It's that time of the year when board game reviewers use the holidays as an excuse to write just one more time about the games that we've loved over the past year. While tastes vary from person to person, I've assembled a list of games of different categories that, hopefully, should appeal to someone on your list. So if you're looking for something different than just giving another plastic gift card in a card, consider taking a chance on one of the following games.

Let me first be clear. This is by no means a list of my favorite games. Yes, these are some of my favorites, but first and foremost, I’ll only be suggesting games that I think will appeal to many sorts of people.

I also took strides to pick gifts that are at least somewhat easy to learn. It would be great if you could gift someone a game and then play it with them right away while teaching it to them, but everything below is picked with the realization that your recipient may have to learn the game from the rulebook alone. I really like Battlestar Galactica the Board Game, but I would never give someone the gift of a 32-page rulebook to tackle alone.

I haven’t reviewed all of these games yet, but for the ones that I have, I’ll post a link back to the article containing that review. If you want to see all of my reviews, you can always do the gift research yourself, too.

Best Family Game That You Won’t Hate: Forbidden Island

Players: 1 to 4

Forbidden Island is a cooperative game in which players are trying to collect treasure on an island that is sinking. The game is easy to pick up but is still full of tension. Each turn, part of the island will sink, so players need to figure out what to save so that they can make their way to their helipad at the end of the game

If you want something cuter: Zooloretto (2 to 5 players)

Best Game to Play Right Away: Wits and Wagers

Players: 3 to 21 (3 to 8 without teams)

This is a party trivia game where no one is expected to know any of the answers. Players are asked questions from a variety of categories like what percentage of American households have cats, how far away the moon is or when the ATM was invented. Players then bet on which answer is the closest to the answer without going over and receive points if they bet on (or gave) the right answer

If you want a zanier party game: Time’s Up

Best Sneakily Educational Gift: 10 Days in Europe

2 to 4 playersIf you’ve ever played Racko, 10 Days in Europe is pretty similar. In this game, players are given a map of Europe and tasked with making a trip itinerary that connects 10 days. In rummy-like style, players alternate adding and discarding locations to their rack of tiles until they have assembled a trip. Flight and ocean tiles allow players to hop around the map, which open up a lot of possibilities and planning. I call this educational because it allows you to learn things like where Moldova is.

Runner up: Buying games that aren’t educational.

Best Board Game to Nerdify Someone: Ticket to Ride

2 to 5 players

Ticket to Ride is known for being the perfect “gateway game” for getting people into non-traditional board games. In Ticket to Ride, players are trying to place their trains on a map of the United States so that they can connect the secret routes they were given at the start of the game. To connect two cities, players must collect the cards of the route’s colors and play them all at once. While you might be working to claim certain legs, your opponents might be trying to do the same thing.

If you want prettier colors and shapes: Finca

Gift for Kids Whose Whole List is Legos: Creationary

The best gift for someone that likes Legos is more Legos. Creationary is a game that is basically Pictionary with Legos. My wife and I have enjoyed playing this simply for the creativity it allows and the fun that comes from building with Legos.

Runner up: Just buy more Legos. They’re on the list for a reason.

Second-Best Gift for Couples: Carcassonne

Players: 2 to 4

Carcassonne is a tile laying came. Each turn, you draw a tile and connect it to the tiles that have already put down so that the tiles edges match up: cities to cities, roads to roads, and so forth. Based on what features the tile has, you can put one of your little guys on it and then attempt to complete those features to score them for points. It’s a fun game, decently easy to explain, and when you’re done you can marvel at what a cool landscape you’ve created.

Almost Best Gift 2010: Dominion

Players: 2 to 4

This a great game for couples, but it also scales well up to play with four people. In Dominion, players start with a deck of 10 cards that is mostly made up of money. They use this money to add more cards to their deck that allow them to do more things on their turn. The great thing about the game is that the cards available for sale are different each time you play, so it’s a new play experience every time. The only reason this isn’t the best gift of the year is that it’s a game better taught than read from the rules: the mechanics of the game are so different from a normal game that they may be hard to wrap your mind around at first. I would recommend you first gift it to yourself and play it with your potential recipients so that you can gauge their interest. I have had a number of friends pick up Dominion and then play it with their parents to find that their parents really enjoy the game too. And as for me, this is definitely one of my all-time favorite games.

Best Gift 2010: No Thanks

Players: 3 to 6

This is by far the best and most complex simple game that I own. In No Thanks, players start with a set number of chips worth -1 point each. A card is revealed from a stack of cards that is worth a certain number of points. Points are bad. Each player has the opportunity to either add a chip to the card or take it and all the chips on it. What makes the game interesting is that if you can connect two consecutive cards, they are only worth the value of the lowest card. The game is wonderfully simple, yet there is a lot going on. Mathy people often sit down saying “It seems like you could write an algorithm to play this game” but then realize that there are more things to consider than just the value of the chips on the card. For example: how many cards are left in the deck? What is the chance that I will be able to connect this card to another card? How many chips do I have let to work with? Will one of my opponents want this card? How many chips do they have?

I have played it with so many different people from fellow nerds to people at my work company picnic. This is the kind of game that gets people asking, “Where did you find this game?” once they have played it a few times. It’s easy to learn, is only $11 on Amazon.com, and will have people wanting to play one game after the next. There is no better way to gift fun.

For those of you looking to pick up these games, all are available on Amazon. Locally, Target carries Wits and Wagers. Get Your Game On carries Dominion, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride and Zooloretto.

Mike Hulsebus wishes you a way-too-early happy holidays. May all your gift cards be converted into board games. Comments can be left below or at mikehulsebus@gmail.com.