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Welcome, one and all, to the 2004 edition of the Geekmas shopping guide! This is my annual attempt to be a lazy bum and get out of writing a real column by recycling the same gift ideas three years in a row! Wait... I wasn't supposed to tell you that! Moving along now...
It's getting easier and easier to find cool gifts for geeks. The gaming industry has been happily churning out tons of new products to choose from, to the point that I hope those shopping for me will read this column and pick up a few of the awesome suggestions so I don't have to buy them myself. Of course, I may also be using some of these suggestions to get my own holiday shopping done, since I do know a lot of geeks.
First, I'd like to discuss the Ideal Geek Stocking. I love stockings. As a kid, sometimes I enjoyed my stocking more than the larger, expensive presents my parents gave me (probably making my parents question why they bothered with the extra expense!). There's nothing like digging through a huge assortment of fun little goodies, finding one surprise after another. Every year I mention a few things that would be good in a geek stocking, this year they get their own special list.
- Dice. I say it every year. You can never have too many dice. Especially not 10 sided or 6 sided dice. I literally never have enough of those. Maybe it's because the cats ran off with half of my 6 sided dice. The more distinct the dice, the better. Since no one ever has enough, dice often get borrowed during the course of a game. It's a lot easier to get them back if they don't look like anyone else's dice.
- Pencils. I'm pretty certain that role players alone keep the mechanical pencil industry afloat. Pencils are always getting swiped, left at home, or lost in the couch. The people I game with seem to prefer mechanical pencils, because you don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to find a pencil sharpener just to update your hit points. Erasers that actually erase instead of smudge are a nice bonus, too.
- Snack food. You need lots of sugar to survive a night of gaming, and a little salt couldn't help either. Of course, if the geeks in your life are anything like the geeks in mine, most of the snacks will be gone before they finish opening their presents and will never make it to the game night, but it's the thought that counts, right?
- Booster packs. If someone plays a Collectible Card Game or a Miniatures Game, they always welcome more booster packs. It's kinda like giving crack to a drug addict, but since CCGs are legal, I guess I can recommend it with a clear conscience.
- Miniatures. They're small. They're cool. Sometimes they're cheap.
- Geek-themed bumper stickers, buttons, keychains, etc. These inexpensive goodies can help fill out the stocking.
- Gift certificates/cards to game stores, book stores, or wherever your geek likes to eat on game night. In larger denominations, these also make good major gifts, too.
Now that you've got that stocking stuffed, you still need some larger gifts. Year after year, there are some things that I always recommend, so let's get those out of the way.
- Munchkin and/or any of its variations and expansions. This year saw the addition of Munchkin Blender and Munchkin Bites to the already-extensive Munchkin line. Everybody enjoys this crazy game and it makes a great gift.
- Sourcebooks. You have to know your geek and their collection well to ensure that you buy a book that they'll enjoy, use, and don't already have. With any luck, they'll drop some hints as to what books they're interested in. When in doubt, you can always just go the gift certificate route so they can pick the books themselves.
- Cthulhiana. This category keeps growing and growing. They even have fuzzy Cthulhu slippers now. How can you resist a gift like that?
- Cheapass Games. Geeks and non-geeks alike enjoy these zany, low-budget games. It's not a holiday if I don't buy a Cheapass Game for somebody! Hell, let's say it one more time: Cheapass Games! (Can you tell that I grew up in a house where cursing was frowned upon?)
- Books. I'm a great fan of books of all sorts. I have books in every room of my house, except the bathroom which only has room for the necessities. Literacy is a wonderful thing, and so is learning. Treat the geek in your life to a mythology/folklore book, a good history book, a weapons/martial arts book, or a fantasy/sci-fi art book.
It would be really cheap for me to base this entire column on things that I've suggested in previous years, so here's some brand-new suggestions!
- Toy Vault plushies. Not only do they offer a variety of plush Cthulhu options, they also have other Eldritch Horrors, like Shoggoth and Nyalarhotep, and non-Lovecraft plush like that rabbit from Monty Python, red and white dragons, and even the Baba Yaga's hut. Bonus points if you actually know what a Baba Yaga is. These plushies are reasonably priced, good quality, and great fun. My husband has a whole collection of Lovecraft plushies guarding his desk at work.
- Dice bags. Ok, I've mentioned this one in the past... But this year I have new knowledge, of websites where you can custom-order a dice bag made especially for the geek in your life. That allows those of you without craftsy talents to still provide a way-cool dice bag.
- In previous years, I've advised against buying new games for people. I'm throwing that out the window this year. Some gamers are too stuck in the rut of playing the same game and never trying a new system. Give those gamers a kick in the right direction! Above all else, I recommend smaller, lesser-known games. Support the little guy! A few great games, in my opinion, are Earthdawn (come on, you had to see that coming!), Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM for short), Call of Cthulhu, and Legend of the Five Rings (great for anime/samurai fans). In all cases I recommend going for the non-d20 version of these games when available.
- The expanded version of Return of the King (and Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers if they don't already have them)... Because the original version just wasn't long enough! I'm actually eager to get this myself, and certainly won't wait to give someone the chance to give it to me for the holidays.
- Web-comic related goodies. Almost everyone I know reads at least one web comic and is a big fan of said comic. And almost every web comic I know of offers t-shirts, posters, and other items that you can buy. In purchasing such items as presents, you'll not only be giving your geekly friends a way to show their support of their comic, but you'll also be helping a possibly struggling artist continue to provide their comic for free. I call that a win-win situation! Many webcomics also offer their comic collected in book form, often with bonus stories. These make great gifts, too.
- Use your imagination! The world is full of fun gifts for wacky people. Puzzles, reproductions of weapons, costumes, fun toys... honestly, who doesn't enjoy a set of Legos or other building blocks? With a little thought and imagination, you can come up with a great, unexpected gift that your geek will love.
Normally I include some tips for presents that geeks can get for non-geeks without setting foot in the mall, but I'm running short on time to get this in before my deadline,
so you can refer to my 2002 and 2003 columns, since I probably would have just repeated myself here.
Tune in next month for a post-holidays, more gaming-related column. I hope you all have a great holiday!
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