If you are wondering what to give as a present these days, perhaps you shouldn’t be that desperate yet.
Maybe a nice table game or a puzzle is exactly what you need.
While table games may sound boring, in fact, they are not. Gathering friends at the same table for a glass of wine and a nice little game can be fun, especially if the game is beautifully made.
You can find many games with elements made of high-quality wood so they look stylish, are pleasant to handle, and will serve you well for decades.
Now, regardless of whether you are looking for a game for yourself to have fun on quiet Saturday evenings, or you want to buy one for a friend or a family, choose wisely. Besides being nicely made of quality materials, the game should also be playable, let’s put it that way. Unless you know exactly what the person wants, don’t go for those innovative games with crazy rules right away. Something classic can be an excellent choice.
In this post, we look at some of the most popular table games and puzzles that have been good enough for humanity to enjoy for decades, or even centuries. You definitely won’t fail with any of these.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Everyone loves jigsaw puzzles (of course, unless they have low vision). There are so many different jigsaw puzzles available that you can buy one every weekend and you are unlikely to run out of options in the next 20 years.
We recommend going for some high-quality paper, because the majority of those puzzles are made of paper. However, there are also smaller wooden puzzles and these can be more original and brain-teasing to play with.
While paper jigsaw puzzles have an image that you have to make by collecting the pieces together, wooden puzzles are more complicated. They usually do not have colors on the images so it is harder to find the piece you need. Some wooden puzzles have no image at all and the only cues that you have is the shape of the pieces.
A wooden jigsaw puzzle can be a nice addition to the collection when one already has many of the paper-made ones.
Backgammon
This is one of those classic table games that has already stood the test of time. Backgammon is a two-player game where each player has 15 pieces that move between 24 triangles according to the roll of two dice. The objective is to be the first to bear off all of the player’s own pieces from the board.
Obviously, you are likely to get a wooden backgammon so choose wisely and get yourself a beautifully made game.
Interestingly enough, backgammon is one of the games that is often played for money and you can make bets on it as well. Players can wager on the outcome of individual games or even entire matches if they agree to do so before they start playing. There are even backgammon tournaments that have prizes for the winners.
Now, if you are into gaming, probably the best $5 deposit casino at CasinosHunter.com will look like a more viable option for you than making bets on backgammon. However, it can be nice to try making some friendly bets offline, just for a change.
Mahjong
This is an old Chinese game that has proved its efficiency when you want to dive into some exciting gaming (and probably test your patience as well). This tile-based game is commonly played by four players and the rules are rather tricky. You can get a plastic one but obviously, a wooden mahjong will be a beautiful addition to your table game collection.
Now, the game involves skill, strategy, and calculation, as well as a degree of chance. You will need some time to get used to the rules and the concept of playing. The hardest part is probably to make other players also learn the rules, so you should be either already experienced in the game, or very passionate about learning it.
Mahjong is another game that allows making bets on it. Well, of course, you can bet on anything, literally, if you want to, but mahjong has been a form of gambling back when it was created.Complicated rules give more space for manipulations and also cheating, so regardless of whether you bet on it or not, it is likely to be fun to play.
Dominoes
No, dominoes are not boring. Try to gather several friends at one table, make them play dominoes, and see what happens after a round or two. This tile-based game is played with rectangular "domino" tiles. Each tile is divided into two square ends, each containing a number of spots, or "pips", ranging from 0 to 6. There are different game variations on how exactly you use the tiles, so you can try more than one option. The obvious point is that beautiful wooden dominoes will look very stylish, they are pleasant to handle, and give this nice sound when collected together.
Also, you can use dominoes for other purposes, like putting them vertically into patterns and then kicking them down. While this is not exactly a game, these days, it is a fun way to spend your time, especially if you have plenty of it. Anyway, you can try this as entertainment at a party and see how it plays out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia Poglianich
Content Strategist
Olivia Poglianich is a nomadic brand strategist and copywriter in the wooden crafts and 3D product design space who has worked with brands such as Visa, Disney and Grey Goose. Her writing has taken her all over the world, from a Serbian music festival to a Malaysian art and culture event. Olivia is a graduate of Cornell University and is often writing or reading about travel, hospitality, the start-up ecosystem or career coaching. Her latest interests are at the intersection of web3 and communal living, both on and offline.
