than blocks” or “must contain at least one yellow piece pointing at a blue piece.” Some rules involve how pieces touch, or how they’re stacked, while others demand no touching or stacking whatsoever. The field is wide open at the start of the game.

Players then try to deduce the secret rule by building structures themselves, arranging pieces from the communal pile into various patterns and asking the moderator for more information.

So, how does Zendo Expansion #2 affect the original?

[Here are two sculptures: one that follows the secret rule and one that doesn’t. Can you figure out the secret rule? Is it about shapes? Colors? Placement? More?]

Zendo Expansion #2 is a ten-card deck of new secret rule cards that allow the moderator to create fresh challenges for the other players to unravel. The structures and arrangements may look the same, but players must reexamine what they think they know and observe to figure out the new secret rules.

Because, you see, the cards offer more than just the new rules. They demand greater cleverness from the moderator, in order to create designs that are fair for the players — not immediately obvious, but not impossible to discern either. It’s a difficult task for moderators.

And the challenge is even greater for players. After all, it’s not just about the shapes and how they interact, but all aspects of what the players see. Zendo Expansion #1 had cards where the rule involved the shape of the structure’s shadow. You could look at the pieces, the colors, how they’re placed, where they’re placed, how close, how far away, how many of each, and the shape of the shadow could NEVER occur to you.

[Here’s another sculpture that removes blue pieces as a possible
element in the secret rule. Have you figured it out yet?]

With one medium rule card and nine difficult rule cards (as opposed to the easy-to-difficult range of the first expansion pack), the game will only become more surprising and thoughtful from here.

These cards include rules about relationships between pieces, conditional rules (example: something that’s true of the sculpture if something else happens theoretically), and even rules regarding something that ISN’T happening in a particular sculpture. Players will have to wrack their brains and truly example both sculptures from every angle to puzzle out these new rules.

There are even decoy tags on certain cards, to make players think the card has more variables than there actually are! Diabolical!

Although I’m a moderator far more frequently than a player, I’m excited to try out both sides of these new rule cards. After all, with the base set and two expansions’ worth of cards, there’s no way I can remember ALL of the possible combinations available. I’m as likely to be outwitted and outpuzzled as the next player.

[One more chance. Here’s a much simplified version that DOESN’T
adhere to the secret rule. What can we learn from this one?]

And that’s the charm of Zendo. From a small gathering of pieces and rules, you can make practically any scenario you wish. Will the players figure it out first try, or will the moderator’s ability to reinvent their sculptures as needed be put to the ultimate test?

Zendo is at once the most collaborative and one of the most curiously devious puzzle-games in the Looney Labs catalog, and with this expansion pack, only the truly inventive and observant will thrive. What a treat.

[Zendo and the new Zendo Expansion #2 are available from Looney Labs, and the expansion pack is only $5!]


Oh, and if you figure out our secret rule for the post, we’ll send you a Zendo-themed prize!


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Looking Forward to the Year in Puzzles and Games!

We spent this week looking back on the year that was 2020, celebrating the resilience, innovation, creativity, and kindness that makes the puzzle community so unique and remarkable.

But today, on the first day of 2021, it feels appropriate to turn our gazes forward instead of back, looking ahead for what’s to come.

And for our fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers, there are already exciting developments awaiting us all in the new year.


If you didn’t participate in either the Boswords crossword tournament or the Boswords 2020 Fall Themeless League last year, you might not have heard about this yet, but the intrepid puzzlers from Boswords are already launching their next solve-from-home puzzly endeavor…

The Winter Wondersolve.

On Sunday, January 31st, participants will have four puzzles awaiting them — three themed crosswords and a themeless — designed by top-notch constructors.

Registration opens tomorrow, so be sure to visit Boswords.org for all the details!

(And that’s not all! They’ve also announced a Spring Themeless League, a date for their traditional summer tournament, and the return of the Fall Themeless League later in the year! That’s loads of puzzly goodness to look forward to!)


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Speaking of crosswords and tournaments…

After being forced to postpone and then cancel the 2020 edition of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament outright, Will Shortz and the tournament’s organizers announced the following a few days ago:

In most years, registration for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament opens on January 1. This year, though, we’re going to wait to see how the fight against the pandemic goes before deciding how to proceed.

Our hope is that, with widespread vaccinations, enough people will feel safe in attending an in-person crossword event in April to have it be worthwhile. We won’t know about that for some time.

Whatever happens, in-person or not, we’re planning at least a major online crossword event in April. We hope you’ll take part in some form.

Whether this means an in-person event — which seems optimistic — or a sequel to last year’s Crossword Tournament From Your Couch, we cannot say. But we will certainly keep you posted on any and all updates.


But it’s not just the world of puzzles that will be celebrating and finding new ways to bring fans together in 2021. The folks at Looney Labs will be marking their twenty-fifth year on the calendar in 2021. Yes, twenty-five years of Looney Labs and twenty-five years of Fluxx!

To mark the occasion, Looney Labs has a plethora of events and promotions planned throughout the year. There is a limited run of special anniversary cards and copies of a miniature version of Fluxx available with web store purchases, plus new game releases planned and much more!

The team at Looney Labs is also welcoming fans like never before with a series of one-of-a-kind Zoom experiences for game enthusiasts. You can purchase tickets for these Silver Jubilee events to play games virtually with the game designers and crew from Looney Labs! There are tutorials, full game sessions, previews of new games, and more planned for each one!

Tickets for the first Silver Jubilee event go on sale at their online store at noon Eastern on Tuesday, January 5th, and there will be more throughout the year!


The year is barely a day old and there’s already so much to look forward to!

We have also heard that some of our favorite constructors will be releasing new puzzle books in the coming weeks and months.

When you factor in all of the puzzles we can expect in major and independent outlets throughout the year — not to mention the puzzles we’ll be producing for our own apps like Daily POP Crosswords and Daily POP Word Search — 2021 is certainly looking bright for solvers of all ages!

And we look forward to sharing in all of that puzzle-fueled fun with you, PuzzleNationers. Happy puzzling!


Do you know of any puzzle or game events coming in 2021 that we missed? Let us know in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

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