Board Game Gifts by Interest: Games for Birders, Sleuths and More

The easiest board game gift matches something the person already loves. Bird watchers get Wingspan, fantasy fans its dragon cousin Wyrmspan, true crime fans MicroMacro: Crime City, travelers Ticket to Ride or Sky Team, and quilters Patchwork. Then check the player count and play time against how they actually play.

Why theme is a good way in

A new game asks for an hour of attention before it pays off. A theme the person already cares about makes that first hour easy: a birder will read every Wingspan card, and a crime fan will happily stare at a city map looking for clues. Theme also tells you something about weight. Games about history and space tend to run longer than games about trains and detectives, so a theme pick still needs a check against the box.

For nature lovers: birds, dragons and wildlife

Wingspan is the obvious gift for a bird watcher. Players attract birds to their wildlife reserves, and each bird card adds a power that chains with the others. Stonemaier Games lists 1 to 5 players and 40 to 70 minutes, and it won the Kennerspiel des Jahres in 2019.

Wyrmspan is its fantasy cousin from the same publisher. Stonemaier describes building “a cavernous sanctuary for dragons of all shapes and sizes” across three caverns. It lists 1 to 5 players and about 90 minutes, and credits Connie Vogelmann as designer with Wingspan’s designer, Elizabeth Hargrave, as developer. Give it to a Wingspan owner who wants more, or to a fantasy reader.

Cascadia suits hikers. Players connect habitat tiles of the Pacific Northwest and place animals to meet scoring goals; AEG lists 1 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and 45 minutes. Everdell builds a city of woodland critters (Tycoon Games lists 1 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, 40 to 80 minutes for the Standard Edition), and Dorfromantik: The Board Game, the 2023 Spiel des Jahres winner, is a calm cooperative game of laying countryside tiles for 1 to 6 players.

Wingspan, Wyrmspan, Cascadia and Everdell

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• WingspanBrowse →
• WyrmspanBrowse →
• ScytheBrowse →
• Terraforming MarsBrowse →
• EverdellBrowse →
• CascadiaBrowse →
• Brass: BirminghamBrowse →

For puzzle and mystery fans

MicroMacro: Crime City won Spiel des Jahres in 2021. Players search one giant black-and-white city map together to solve each case. Edition Spielwiese lists 1 to 4 players, ages 12 and up, and 15 to 45 minutes.

For a word puzzler, Codenames (Spiel des Jahres 2016) gives one-word clues that have to link several words at once: 4 to 8 players, ages 10 and up, about 15 minutes, per Czech Games Edition. For a logic puzzler, Bomb Busters, the 2025 winner, is a cooperative number-deduction game for 2 to 5 players aged 10 and up.

For travelers: trains and planes

Ticket to Ride (Spiel des Jahres 2004) sends players collecting train cards and claiming rail routes across North America. Days of Wonder lists 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up, and 30 to 60 minutes. For two people who travel together, Sky Team (Spiel des Jahres 2024) puts them in the cockpit as pilot and co-pilot, landing a plane by placing dice without talking.

For history, science and current affairs

Brass: Birmingham is an economic game set in the Industrial Revolution, building canals, rail and industries; Roxley lists 2 to 4 players, ages 14 and up, and 60 to 120 minutes. Terraforming Mars has corporations making Mars habitable (FryxGames: 1 to 5 players, ages 12 and up, 90 to 120 minutes). Scythe is set in an alternate-history 1920s Europe (Stonemaier: 1 to 5 players, about 115 minutes). For someone who follows climate news, Daybreak, the 2024 Kennerspiel winner, has players cooperating to cut global CO2 emissions.

These are the longest games on this page. Our strategy board games guide explains how to pick one that is a step up rather than a leap.

For quilters and crafters

Patchwork is a two-player game of fitting fabric patches onto a quilt board, paying with buttons and time. Lookout Games lists 2 players, ages 8 and up, and about 30 minutes, and it was on the Spiel des Jahres recommendation list in 2015. It is in our two-player board games guide too.

Award winners with a theme to love

Shop Spiel des Jahres winners→

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• Sky TeamBrowse →
• CascadiaBrowse →
• DorfromantikBrowse →
• MicroMacroBrowse →
• Just OneBrowse →

Before you buy

Editions differ: the jury lists Wingspan’s German edition at 2 to 5 players and about 75 minutes, so check the box against the figures here. Buy new and sealed, and see how to spot a counterfeit board game before paying for a bargain on a popular title. More ideas by who is playing are on our board game gifts hub, and the gift finder filters by players, age and play time.