If you have a loved one who always wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons but just couldn’t find the group or the time to play it, then Freelancers is the game for them. This story-filled board game is essentially a choose-your-own-adventure take on the fantasy RPG experience, complete with unique dice, magic spells and murderous monsters. And while Dungeons & Dragons requires a game master, Freelancers uses a companion app that handles all of the storytelling for you – complete with voice narration and a soundtrack. There’s little to no prep needed and the rules are super simple, so this game is also ideal for beginners.

Do you know someone who is a Wordle savant, to the point where they might find the popular NYT word puzzle a little too easy? Then consider giving them Fiction this holiday season. Fiction is like Wordle, but with a deceptive twist: the clue-giver (or the Lie-braran as the game calls it) is required to lie about one of the letters in the five-letter secret word. The other players have to team up to deduce the answer in ten guesses and two ten-minute time periods.

King of Tokyo is one of the most beloved board games of all time due to how fun and welcoming it is for players of all ages. In it, you play as giant Kaiju monsters destroying the city of Tokyo while battling other monsters for supremacy. You can play as a kitty cyborg, a large Godzilla-like dinosaur, a space penguin, a King Kong-like gorilla, a dragon or an alien. Best of all, gameplay is very easy. If you know how to play Yahtzee, you know how to play King of Tokyo: roll dice in order to get special powers, to see how much damage you can inflict on others, to score points and to heal up.

Fans of horror stories will adore Betrayal at the House on the Hill, where three to six players explore a haunted mansion, uncovering its secrets and hidden rooms. At first they’ll work together, but midway through the game, someone will reveal themselves as a – gasp! – traitor! The turncoat will join the dark side while the rest of the team has to figure out how to beat their former ally. The third edition of the game comes with 50 different haunting scenarios, which is more than enough to keep your loved ones entertained for several fun and spooky evenings.

In Clank! Catacombs, you and your loved ones take on the role of treasure hunters exploring the catacombs of the skeletal dragon Umbrok Vessna. As you plumb the dungeon’s depths, you’ll uncover portals, shrines, ghosts, prisoners pleading you to free them, and, of course, treasure. You can grab the first prize you see and try to make it out alive, or you can go deeper for even more riches, but risk the wrath of the dreaded dragon.

Expeditions is a game where players compete against each other to explore a massive meteorite that crashed in a nearby river, awakening an ancient, Cthulthu-like entity. Players make their way through the terrain with large mechs, deploying workers, uncovering items and meteorite shrapnel as they attempt to solve quests, vanquish corruption and accomplish tasks. We should note that while Expeditions is a sequel to the popular game Scythe, you do not need to know anything about the latter in order to play it.

Marvel fans are sure to enjoy Marvel Dice Throne, a game where each player gets to be one of eight famous characters (Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Loki, Thor, Doctor Strange and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man). They then compete in a 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 2v2v2 or free-for-all battle where they play cards and roll dice in order to thwart the other players. In addition to attack moves, players can also activate unique abilities and upgrade their characters over time. Gameplay is relatively quick – just 20 to 40 minutes.

Named after the Moorish decorative tiles of the Alhambra palace in Spain, Azul is a game where players compete against each other to create beautiful tiled mosaics. Two to four players take turns drafting colored tiles to their player boards with the goal of scoring as many points as possible while also preventing their opponents from doing the same. Extra points will be given to those who create particular patterns or collect sets of the same color. Easy to learn but tough to master, Azul is a great gift for those who are new to gaming or just anyone who enjoys strategic puzzles.

If you know a history buff who wants a game that’s both historical and challenging, then Votes for Women could be the gift for them. As the name suggests, Votes for Women is a game that covers the American women’s suffrage movement from 1848 to 1920. The suffragist player has to get Congress to pass the proposed 19th Amendment and then to have three-fourths of the states ratify the Amendment, while the opposition wants Congress to reject it. There is also a cooperative mode where players can work together to get the Amendment passed.

Another great game for nature fans is Earth, especially if they enjoy the idea of planning out their own ecosystem. In Earth, players earn points by building out an entire symbiotic environment made out of various flora and fauna. Each person gets their very own starting island along with accompanying climate conditions and a starting ecosystem. Throughout the game, players will arrange their island, sow plants and develop terrain in order to attract animals. The more diverse the ecosystem, the better.