Gift Guide: Great Board and Card Games Under $20

Some of the best games ever made cost less than a movie ticket. Cards are cheap to print, so small boxes are where designers get to be clever instead of lavish. That makes the under-$20 shelf the best place to shop for stockings, office swaps, teacher gifts, and the friend who says they “don’t really play games.”

This guide has nine games that list for under $20 in the US, plus three more under $25 that earn the extra few dollars. For each one: who it suits, how many can play, and how long it takes.

The quick answer: Love Letter for someone new to games, Sushi Go! for families with kids, Flip 7 for a big holiday crowd, and The Mind for a couple. With up to $25 to spend, Codenames: Duet is the best two-player gift and Skull the best for a group that likes to bluff.

Prices are approximate at the time of writing and will move in November and December. Read them as “about,” not as a promise. Every game name links to Amazon.

Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you buy through them, The Ludarium may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, The Ludarium earns from qualifying purchases. How affiliate links work here.

What makes a small game a good gift?

A game asks something of the person who opens it. They have to learn it, gather people, and teach it. The small games that work as gifts make all three easy.

• Learn it in a few minutes. If the rules need a second read, the box goes in a drawer.
• Finish in about twenty minutes. Short games get played on a Tuesday, not saved for a holiday that never comes.
• Fit the people they live with. A couple needs a game that plays well at two. A family of five needs one that seats five.

Every pick below passes all three for the right person. The trick is matching the game to the household.

The under-$20 list at a glance

Nine great games under $20

Flip 7

Flip 7 from The Op is the cheapest game here and maybe the loudest. Each round you flip cards into a row and add them up. Flip a number you already have and you bust, losing everything from that round. Flip seven different numbers and the round ends for everyone, with a bonus for you. Rounds continue until someone reaches 200 points.

It plays three or more, about twenty minutes, ages 8 and up. That “or more” is real: it is a rare card game that gets better as the crowd grows, which makes it a strong pick for a family that hosts the holidays. About $8 at the time of writing. The Op also sells themed editions (National Parks, Hello Kitty and Friends, a Grinch edition) for about $8 to $10.

Want to teach it well on Christmas afternoon? Our free Flip 7 course covers the rules, a five-minute teach, and how to settle Freeze, Flip Three, and Second Chance without a rules argument.

Catan: On the Road

Catan: On the Road is Catan shrunk into a 120-card deck with no board. You still collect resources, build, and trade, and the first player to 7 victory points wins. One clever twist: a player who trades when it is not their turn gets an extra resource card, so everyone stays in the deal.

Three to four players, about fifteen minutes, ages 10 and up. About $10 at the time of writing. It suits the Catan fan who travels, or anyone who has heard of Catan and wants a cheap first taste. If they fall for it, our free Catan course teaches the full board game.

Hanabi

Hanabi from R&R Games is a cooperative game about putting on a fireworks show. The twist is that you hold your cards facing away from you. You can see everyone’s hand except your own, so the whole table has to give each other careful clues to play cards in the right order. Clues are limited, and three mistakes end the show.

Two to five players, about thirty minutes, ages 8 and up. It won the Spiel des Jahres, Germany’s game of the year award, in 2013. About $13 at the time of writing. Give it to the friends who do crosswords together, or to a couple who likes a quiet puzzle after dinner.

Coup

Coup from Indie Boards and Cards is a bluffing game in a small box. Everyone holds secret character cards, and each character has its own power. You can claim any character you like. Anyone can call your bluff. The last player with influence left wins.

Two to six players, about fifteen minutes. The publisher rates it 13 and up, and it is a natural fit for teenagers, college students, and any family with a confident liar in it. About $15 at the time of writing.

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea from Kosmos is a cooperative trick-taking game. If your family grew up on Spades, Hearts, or Euchre, the feel is familiar. The difference is that everyone is on the same team, working through each mission’s tasks by steering who wins which tricks, with talking strictly limited. The missions get harder as you go, so one box lasts a whole winter.

Three to five players, about twenty minutes a mission, ages 10 and up. About $15 at the time of writing. Our guide to The Crew explains the original and this follow-up.

Qwixx

Qwixx from Gamewright is a dice game played on a score sheet. Someone rolls, and everyone can use the roll to cross off numbers in rows of color. The more numbers you cross off in a row, the more it scores. Because every player is involved on every roll, nobody waits for a turn.

Two to five players, about fifteen minutes, ages 8 and up. About $15 at the time of writing. If you are shopping for grandparents who play with grandkids, this is the one. Anyone who has played Yahtzee already knows half the game.

Love Letter

Love Letter is a game of risk and deduction with a small deck of character cards and a velvet bag. On your turn you draw a card and play one of the two in your hand. Each card does one thing, and the round ends when one player is left standing or the deck runs out.

