Holiday Gift Giving Guide: What We Asked Santa For

Curious what the staff at 401 Games themselves want to see under the Christmas tree?

Aaron, Head of Yu-Gi-Oh

Wants: DC Comics Deck-Building Game

"I love comics, and card games and I don't have to worry about collecting a ton of cards 

like Yu-Gi-Oh."

Dylan, Board Games Manager and Head of Online Orders

Wants: Shakespeare

"A great mix of worker activation and tableau building.

 With multiple paths to victory and great theme, this game is worthy of the name!" 

Lucas, Yu-Gi-Oh Specialist

Wants: Kittens in a Blender

"I like to destroy cute things"

Maya, Cashier

Wants: Star Trek Catan

"I'm a giant Trekkie. Resistance to this game is futile"

Vicky, Social Media Coordinator and Cashier

Wants: Marco Polo

"I'm all about the theme, and I love mid weight Euro games!"

Justin, Magic Specialist

Wants: Commander 2011 deck: Political Puppet

"These are so hard to find now, and this is the last one!" 

Zoran, General Manager and RPG Expert

Wants: Barba Rossa

"It had me at 'cute German military girls rush against Moscow to defeat the 

evil magician Stalin'"

Bryan, Pokemon Specialist

Wants: Dead of Winter

"This game is the bomb. Especially when you're the betrayer."

Cody, Board Games Specialist

Wants: Cthulhu Wars

"Well if Santa is getting me whatever I want, I'm going to shoot 

big and go for Cthulhu Wars!"

Dani, Cashier and Graphic Designer

Wants: Dungeon Petz

"It's pretty much Tamagotchi the board game! You can clean up their poop!"

Jeff "Anisman", Magic Specialist

Wants: Twilight Struggle

"I'm a history buff and love deeply strategic war games so this is a definite must for my collection. I've had a 14 win streak with this game when I played with my friend but I don't own it!"

From the staff at 401 Games we wish you all an amazing holiday season! Stay warm, stay safe, and happy gaming!

Holiday Gift Giving Guide: Stocking Stuffers and More

'Tis the season of giving! Whether it goes in an advent calendar, gets tucked into a stocking, or stuffed into a pinata we've scoured the store for little creative, fun, and nerdy goodies.

Mystery Mini / Blind Boxes

A lot of the fun is in not knowing what you're going to pull from the tiny box. Will it be your favourite character? A rare figure? Mystery Minis come in a large range of franchises so it's easy to match someone up with a series they like (i.e. Fallout or My Little Pony).

SET Mini Tin Games

These mini tins of games from the SET family are so convenient for fun on the go. Easy to learn card games revolving around pattern recognition, matching symbols, and making sets.

Dice Sets

Starting at $4.95, dice are essential accessories for a variety of games. If they play trading card games, or rpgs, they'll need dice. Tons of fun colours and designs to suit various tastes and personalities.

Funko Pop Minis and Keychains

The collectible Funko Pop craze has hit us full force. Funko now produces mini keychain versions of certain sets and they'll be easier to conceal in an advent calendar then a full sized Pop figure.

Pack o Games Series

The Pack o Games Series by Chris Handy is literally the size of a pack of gum. They're clever tabletop games, each with unique theme and gameplay, that'll delight and challenge family and friends.

Holiday Gift Giving Guide: Gifts under $20 for Secret Santa

So your social circle, or co-workers have added you to a gift exchange network where you're either tasked with finding a gift for someone or have to bring a random gift to a party for a White Elephant type exchange. Most budgets tend to be under $20 so we've compiled a nifty list to give you some ideas!

We've included a range of games for families, entry games, safe bets when you really have no clue about the person you're buying for, and hopefully ones that tabletop aficionado doesn't already own yet.

Entry Games

These titles are great for bringing people into tabletop gaming. Casual players and veterans alike can have a good time and you may even start someone down the rabbit hole of board game collecting. Most of these are quick party type games as those are the most versatile in social situations.

