For the word gamer with old-school tastes and ample storage space, consider a Monogrammed Deluxe Scrabble set ($170), paired with a leather-bound Scrabble dictionary ($105) to help resolve disputes. Both items would look handsome on a hexagonal gaming table ($3,400 and up), which can be customized to include drink holders ($66) so that your recipient can sip Armagnac without missing a turn.
Jenga!
De Stijl-inspired Jenga
A game for all seasons, Jenga deserves its own section. At a back-yard barbeque, Giant Jenga ($130) adds an element of architectural drama. In a playroom, this De Stijl-inspired spinoff ($58) brings a cheerful pop of color. When hosting a boozy soirée, try the variant known as Party Jenga. Starting with a classic set ($23), invite your guests to write prompts on the rectangular wooden blocks such as “Bartender” (i.e., make someone a drink); “Truth or Dare” (pick your poison); “Pony” (perform a dance to Ginuwine’s “Pony”). When a player removes a block, she must carry out the command before placing it on top of the tower. Part of the game’s charm is that, over the years, old prompts can be crossed out and new ones written; the set that my friends and I bought in our twenties is now a treasured keepsake, a palimpsest of our Jenga-fogged youth.
Curl Up with a Good Puzzle Book
“Across the Universe”
A book of brainteasers is best unwrapped after pie, when the mood calls for lounging. The spiffy hardbound version of “Puzzle Mania!” ($34), the Times’ annual insert of word and visual puzzles, plays well in a group setting. So does Joon Pahk’s tricky “Triple Decker Trivia” ($4) which is like bar trivia crossed with the game Connections. Cinephiles and TV buffs will enjoy A24’s themed-crossword books ($58), featuring the bylines of several New Yorker puzzle-makers. Speaking of our contributors, in the nonfiction realm Natan Last’s “Across the Universe” ($23) will appeal to puzzle fans curious about the history and craft of crosswords.
Challenge Accepted
“The Master Theorem: Elite”
The expert solvers on your list—the escape-room habitués who can decode Caesar ciphers in their sleep—will appreciate a mind-boggling puzzle hunt: a set of interwoven challenges culminating in a final test of wit. Start them off with “The Master Theorem: Elite” ($30), a book of deviously difficult brainteasers. If they breeze through that, point them to the twenty-plus-part hunt that accompanies A. J. Jacobs’s book “The Puzzler” ($13). (Although the ten-thousand-dollar prize has already been claimed, the contest can still be played for the fun of it.) If that’s not enough, keep them occupied year-round with a subscription to P&A Magazine ($60), an online periodical of crafty puzzles. And, if they’ve been really nice, book them a room at the Mohonk Mountain House, the storied resort in the Catskills, for its annual Wonderful World of Words weekend (packages start at $731 per night).
Games as Objets d’Art
Limited-edition New Yorker chess set
A few birthdays ago, I received a gift that resembled a small, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle ($125); the object felt vaguely diabolical, like I’d be spirited away by a daemon if I failed to solve it. I’ve since learned that there’s a whole universe of such puzzles, at all price points. Art of Play, a modern-day curiosity shop in Brooklyn Heights, stocks them in materials including wood ($225) and metal ($15). My favorite is the stone Soma cube ($84), which somehow feels less menacing than the others, and would be at home on any carefully curated coffee table.
The MoMA Design Store is another good stop when shopping for game-loving aesthetes. The games on its shelves are as fun to look at as they are to play, from Technicolor dominoes ($30) to Eames playing cards ($18) to a jaunty backgammon set ($115). For chess aficionados, stylish gifts (like this Noguchi set, for $250, or this Bauhaus set, for $379) are everywhere. But, in my unbiased opinion, nothing beats this limited-edition New Yorker set ($120), with pieces designed by Christoph Niemann, a longtime cover artist who created the mascots for our whole suite of games.
Jigsaw Mania
Le Puzz 500-piece puzzle
The jigsaw puzzle—so named for the tool once used to cut its wooden pieces, before the shift to cardboard—has provided humanity with untold hours of pleasantly meaningless distraction. I guarantee there’s a jigsaw out there to suit anyone on your list, whether they’re mystery lovers ($21), mushroom foragers ($21), cat fanciers ($25), gearheads ($35), or Victorian-novel enthusiasts ($25). If your recipient doesn’t have any niche hobbies, you can’t go wrong with a cartoon of monsters taking Manhattan ($35), by the New Yorker contributor Edward Steed, or any of the eye-popping options from Le Puzz.
A thousand cardboard pieces can easily crowd out a festive tablescape, so, if you’re bringing a jigsaw to a holiday gathering, accessorize it with a rotating puzzle board ($60) to contain the sprawl. Once the puzzle is finished, the board can be repurposed as a serving platter. Better yet, assemble this trompe-l’oeil cookie-tin puzzle ($29), and your host won’t even need to worry about serving dessert. ♦
