What do you get the board game or tabletop RPG enthusiast who has everything? While a gift voucher is always a cruisy idea, we think that the best part of gift giving comes from the excitement of unwrapping a handpicked present. Instead of taking a roll of the dice and gifting them another board game that they hopefully don’t have, why not buy them much-needed accessories or an introductory set?
Here are the best gifts for someone who loves board games, tabletop RPGs or trading card games more than anything else.
Table of contents
The best gift ideas for board game lovers under $50
A Broken Token organiser
If you own a couple of big box board games then you know how much of a hassle it can be to store all of the cards, tokens and ephemera that comes with each game. If you know someone who has recurring nightmares related to losing certain tokens or drowning in player cards, then they’re going to love Broken Token.
Broken Token does a range of different storage cases for cards and tokens. Made from laser-cut birch, these boxes will help keep everything in one place. It’s certainly better than just shoving everything into Ziploc bags.
Here are a few generic board game organisers:
- Card Case (Standard-Size): Amazon Australia ($41.41)
- Combo Card Case (Standard-Size): Amazon Australia ($45.07)
- Token Box (Short): Amazon Australia ($16.23)
- Token Box (Long): Amazon Australia ($42.43)
Broken Token also does a series of insert organisers that are designed for specific board games, if you want to grab something related to your gift recipient’s favourite board games.
A Magic: The Gathering starter kit
It’s safe to say that if they’re obsessed with something as geeky as board games, your friend will probably love the idea of Magic The Gathering.
For the uninitiated, Magic is a strategic trading card game where players battle against one another with decks full of monsters and spells. Launching 30 years ago, the game has a fairly robust community and regularly drops new expansion sets, which are great entry points for new players. This 2023 starter kit comes with everything you need to get started, including two 60-card decks, along with a redemption card for the online version of the game, Magic Arena.
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A nice DM notebook
Being a Dungeon Master means you need to be able to remember and recall a lot of details. It’s always a bit embarrassing when the DM has to ask their players to remind them of an NPC’s name.
A notebook is a handy way to help your DM keep track of everything, so even the most minor details – like the favourite drink of that one NPC the party met for half a minute, almost 24 sessions ago – are only a page turn away. Moleskine’s notebooks are fancy, but expensive, which makes them a great gift option.
This extra-large notebook has grid-lined pages, so your DM will have plenty of space to doodle some potential dungeon ideas alongside their notes.
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A Castle Dice Tower
Do you know someone who is always losing their dice because they’re a bit too enthusiastic with their rolls? Then you should get them a dice tower to keep their rolls in check. This castle-themed dice tower is made from plywood and comes together with a quick and easy build. It can also be folded into itself for easy storage/travel.
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Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Grid
Regular table surfaces are fine for most people’s gaming, but when you’ve to move pieces around and soften the impact of dice rolling around the place, a good mat is worth the price.
This grid-lined, double-sided map includes forest terrain and dungeon terrain, so you can swap it around depending on the occasion. You can also use both wet-erase and dry-erase pens on this map, so you draw and change your dungeon layouts whenever you want.
While this set is Dungeons & Dragons branded, there’s nothing stopping the lucky gift recipient from using these with whatever tabletop RPG they want (although Cyberpunk Red might be a bit of a stretch).
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20 Sets of Polyhedral Dice
There’s no such thing as “too many dice”, so why not fill up a Christmas stocking with 140 dice? If you don’t think you need that many dice, this is a great gift to share with your Dungeons & Dragons group.
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Escape Room voucher
How many times have you wished you could transport yourself into the world of Jumanji or Tomb Raider to solve a real-life mystery or go on the adventure of a lifetime? Aside from the possibility of dying, there’s something satisfying about solving puzzles and thinking outside the box.
An escape room lets you live out those fantasies under a time crunch but minus the risk of a violent death. For any board game lover who wants to take it to the next level, grab an escape room voucher from RedBalloon and a friend (or four) if you want to put your problem-solving skills to the real test.
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Ultra Pro Soft Card Sleeves (100 Pack)
There are a lot of sleeves out there on the market for the kind of person who needs to keep their Magic The Gathering or Pokemon cards in pristine condition. Ultra Pro’s sleeves are, we think, some of the best, both in terms of fit and build quality. A few extra sleeves won’t go astray as a quick stocking stuffer, especially if you’re also giving some cards as a gift.
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The best gift ideas for board game lovers under $100
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Paradox Rift Elite Trainer Box
Paradox Rift is the latest expansion in the Scarlet & Violet series of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, so it’s ripe for gifting. This Elite Trainer Box includes nine Scarlet & Violet: Paradox Rift booster packs, a full-art foil promo card, 45 Energy cards, 65 card sleeves, six damage-counter dice, two plastic condition markers, a coin-flip die and 65 card sleeves.
It’s a great place to start if you’re buying for someone looking to start collecting Pokémon cards, or long-time fans who are trying to pull the best cards.
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Board game backpack
When one friend is the designated board game owner in the group, finding the right bag to safely transport their excellent selection of games can turn into a real-life round of Tetris.
Rather than letting them suffer carting multiple tote bags to the next host’s place, grab them this board game bag. It can hold up to six standard board game boxes that weigh up to 20kg. Plus, it’s weather-resistant with internal support straps, so their favourite games will be well-secured and safe.
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Magic The Gathering: The Lord of the Rings – Tales of Middle-Earth Scene Box
Another recent trading card release, but this time it’s from Magic The Gathering’s The Lord of the Rings series. Each set includes three boosters along with six foil borderless cards that, when combined, create the scene depicted on the box’s cover. It also includes six art cards that make up the scene without any text obscuring it, which can be nicely displayed on the provided easel.
There are four boxes available, each depicting an iconic scene from the Lord of the Rings series. These include the Witch-King taking flight, Aargon defending Helm’s Deep, the might of Galadriel or Gandalf fighting in the Plennor Fields.
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Dice Storage Box And Rolling Tray
Designed to store up to 35 polyhedral dice, this dice box also includes a padded rolling tray so you won’t have to worry about your stray rolls falling off the table. It’s a handy way to cart around your massive collection of dice, while also giving your group a better option to make their rolls.
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More Kotaku Australia gift guides
This article has been updated since its original publication.
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