At twelve, tastes can change from one month to the next, and what he loved last year may already feel too young.
If he has a wish list, start there. Then use the ideas below to fill the gaps with something that fits who he is right now.
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Building setsAges 10+Best fit for age 12
Danish brand
Bricks from this Speed Champions box become a Mercedes-AMG SL 63 and G 63, a pair for the fan whose phone is full of luxury car photos.
Building them puts the showroom designs he admires into his own hands, and the two cars differ so much in shape that the second build is a fresh puzzle.
Outdoor and sports
When the boy you are buying for would rather be outside with friends, Kan Jam gives that crew something to aim at.
Friend groups at this stage run on casual rivalry, and this lets every pal take a turn without a coach. The set stays by the back door, ready for whoever shows up next.
Science and discovery
Hydraulics power every punch these Thames & Kosmos robots throw, and he assembles that system himself, so he can see exactly what moves each arm.
The engineering pays off once both bots are finished and the first round of boxing begins.
Games and puzzles
Look for Mission Deep Sea, the edition of The Crew where the whole table plays a trick-taking card game as one team.
Each hand asks him to read his teammates' plans from the cards they lay down.
Electronics
A PC gamer works the Razer Tartarus keypad with his left hand while his right stays on the mouse, so his shortcuts sit under his fingers.
Most PC accessories assume a right-handed player, so this Tartarus V2 Left-Handed lets his matches with friends start from his side.
Outdoor and sports
Darkness no longer ends the game: Redux glows, so capture the flag can run well past sunset.
Sneaking up on friends and sprinting home untagged is his favorite part of any yard game, and after dark those sneak attacks get much harder to see coming.
Clothing and accessories
The orange and gray fabric strap keeps the Timex Weekender casual enough for jeans and a team hoodie, so it can stay on his wrist from morning to lights out.
At the end of a school dance, one look at his wrist tells him how long until his ride shows up.
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Each of the more than 200 Atari classics on this console comes down to one goal: beat the last high score.
He can grab a wireless joystick, settle into the couch and keep at it until a new record stands.
The middle schooler who finishes a fantasy series and wants the next book tonight can download it to a Kindle Paperwhite.
In middle school he chooses his own reading, and each new title joins the ones he keeps on the device.
Active noise canceling lets these wireless Bose QuietComfort headphones fade a busy kitchen into the background, so homework at a shared table can run to his own playlist.
They suit a home where quiet is hard to find.
Razer is a name he has probably seen on the desks of the streamers he watches, so the Basilisk V3 is a mouse he will recognize as soon as the wrapping comes off.
Its ergonomic shape gives his hand a place to rest through a long match, and the lighting can be set to suit the rest of his setup.
huupe's Mini 1 lands with a preteen who counts every shot he sinks and wants a clear winner when friends shoot around.
His jump shots and console high scores spring from the same urge to win, and this gear answers both. The rim then waits for the friend who swears he has the better form.
American brand
These JBL noise-canceling headphones suit a 12-year-old who studies and listens to music at home.
The app lets him adjust the sound to his taste. A setting lets voices through when someone calls him for dinner.
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Patience beats speed in WobbleBall Marble Balance, where each player adds a marble and hopes the whole thing stays up.
It takes one to four players, so he can practice alone on a quiet afternoon, then pass his grandpa a marble when relatives visit.
American brand
Kanoodle Shape Escape is a puzzle game for a middle schooler who sees shapes in his head.
He works out each arrangement in his mind before his hands move, then checks whether he got it right. Labeled for ages 7 and up, it also lets a younger cousin take a turn after dinner.
Japanese brand
In Living the Dream, a Tomodachi Life game for the Switch, he can create characters based on his friends and watch them share an island, where they get into situations he never planned.
His running list of inside jokes about the crew gets new material every time he checks in.
German brand
Just 108 pieces stand between him and a 3D Porsche 911 R, so this Ravensburger puzzle is a build he can likely finish in a single sitting.
Working in three dimensions also puts a new twist on the flat jigsaws he already knows.
A boy who plays to win gets UNO Show 'Em No Mercy, a harsher edition of a classic.
He has played the regular version for years, so this one gives him and his friends tougher rounds to fight through. He can keep the deck in his backpack and deal classmates in at lunch.
Belgian brand
IQ Puzzler Pro is a solo logic puzzle for a 12-year-old who likes working things out alone.
The maker labels it for ages 6 to adult, so it stays a challenge at his age. It packs into a travel case for car rides.
Lost Cities is a head-to-head card game for a 12-year-old who likes outwitting an opponent.
The maker labels it for ages 10+, so he is in range. He can deal a hand on a free afternoon and bluff a friend.
American brand
BrainBolt Genius is a handheld memory game for a 12-year-old who likes beating his own best.
He repeats light and sound patterns from memory, and a friend can join in. It slips into a backpack for the ride to practice.