Coup ($12.95): This game is almost enjoying mainstream status now especially among university/college students. Coup is easy to pick up once everyone familiarizes themselves with the 5 roles and they're quickly on their way to bluffing and backstabbing to be the last person standing. Games are quick and it's portability makes it convenient to play anywhere.

Saboteur ($15.80): A path building game with secret betrayers in the group who don't want to help the team dig tunnels to reach the treasure. Players work together as dwarves mining for gold, but they don't know if the next person after them will continue the route or sabotage things at the last minute.

Spot it! ($10.95): Find the matching item on each card before your opponent does. Very simplistic game that's quick to play with any age group to pass some time and exercise your perception skills.

Other games also worth checking out: Werewolves of Miller's Hollow ($10.95), Sushi Go! ($10.95), The Resistance ($15.95), Anomia ($14.95), and Crabs Adjust Humidity ($16.95).

Family Games

Family games are always a safe purchase as there's bound to be someone in your gift exchange group who either has kids, younger siblings & relatives, or interacts with kids on a regular basis (teacher, babysitter, etc.). Even if they steer clear of children, who says you can't enjoy some simplistic fun?

Monopoly Deal ($5.95): Everyone knows Monopoly and it's a staple for a lot of households. Monopoly Deal is a conveniently packaged quick card version of the game that can be played anywhere. At $5.95 you can even afford to pair it with another card version of a classic board game like Scrabble or Uno to beef up your gift.

Uno ($9.95): Uno is another game that knows no introduction and is ubiquitous with family game nights after dinner, or a past-time at recess. Even if someone already owns a copy, Uno is one of those games where it's fine to have multiples to keep in the car, at work, or in a school locker.

Letters to Santa ($9.95): This is a Christmas edition of the popular game Love Letter where players attempt to keep the highest valued card in their hand and survive all the other card effects other players may throw at them. Santa Claus replaces the "Princess" in the tempest version of Love Letter, and a line-up of other classic holiday characters like snowmen, reindeer, and gingerbread men make their appearance. The concept of trying to get a letter to Santa may be easier for kids to grasp than sending love letters to a princess and dodging royal politics.

GhostBlitz ($13.95): Get that rush of adrenaline from trying to grab the correct items first before everyone else. Ghostblitz is a very easy game to teach and play with kids. It's even educational for kids who are learning deductive reasoning, and piecing together abstract clues to identify the right object. Not playing with kids? It's still fun with a group of adults especially after a few rounds of eggnog ;).

Other family games to consider: My First Bohnanza ($15.95), Word on the Street Junior ($14.95), Connect 4 ($18.95), Taboo ($19.95), Mastermind ($18.95).

Games for the Board Game Geeks

If your social circle consists mostly of tabletop enthusiasts, the biggest concern is often buying something that someone already owns. While we can't help you if your friends are the type who's home collection rivals our entire store inventory, we've put together a list of noteworthy new releases (in the hopes they just haven't gotten around to getting it themselves yet) and some less popular picks that the 401 Games staff think are worth some attention. Don't forget! We do offer gift receipts.

Epic Card Game ($13.95): The depth of a Trading Card Game all in one pocket sized box. Epic Card Game is designed by the creative minds behind Star Realms and was successfully backed on Kickstarter this year. If your secret santa enjoys Magic: The Gathering and other deck-building games then Epic is right up their alley. Epic can be played in a variety of formats to suit 2-4 players, and it's full of eye-catching fantasy art.

Arboretum ($14.95): Players compete for points by building the most beautiful garden paths in their Arboretum for their visitors. This game is deeply complex and strategic, and a rewarding experience for the best tacticians. Pair that with elegant artwork, and this card game is a definitely winner.