Two to six players, about fifteen minutes, ages 10 and up. The velvet bag makes it feel like a present before it is even unwrapped. It is our pick for the person who swears they do not like games, because the cards explain themselves. About $16 at the time of writing.

Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! from Gamewright is a card drafting game in a tin. Everyone picks one card from their hand and passes the rest along, collecting sets of sushi dishes for points. Dip a nigiri in wasabi to triple it, and save room for dessert.

Two to five players, about fifteen minutes, ages 8 and up. About $17 at the time of writing. It is the best first strategy game for kids we know of, and it holds up for adults too. The tin is a perfect stocking shape.

The Mind

The Mind from Pandasaurus Games is barely a game on paper and something close to a magic trick in play. The team holds numbered cards and has to play them in rising order, together, without saying a word about what they hold. Every level adds cards. Every success feels like mind reading.

Two to four players, about fifteen minutes, ages 8 and up. About $18 at the time of writing. Give it to a couple, or to a group of old friends who already finish each other’s sentences.

Three more of the best board games under $25

These sit just over the $20 line at list price, and all three come in at about $25 or less. Watch for sales, or let them be the “real” gift with a small game tucked in beside it.

Skull

Skull is pure bluffing. Each player holds three roses and one skull. You stack cards face down, then bid on how many you can flip without finding a skull. Flip a skull and you lose one of your cards. There is almost nothing in the box, and the game is all faces and nerve. Three to six players, about thirty minutes, ages 10 and up. About $21 at the time of writing.

No Thanks!

No Thanks! is a numbers game you can teach in one breath. Flip a card. Take it, or pay a chip to pass it on. Cards are worth points, and points are bad, so lowest score wins. A run of consecutive numbers only scores its lowest card, which is where the cleverness hides. Three to seven players, about twenty minutes, ages 8 and up. About $25 at the time of writing.

Codenames: Duet

Codenames: Duet is the cooperative, two-player take on Codenames. You and a partner each see one side of a shared key card, and you trade one-word clues to find 15 agents on a grid of 25 words, in 9 turns, without touching an assassin. Pick an assassin and the game ends on the spot. Want an easier game? The rules allow up to 11 turns.

Two or more players (it plays well as two small teams), about fifteen minutes, ages 11 and up. A refreshed edition came out in 2025 with new words, new art, and a cleaner rulebook. About $25 at the time of writing. It is the best gift on this page for a couple who loved Codenames at a party. Our free Codenames course covers the clue rules and how to give a good one, and most of it carries over to Duet. (One difference: Duet has no “plus one” limit, so a guesser keeps going as long as they guess right.)

Which one for which person?

Small box, big afternoon

A small game makes a better gift than its price suggests, because it travels. It goes to the restaurant while you wait for a table, to the cabin, to the waiting room. The game that is always nearby is the game that gets played.

So here is one idea. Write “First game is this afternoon” on the gift tag, then clear the table and keep the promise. The box cost less than lunch. The afternoon is the gift. The game is the reason. The people are the point.

If you want more ideas for new players, see our lists of the easiest board games to learn, gateway board games, and quick board games under 30 minutes.

Where can you try them first?

Your local game store is the best place to see these boxes in person, and many stores run open game nights where someone will teach you. In Indianapolis, the Ludarium lounge waitlist gets the first word on local learn-to-play nights as The Ludarium grows.

FAQ

What is the best board game under $20?

For most people, Love Letter or Sushi Go!. Both teach in a couple of minutes, play in about fifteen, and hold up to hundreds of rounds. For a big family gathering, Flip 7 seats more people than either.

What are the best board games under $25?

Everything on the under-$20 list, plus Codenames: Duet for two players, Skull for a group that likes to bluff, and No Thanks! for up to seven. All three list for about $25 or less.

What is a good two-player game under $20?

The Mind and Hanabi both play well at two, and Love Letter, Sushi Go!, and Qwixx all list two as their minimum. Codenames: Duet is the best two-player pick if you can stretch to about $25.

Are cheap board games worth buying?

Yes. Price tracks how many components are in the box much more than how good the game is. Many of the most loved designs in the hobby are card games that cost under $20 because cards are cheap to print.

When are board games cheapest?

Prices often drop in late November, around Black Friday. Big-box stores tend to have the lowest everyday prices on mass-market games, and your local game store may be a few dollars more, with a person who can help you pick.

Have a little more to spend? Our board game gifts under $30 adds twelve more picks.

One more small idea

The Ludarium newsletter sends short pieces on games and the people who play them, including picks like these when the season comes around. It is free, and it is the easiest way to hear when the Indianapolis lounge gets closer.