It’s five days before Christmas, friends: You might be cutting it a little close in the gift-giving department for the holiday festivities. But if you’re here for some ideas on last minute gifts for the indie gamers or game designers in your life… I think I got you covered.
For folks who play indie games, you can’t go wrong with looking on Itch.io to see if there’s anything you think they might enjoy playing. This can be a bit of a gamble, as its hard to know what anyone’s digital game shelf looks like, but taking a chance on this may result in a new favorite game for the recipient.
In this vein, I personally like to look for games that come with a physical or printable version: Something like this can be printed out at home or at your local office supply store in short order and given in a themed gift bag. I love these sorts of thoughtful gifts - The kind that say, “I saw this, and I thought of you!” A couple of suggestions for printable games that are wonderful additions to a game shelf:
Village Witch by Kestrel Eliot is a solo journaling game about finishing your training to become a witch; you have one year to find a village where you want to make your home. Gift this with a brand new journal, and it’s sure to be a hit!
Last Tea Shop by Spring Villager is a lovely journaling game where your character runs a tea shop on the border between life and death, where you help each person you meet with their journey to move on. I can’t think of a better gift set to pair this with than some tea and a new mug.
Princess with a Cursed Sword by Anna Anthropy is a solo journaling game that uses a tarot deck to tell the story of a princess who has been cursed with a sword at their coming-of-age ceremony… And the sword wants something that only they can give. Gift this one-page game along with a new tarot deck, and you can’t go wrong.
Do Not Read This Journal! by Cagri Akyurt is a journaling game that’s perfect for the horror fans in your life. In this game, the player comes across a cursed journal where they record their experiences with it before passing it off to the next player. This is a great one to start before gifting it to your friend with a copy of game between the pages of the journal.
If you’d rather not gift games, things like dice, decks of tarot or playing cards, or notebooks and pens are a great way to support your friend’s gaming hobby. Honestly, you can never have too many sets of dice or notebooks, as my bookshelves will attest. These suggestions go for your the game designer in your life, as well!
One way to support small businesses during this holiday season is to purchase gift cards for their shops. If you’re looking for something along the lines of gaming accessories, check out this list below for some specific suggestions and small shops to purchase gifts cards from:
There’s something about a good notebook and, in my personal opinion, the Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks are some of the best. I prefer dot-grid notebooks myself, but Vanness has a lot options in sizes, colors, and types. The paper is butter soft, and can be used with a variety of different kinds of pens and inks.
The Anima Mundi tarot deck is one of my absolute favorite decks I own, and I have purchased multiple times for friends. The artwork is incomparable, and I cannot recommend Megan Wyreweden’s work highly enough. Purchasing this deck supports a small artist, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
For dice, there are a lot of options to support small shops and solo artists who create magical things out of resin:
If you’re in Canada (or if you’re good with international shipping), check out Green Leaf Geek. Leah’s shop has a ton of options for handmade, curated, and exclusive dice sets you can’t find anywhere else, and they have options for custom dice sets, as well.
Long Dog Dice has some of the most incredible sharp edged dice I’ve ever seen, and Jenn also does custom sets! If you need a set made for your D&D character, Jenn can work with you to create the set of your dreams.
I am a recent follower of Moondjinn Dice, and let me tell you: Omar creates some of the most sparkly and unique dice that I’ve ever seen, and uses unique shapes for their pieces. I’m already looking forward to my next set.
One more suggestion, before I sign off: Be sure to check out your local game stores and comic shops! If you’re looking for a game, many of them now carry indie games along side the bigger named stuff and, if all else fails, a gift card there supports a business in your area and allows the gamer or designer in your life to pick up what works best for them.
That’s all from me on the gift giving front this year, friends! I hope your holiday season is warm and cozy, and that you spend it with all your favorite people. See you this weekend for the next update here on the blog!