Tides of Time ($11.95): For people who enjoy quick, tense, and clever games, then Tides of Time is another card drafting game on this list that's worth a mention. It's a 2-player game and perfect for people who are on the eternal search for meaty 2-player board games. Each game consists of three rounds in which players draft cards from their hands to build their kingdom. Each card is one of five suits and also has a scoring objective. Each round, the players each select one card to leave in their kingdom as a "relic of the past" to help them in later rounds. The player with the the most prosperous kingdom wins. Often referred to as a "filler" game, Tides of Time takes minimal set-up, is quick to play, and offers plenty of replayability.

Bohnanza ($16.95): Perhaps a bit more on the entry-level side than the other games mentioned in this section, Bohnanza is still a fun strategic card game with plenty of player interaction to introduce to someone who's growing their collection. As card games go, this one is quite revolutionary. Perhaps its oddest feature is that you cannot rearrange your hand, as you need to play the cards in the order that you draw them. The cards are colorful depictions of beans in various descriptive poses, and the object is to make coins by planting fields (sets) of these beans and then harvesting them. To help players match their cards up, the game features extensive trading and deal making.

The Grizzled ($18.95): A newly released cooperative game themed around survival as a military unit in World War 1. Players attempt to deplete the draw deck and their hands before time runs out by playing cards each round to complete the mission. If too many threats are played (mortar shells, bad weather conditions) then a mission fails and players won't make progress that round. The catch with this co-op game is that players can not share what is in their hand. The Grizzled was one of the most anticipated games to come out of Gen Con 2015.

Codenames ($19.95): One of the best party games to be released this year at Gen Con 2015, in Codenames two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin.

Sylvion ($16.95): The mad Fire Elemental lord is out to burn down the dream forest! Sylvion is an adaptable tower defense with drafting, amazing art, and a lovely theme. It includes an introductory and advanced mode as well as 2 expansions to keep the game fresh and challenging.

Safe Bets

If all else fails and you have absolutely no idea what to buy, something generic like classic games are never ill received. Think travel sized chess, checkers, backgammon, cribbage, playing cards, poker sets, etc.

Deluxe Clay Poker Chips ($14.95): Hefty and high quality chips to make those "all ins" feel extra satisfying.

Bicycle Cards ($3.54): Standard deck of 52 playing cards.

You can always give the gift of choice and pick up a 401 Games Gift Card.

Hidden Gems: Compounded

By: Victoria & Jordan

Live the excitement of chemistry lab mayhem in our latest hidden gem pick: Compounded designed by Darrell Louder. Players compete to complete the most chemical compounds with the elements available to them. If it sounds dry or too similar to the chemistry homework you had to do in high school, it's not! Actually it's a fun way to get better at navigating around the periodic table.

Price: $28.95 at 401games.ca
Number of players: 2-5 players
Demographic: Ages 12+

Gameplay wise, Compounded strikes a wonderful balance between strategic resource management, luck, pseudo cooperation (you can trade elements or favors with other players but everyone is still in it for themselves), and competition while staying true to the science lab theme.

There are 4 phases to the game: 

1. Discovery Phase: Players obtain random elements from the draw bag to add to their workbench inventory
2. Study Phase: Players can place their claim tokens on any revealed compounds to declare their intent to complete
3. Research Phase: Players place their elements onto the compound cards to complete them
4. Lab Phase: Players tally up their current score from any compounds they complete and deal with lab fires

Upon completion, compounds will award players with a variation of atomic points, and/or skill level-ups to provide them with an advantage (for example increasing the limit of how many elements you can draw). Strategically, a player may choose to only pursue compounds that will level-up a particular skill tree, or choose compounds that are worth the most points.

Compounds are removed from the study area once they are completed and new ones are drawn to replace them. Lab fire cards are shuffled into this deck as well and if drawn they will cause flame tokens to be placed on all compounds currently in play. If a compound's fire threshold is reached it explodes and any elements that were placed on it are displaced to neighboring compounds.

The last round of the game is triggered when a player reached 50 atomic points or completes 3 out of 4 skill tracks. If there are no cards left to replenish the compounds then the game ends immediately. At the end of the game, the player with the most atomic points wins.

