2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Board Games

Pickles to Penguins is the quick-thinking picture-linking party game!  Don't fret if the party gets frantic - the guests are probably just having a blast playing Pickles to Penguins. Get rid of your cards the quickest by figuring out what your cards and the cards in play have in common. Do they share a colour? Are they both things you find in a salad or bring to a party? Exercise your lateral thinking abilities, but don’t be too hasty or you may have to pick up penalty cards for stretching a connection too far. Take a deep breath and let the chaos begin! Hundreds of pictures, but how many can you link together! Pickles to Penguins is the quick-thinking picture-linking party game!  Don't fret if the party gets frantic - the guests are probably just having a blast playing Pickles to Penguins - the frantic party game where you link the pictures to win. Click for sample connections. Get rid of your cards the quickest by figuring out what your cards and the cards in play have in common. Do they share a colour? Are they both things you find in a salad or bring to a party? Exercise your lateral thinking abilities, but don’t be too hasty or you may have to pick up penalty cards for stretching a connection too far. Take a deep breath and let the chaos begin! Hundreds of pictures, but how many can you link together! - See more at: http://www.outsetmedia.com/games/pickles-to-penguins/party-game#sthash.MP7LMCAg.dpuf Pickles to Penguins is the quick-thinking picture-linking party game!  Don't fret if the party gets frantic - the guests are probably just having a blast playing Pickles to Penguins - the frantic party game where you link the pictures to win. Click for sample connections. Get rid of your cards the quickest by figuring out what your cards and the cards in play have in common. Do they share a colour? Are they both things you find in a salad or bring to a party? Exercise your lateral thinking abilities, but don’t be too hasty or you may have to pick up penalty cards for stretching a connection too far. Take a deep breath and let the chaos begin! Hundreds of pictures, but how many can you link together! - See more at: http://www.outsetmedia.com/games/pickles-to-penguins/party-game#sthash.MP7LMCAg.dpuf Buy it: Pickles to Penguins  retails for around $25 Our Review

Star Wars Hands Down Game  is a fun kids game! Keep your wits about you and your eye on the cards to win at this fast-paced Star Wars version of the Hands Down card game! All you have to do is watch for matches on the spinner to the Star Wars character cards in your hand.  If the spinner lands on C-3PO and you have that card, slam it down on the Target token as fast as you can! Get rid of all your cards first, and you’re the ruler of the galaxy – and the winner! Buy it: Star Wars Hands Down game retails for around $10.

Scrabble Junior is another one of the games in the Hasbro Junior Board Games Series. What a great way for kids to play America’s favorite word game! Kid-sized words and colorful pictures make it fun to match letter tiles to words on the grid. Players move their funny tokens up the score track as they score points. When all of the tiles have been placed on the board, the player with the most points wins! Don't worry, your little ones won't outgrow this game; just turn the board over for the advanced level, where they come up with their own words. It's going to be letter-matching fun for everyone with Scrabble Junior.   Buy it: Scrabble Junior retails for around $15.

Despicable Me Monopoly What makes the classic fast-trading property game even better? Minions, of course! Gru is back with a villainous plan to take over the game of Monopoly, and it’s up to you to collect as many Banana Bucks as you can! The game includes exclusive Minions you can add to your collection – there are 50 to collect! (Other Minions sold separately with other Despicable Me games.) Spin the wheel with Nom Nom Tom and buy your favorite Despicable Me properties with your Banana Bucks. If you’re the one with the most Banana Bucks at the end, you’re Gru’s favorite Minion – and you win! Buy it: Despicable Me Monopoly retails for around $20

Despicable Me Game of Life - Play the game of life with despicable me minions! Just choose your minion, choose a job, and let the adventure begin. You'll sing at gru's wedding, steal the moon, and other wacky escapades - but watch out for the evil minions as you try to bag 5 bunches of bananas! The mini-spinner might send you in an unexpected direction, but you can always get sneaky and slide through a tube to a new space. Will you beat the others to it. Or will they steal your loot? you'll find out when you play the despicable me version of the game of life! Buy it: Despicable Me Game of Life retails for around $20.

Tracktic - Tracktic is a thrilling game where, thanks to your puzzle pieces and your best tactics, you must create the longest colored line to win! During the game, block your adversaries paths, or flip their pieces to integrate them to your own line. But be careful because the flipped pieces are now white, which means any player can use them! Tracktic - not all who wander are lost (but look out for them, because they may try and destroy your path)! Buy it: Tracktic retails for around $35.