Ages 9+
300 pieces (Ravensburger)
German brand
This 300-piece solar system puzzle gives a 12-year-old a calm project away from his console.
He sorts the edges first, then fills in the planets over a weekend. The maker labels it for ages 9 and up.
Dutch brand
Triominos swaps square dominoes for triangular tiles, so a 12-year-old strategist has more angles to read.
He matches corners, builds bridges and tries to outscore the family. It comes out easily at the kitchen table.
Risk turns the floor into a long war between friends, a match for a born schemer who loves outsmarting everyone around him.
Secret deals and sudden betrayals are how his friend group plays everything now, and here those schemes decide who wins. His scrawled tally of every victory ends up tucked inside the box lid.
House of Riddles is a card-based escape game for a boy who enjoys cracking codes and clues.
Everything needed to solve it comes in the box, with no app. On a Saturday he can lay out the clues and work through them with friends.
This wire puzzle set gives a 12-year-old a stack of metal teasers to untangle by hand.
Each piece is a small knot he works out by feel. A pouch comes with it, so it rides along in a backpack.
This Super Mario checkers and tic-tac-toe set suits a 12-year-old Mario fan who likes a head-to-head game with Mario and Bowser as the pieces.
The double-sided board lets him switch games between rounds. He can slip the tin into his backpack and challenge a friend at lunch.
CATAN New Energies hands a 12-year-old strategist a board game where energy decisions sit at the center.
He weighs each choice against his rivals' plans, so a game won by long-range planning fits him. On a free Saturday, he can call friends and family to a full table for the afternoon.
A meme caption card game fits a preteen whose humor runs on reaction pictures and quick comebacks.
He already picks the right caption for every photo his friends post, so the game plays straight to his strengths. It comes out at sleepovers, where friends take turns topping his answers.
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The Donner DED-80 gives a 12-year-old desk drummer a real kit to play in his bedroom.
Donner pitches it at players 10 and older, so he is well in range. After school, he can work out the beat behind whatever song is stuck in his head.
This Akai Professional keyboard suits a 12-year-old who wants to make beats on a laptop.
He plays melodies on the mini keys and fires off loops from the color pads. Ableton Live Lite comes with it, so he can start a track at his desk.
Beatmaking on a laptop pairs naturally with the M-AUDIO Oxygen Pro Mini 32 for a preteen who builds tracks at his desk.
He has moved past dragging notes around with a mouse, and real keys let him find a riff by ear. His newest loop gets sent to the friend who raps over everything he makes.
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Building setsAges 11+
Danish brand
With LEGO's Technic BMW M4 GT3 EVO Race Car, a car-mad middle schooler builds his own GT racer.
Its 747 pieces stretch the build across several sittings, a better match now that simpler sets go together too fast. Once finished, the BMW sits on his shelf as a model he put together himself.
Outdoor and sports
Franklin Sports puts ping pong in the kitchen for a middle schooler who answers every loss with a demand for a rematch.
Beating friends at anything with a score drives his downtime, and short points let each visitor rotate in. His running scoreboard on a sticky note ends up taped to the fridge.
Science and discovery
With the Snap Circuits SC-750 Extreme kit, he snaps parts together into working electronics projects on his own, then pulls them apart and tries a layout he dreamed up.
It is a natural next step after prying open broken remotes to see what sits inside.
Books
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien hands a preteen fantasy reader a classic to pick up on his own.
He might read it over winter break, a chapter or so each evening. Later it can sit on his shelf, ready for the next time he wants a reread.
Books
Eragon by Christopher Paolini gives a preteen boy a hefty fantasy novel to settle into.
It suits a reader ready for longer books, since he can take it a few chapters at a time. Once done, it joins the fantasy shelf above his desk.
Home
This basketball street sign gives a 12-year-old hoops fan a retro piece for his bedroom wall.
He can hang it above his desk or beside his jersey. It keeps his favorite sport in view every day.
Any price
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Yes. The Ravensburger sports car puzzle goes together section by section into a Porsche model he can likely finish in a sitting, then stand on a shelf, and working in depth rather than flat puts a new twist on the jigsaws a 12-year-old already knows.
A born schemer gets the Risk board game, where secret deals and sudden betrayals between friends decide who ends up controlling the territory. A boy who likes winning as a team gets the Crew card game, where the whole table plays shared trick-taking missions as a group and he has to read his teammates' plans from the cards they put down.
The UNO card game, in its harsher Show 'Em No Mercy edition, is for a boy who plays to win and has outgrown the regular version, and the deck rides in his backpack so he can deal classmates in at lunch for tougher rounds.
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Check your inbox and tap the link to confirm. After that there is nothing to remember: one email a year arrives before his birthday.
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Set his birthday alarm once. Each year, 3 weeks before, a link to picks for his new age.
One email a few days before the last recommended mailing day, then nothing more.
Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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