Social interaction in this game revolves around players trading elements with one another or promising to return favors. There's no rule stating that chemists must stay true to their word so be wary of playing with friends who like to cause chaos!

The Compounded: Geiger full size expansion was just released at Gen Con 2015, and it adds a more cooperative flavor to the game in the form of radioactive elements and compounds. It's in the group's collective interest to manage the radioactivity threat levels. Definitely a recommended addition to add more dynamism to Compounded.

Interested in this game? It's available to play in our board game rentals lounge, or you can purchase it in-store/online.

Board Games to Get the Party Started (Part 1)

By: Victoria

Bring out the punch bowls, dips, and grilled delicacies! It's summertime and to complement social gatherings of all shapes and sizes, we've rounded up our 20 favourite tabletop games for parties. Since 20 is a lot to digest at once, we will cover half the list today.

To us, party games must work for large groups of people (4 and up), be easy to learn, and above all else, FUN! Bonus points if they can act as an ice-breaker to get people chatting with each other.

The shortlist in no particular order:

1. Telestrations
2. The Resistance / Avalon
3. Epic Spell Wars
4. Crabs Adjust Humidity
5. King of New York
6. Bang!
7. Ca$h n' Guns
8. Camel Up!
9. Spyfall
10. One Night Ultimate Werewolf
    
    To be covered in Part 2:
11. Tsuro
12. Samurai Spirit
13. Skull
14. Red Dragon Inn
15. Jamaica
16. Coup
17. Dixit
18. Anomia
19. Coconuts
20. Geek Out

Read on for more information on each game

Telestrations

Price: $26.95 at 401games.ca or get the 12 Player Party Pack for $3

Number of Players: 4-8 people (up to 12 if playing the Party Pack version)
Demographic: Ages 10+

If Pictionary and Broken Telephone had a baby, it would be Telestrations. Need something to break the ice and get the ball of fun rolling? This game does just that. It's easy to teach, and new players will pick it up in no time. While artistic talent can help, it certainly is not necessary for enjoying the game.

Players will all be assigned their own phrase/word to illustrate. When time is up, players have to pass their flip board (bonus points for a paperless game!) to the next person and that person will then write down the phrase/word they think the picture is trying to communicate. This goes on until the flip boards are return to the original artists. At the end, everyone can get a good laugh at how the drawings and concepts evolved from their original meaning.

It's better to play this non-competitively as a fun group activity which takes the pressure off of non-artistically inclined individuals, however Telestrations does include a variant for score-keeping. 

Resistance/Avalon

Price: $15.95 for both The Resistance and Avalon 

Number of Players: 5-10 people
Demographics: Ages 12+

The Resistance and The Resistance: Avalon are both very similar party games of social deduction. They can be played stand-alone or combined. Through several rounds of strategic voting and rotating mission leaders, players have to figure out who among them are the betrayers/spies. There is light strategy involved, and you'll be suspecting everyone around you in zero time.

Everyone's roles are hidden, but the spies are aware of who the other spies are. Players take turns being the mission leader and can choose who to send on a mission. All players who embark on a mission are then given the chance to secretly vote on if the mission will succeed/fail. If you are a good guy, you obviously want the mission to succeed, however spies want to foil the whole operation. The spies win if they can fail a certain amount of missions. Mission leaders have to be smart about who they trust to go on a mission. Beware! Friendships may break over this game.

Avalon differs not only in theme but also with the added roles included in the game which give it more strategic complexity over The Resistance. Whoever is Merlin will already know who the traitors are and can subtlety drop hints to help the knights figure it out for themselves (without revealing his identity for the assassin). If playing casually, it's also possible to simply ignore the special role effects for merlin/assassin and play Avalon like The Resistance.  

Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre

Price: $23.95 at 401games.ca

Number of Players: 2-6 people

Demographics: Ages 14+

You are in an epic battle to the death against other magic users like Fey Ticklebottom The Enchanter or Jung Jung The Spirit Master. Craft the best spells you can out of the cards in your hand to kill off everyone else! Dark humor paired with comical artwork have made this game a pretty big hit at 401 Games. Certain images can be on the grotesque side so we recommend playing this with youths aged 14 and up.

The game is easy to pick up but there's lots of room for strategy as well. Want to make things more hilarious? We recommend making it mandatory for players to read their spells out loud. Epic Spell Wars just released a second set this year called Rumble at Castle Tentakill. Both sets are standalone but can be combined together for more spell combo possibilities.

Crabs Adjust Humidity

Price: $16.95 at 401games.ca

Number of Players: 4 and up

Demographics: Ages 18+ (fair warning that some cards are quite vulgar and sexually themed)

Look familiar? That's because Crabs Adjust Humidity is a third party knock-off of the infamous Cards Against Humanity. It plays the exact same way and the cards can even be added to the official CAH as an expansion.

Players are dealt a hand of white answer cards and take turns reading black cards that pose a question or a "fill in the blank" statement. Players then play white cards with the most hilarious/outrageous answer possible. Forget about breaking the ice with people, with Crabs Adjust Humidity you are annihilating the ice altogether with a flamethrower. If you are easily offended or dislike potty humor you should steer clear of this game.

King of New York

Price: $36.95 at 401games.ca
Number of Players: 2-6
Demographics: Ages 8+

In King of New York players are larger than life monsters battling for domination of New York City. At it's core this is similar to its predecessor King of Tokyo where players roll to determine how many damage points, energy (currency), health regeneration, and victory points they'll get in a turn. Be the first monster to reach 20 victory points to win while eliminating your opponents!

King of New York adds another layer of strategy by including more places for monsters to occupy outside of the main city (in this case that's Upper/Lower Manhattan) and buildings/military units to destroy. Power-up cards are purchasable using accumulated energy tokens which provide the player with unique abilities and advantages.

Things get chaotic fast when people are destroying buildings left and right and that's where the fun is.

Bang!

Price: $19.95 at 401games.ca

Number if Players: 4-7 players
Demographics: Ages 10+

Ever have the desire to act like you're in the wild west, full of outlaws, renegades and altruistic sheriffs? Then Bang! has got all the western action you need as players conceal their identities (with the exception of the sheriff) as baddies or goodies in a quest to eliminate the opposition.

Players draw cards on their turn and play cards to shoot other players, heal life points, or do other special effects. Outlaws aim to kill the sheriff, the renegade aims to be the last person standing, and the sheriff/deputy need to eliminate all the bad guys.

Full of mind games, deceit and betrayal; Bang! is a great fast-paced game to introduce to casual players. We even stock themed variants of the game such as: The Walking Dead, Halo, and Heroes of the Storm.

Ca$h 'N Gun$

Price: $43.99 at 401games.ca
Number of Players: 4-8 players
Demographics: Ages 8+

Splitting loot among mobsters is hardly ever a clean cut affair. In Ca$h 'n Gun$ you threaten your friends in an attempt to get a bigger piece of the pie. Foam prop guns are included to make you feel even more like a character from The Sopranos. Are your enemies' guns actually loaded with a bullet or are they bluffing to get you to back down from the loot?

This is a fun and fast-paced bluffing game that's very simple to pick up. Players take turns being the "Boss" who gets to dictate the flow of the round and is allowed to tell one person who is pointing a gun at them to point it at someone else. Players have a chance to "chicken" out of a skirmish if there are a lot of guns pointed at them, and will receive a chicken token. Chicken tokens will deduct points at the end a game. The bold players left will then resolve the shooting round. Any guns actually loaded with bullets will wound a player. Wounded players do not get to take any of the loot that round.

Ca$h 'N Guns shines in player interaction so be sure you gather a group of fun people to play with!

Camel Up!

