Well, folks, November is officially here, and we all know what that means! That’s right: it’s time to start preparing the Thanksgiving dinner menu and hitting every store blasting Mariah Carey’s Christmas album to start stockpiling this year’s holiday gifts.
For those of you that have friends and family who — like myself — are self-proclaimed gaming nerds, it can be easy to feel bogged down by the sheer amount of viable gift options out there. As such, I thought it might be helpful for me to take this week and outline some relatively easy gift options for the gamer in your life this holiday season.
1. The Ultimate History of Video Games, Vol. 2
Penned by Steven L. Kent, this book takes readers through the journey of, “the billion-dollar battle to shape modern gaming.” With the video game industry of today’s world reaching a global market valued at nearly $200 billion, this book offers a quick and easy read through the advent of modern gaming from the late 1990s and into the 21st-century, covering details of the rise of modern home gaming consoles by the likes of Nintendo, Sega, and Microsoft, as well as those companies’ rush to absorb an increasingly larger portion of the global video game market over the past two decades.
Kent’s book is available for purchase online, or through local book retailers like Barnes & Noble, Target, Books-A-Million, and Walmart for the low price of $25.
2. The desktop Gelatinous Cube statue
Every player of Wizards of the Coast’s legendary Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) tabletop RPG is no stranger to the menagerie of critters, creatures, and other monsters they might encounter during any given session. One such monster is the Gelatinous Cube: an amoeba-like block of semi-sentient gelatin with an insatiable appetite that consumes all organic material in its path.
Standing at approximately 7 inches in height, width, and length, this figurine is bound to make a splash with the D&D gamer in your life. While the more “official” figure is priced at $59.99, there are other (albeit less-official) alternatives available for purchase online, including the official Gelatinous Cube Funko Pop vinyl that tends to run for an average price of $75. If you’re looking for an even cheaper alternative, then you’ll be thankful to know that you can find even more alternative figures for sale by independent crafters on sites like Etsy for a much lower price!
3. Paizo’s Starfinder Galaxy Exploration Manual
While Wizards of the Coast is synonymous with their legendary D&D tabletop RPG, the master game designers over at Paizo have crafted another tabletop RPG similar in style to D&D, but targeted more for those fans of traditional Science Fiction storytelling: Starfinder.
If you’re worried about having to learn an entirely new tabletop RPG system in order to play Starfinder, worry not—Paizo’s sci-fi RPG follows a ruleset not entirely dissimilar from those of D&D, but with far greater options for playable races, classes, and world-building in a galactic setting. Their Galaxy Exploration Manual expands each of these options even further, meaning that the gaming fan in your life can begin crafting their own unique sci-fi epic using Paizo’s unique world-building guide through Starfinder!
The Manual comes in two available versions: a hardback book for $39.99, but also a downloadable PDF file for the extremely low price of only $9.99.
4. Marvel’s official Eye of Agamotto talisman
For fans of Marvel’s long-running comic books, or even the newer Marvel Cinematic Universe, the words “Infinity Stone” can prompt any number of feelings. But what if you could have access to your very own infinity stone? Well, with the official Eye of Agamotto talisman from Hasbro, you can give the Marvel fan in your life their very own infinity stone, modeled after the one used by Marvel’s own Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, in his fight to preserve the timelines of the multiverse.
The talisman is currently available for pre-order purchase for the price of $49.99 in both the US and UK. Bear in mind that the expected delivery date for the item may still be subject to change, and as the item consists of multiple small pieces and requires AAA batteries to function, it may not be the best gift option for younger Marvel fans (ages 5 and under, that is).
5. HyperX Gaming Headsets
If the gamer in your life is a fan of regularly playing games online with others, then they’ll know the importance of communicating with their teammates (or even their livestream chat members) during online gaming. So why not gift them with a brand new headset specifically designed for their unique gaming wants and needs?
Thankfully, the gaming headsets available from HyperX provide options for headsets to use with Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation, as well as gaming PCs. Their headsets also come with options for both wireless and wired, with prices for the latter averaging around $40-50 and wireless headsets averaging around $70 each. Each headset comes with a built-in microphone, as well, to maximize the gaming experience for each user.
If a new headset isn’t the top gift request for your gamer, HyperX also offers gift options for earbuds, keyboards, computer mice and mousepads, and even stand-alone microphones, so you’re bound to find a new electronic gift for the gamer in your life this holiday season!