2022 was a fantastic year for tabletop gaming! Board games of all shapes are likely to continuing an excellent pastime, and so LRM Online is here to help you with your holiday for the gamers in your life! To narrow things down, we’ve picked a “best game” across a few different categories! Let’s jump in to our 2022 gaming geek gift guide.

Best Overall Game of 2022: Northgard: Uncharted Lands by Studio H / Hachette Boardgames

Price: ~$90.00
Players: 2 to 5
Playtime: 60 to 90 minutes
Perfect for: Groups who enjoy well-balanced strategic area control games with a blend of multiple paths of victory, including combat.

Best Family Game: Block and Key by InsideUp Games

Price: ~$50.00
Players: 1 to 4
Playtime: 20 to 40 minutes
Perfect for: Family members of all ages who like spatial puzzles with tactile elements. Also a Best Overall Game of 2022 Nominee.

Best Competitive Game: Marvel Dice Throne by The Op Games

Price: ~$50.00 (4 heroes)/~$30.00 (2 heroes)
Players: 2 to 6
Playtime: 20 to 40 minutes
Perfect for: Duos and groups of Marvel fans who enjoy direct, asymmetrical combat with a balance of luck, probability, and strategy. Also a Best Overall Game of 2022 Nominee.

Best Strategy Game: Ark Nova by Capstone Games

Price: ~$75.00
Players: 1 to 4
Playtime: 90 to 150 minutes
Perfect for: Groups who enjoy heavy resource-allocation strategy games that necessitate a balanced tactical approach. Also a Best Overall Game of 2022 Nominee.

Best Worker Placement Game & Best Theme: Starship Captains by CGE Games

Price: ~$55.00
Players: 1 to 4
Playtime: 40 to 150 minutes
Perfect for: Science fiction-oriented gamers who enjoy worker placement mechanics with light engine-building and an excellent theme. Two awards for this great game! Note: availability may be limited as of December 2022; snag it if you find it! Also a Best Overall Game of 2022 Nominee.


Best Party Game for Geeks: Movie Mind by Gigamic / Hachette Boardgames

Price: ~$35.00
Players: 2 to 9
Playtime: 20 minutes
Perfect for: Gatherings of movie geeks who love interpretative puzzles and trivia.

Best 2-Person Game: Dogfight by PSC Games

Price: Unknown
Players: 2
Playtime: 20 minutes
Perfect for: Duos who want to square off in quick skirmishes and enjoy variability in terms of play style and scenarios. Note: Availability may be limited as of December 2022.


Best Co-Op Game: Karak by KOSMOS

Price: ~$40.00
Players: 2 to 5
Playtime: 45 minutes
Perfect for: Families who are introducing players to light dungeon crawlers, and enjoy cooperative fantasy battling and escape mechanics.

Best Timed/Speed Game: Kites by Floodgate Games

Price: ~$20.00
Players: 2 to 6
Playtime: 10 minutes
Perfect for: Groups who enjoy a little bit of colorful chaos as they work together to create patterns and sets, racing against a series of timers. Great stocking stuffer!


Best Card Game: Marvel: Remix by WizKids

Price: ~$20.00
Players: 2 to 6
Playtime: 20 minutes
Perfect for: Groups who enjoy set-collection and hand-management for point optimization (being a Marvel fan is added bonus!). Reimplements Fantasy Realms.


Best Hidden Role Game: Deal with the Devil by CGE Games

Price: ~$65.00
Players: 4
Playtime: 120 minutes
Perfect for: Groups of four (no more, no less) seeking a heavy resource-management, hidden-role game with fantastically clever mechanics, multiple ways to win, and an excellent theme. Also a Best Overall Game of 2022 Nominee.

Best Puzzle Game: Paint the Roses by NorthStar Game Studio

Price: ~$40.00
Players: 2 to 5
Playtime: 60 minutes
Perfect for: Groups and families who enjoy cooperative deduction/puzzle games with self-adjusting difficulty.

Best Remake/Reimplementation: Terra Nova by Capstone Games

Price: ~$55.00
Players: 2 to 4
Playtime: 60 to 90 minutes
Perfect for: Gaming groups who enjoy Terra Mystica (area control, heavy strategic resource allocation and timing) but would prefer a simpler version and/or an entry point to the core mechanics.

What do you think of our 2022 gaming geek gift guide? Which takes your fancy? Thoughts below if you can, enjoy the Holidays.

  FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube! Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts |  Spotify |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play