Price: $26.95 at 401games.ca
Number of Players: 2-8 players
Demographics: Ages 8+

Live the excitement of horse racing except with camels! Players bet on which camel will win the race around The Pyramids. If you place your bet early on in the race you have the potential for bigger winnings, but camels are unpredictable! The Pyramid dice shaker determines the movement of the camels, and sometimes camels can end up on top of each other and get carried to the finish line.

Camel Up! is a great game for all ages that doesn't require a whole ton of strategy, and the premise is easy to pick up.

Spyfall

Price: $20.95 at 401games.ca
Number of Players: 3-8 players (best with larger groups)
Demographics: Ages 12+

Another one for the hidden roles genre, Spyfall has quickly become a popular purchase to satisfy the need for a casual game at parties. Players are randomly dealt the same location card with the exception of one, who will get a "spy" card. The spy does not know where they are and must guess that in order to win. To convince others that they are not the spy, players ask questions of other places and give clues as to where their common location is. Say anything that's too specific and the you risk the spy figuring out where they are. Say anything that's too vague and everyone else may think you're the spy.

The spy can also be questioned by other players, and if caught on the spot they will have to bluff convincingly enough to fly under the radar.

After a round, players can accuse anyone of being the spy. If majority agrees, then that player flips their secret card over to reveal their role. If it was the spy, the other players win. If an innocent person is accused, then the spy wins. The spy can also take a guess at any time as to the location of that round and if they are right, they win.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Price: $20.95 at 401games.ca
Number of Players: 3-10 players (best with larger groups)
Demographics: Ages 10+

One Night Ultimate Werewolf repackages the classic Werewolf/Mafia style game and condenses all the action into a single night. Thus turning it into more of a psuedo co-operative game where players have to figure out who the werewolves are based off of the various player actions taken last night. Instead of lynching someone every round like in the classic version, players pool information and describe what they did as their role to convince others they AREN'T the werewolf.

Beware! Anyone could be lying, and groups of people could be conspiring to lie together. Players are all dealt their secret roles at the beginning of the game before going to sleep, and each role is woken up in order and takes their action. After their turn players close their eyes and don't touch their cards again. It's highly recommended that the designated narrator/game master be the only one to move/switch/reveal cards for players so other people can't tell who you are simply by your movement (everyone else has their eyes closed).

New players will quickly get the hang of the game after a few rounds. You can also download the handy app (with different narrator voices) to narrate the game and set the mood with background music.

401 Games is hiring!

We have 1 full-time opening in our Boardgames department. Bring your resume directly to John on weekday mornings before 12pm.

Boardgames Expert
• Must be friendly with an excellent work ethic & customer service skills
• Must have an expert knowledge of a diverse range of boargames
• Knowledge of TCGs like Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh is an asset but not required

Hidden Gems: Morels

By: Zoran and Victoria

There are certain games at 401 that we recommend constantly but for some reason, no one ever seems to come in looking for them. These are the ones that we think everyone should have in their collections but you probably haven't heard of it.

Play Time: 40-60 minutes

Number of players: 2 players

Demographic: Ages 10 and up 

Price: $19.95 at 401 Games

We often get couples coming in asking for 2-player game suggestions, and Morels is certainly one of the better strategic games made for pairs. Be warned! This game may make you crave the succulent flesh of mushrooms. The objective of the game is to collect mushrooms and cook them in buttery sizzling glory to earn victory points. 

Morels demands skills in hand management and memory. The selection of available cards cycles every turn as older cards go into a "decay" pile. So there's some strategy involved in terms of making sure you pick up the cards you want while consciously leaving available cards that your opponent may need next turn. There's plenty of room for other avenues to success. Will you patiently collect a set of the best mushrooms or go the fast route of cooking up less valued morsels?

A game lasts within an hour on average and doesn't require a ton of commitment in terms of set-up or reading a behemoth of a manual. So it's a great pick for people looking to fit in some quality gaming in between all of life's other obligations.

Look for Morels in the small games section at 401 Games.

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