For a 12-year-old boy who loves fast head-to-head play, start with the KLASK board game; the Atari retro game console suits one who likes classic gaming.
*Paid link
Games and puzzles
A brain teaser shaped like the Master Sword from Legend of Zelda, worked through by hand and then kept out as a desk display.
Why we like it
A Bepuzzled Master Sword puzzle fits a boy who lines his bookshelf with Zelda keepsakes and wants one he must earn.
He picks fan gear more carefully now, and this piece has to be solved before it joins the others. Once solved, the teaser rests on that shelf beside his game cases.
Building setsAges 10+
A brick building set for assembling the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 and the G 63 as model cars to roll across a floor, then display.
811 pieces · set 76924
Why we like it
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.
Science and discovery
A build-it-yourself engineering kit whose finished boxing robots square off against each other, turning the assembly into a head-to-head game.
Why we like it
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.
Electronics
A left-handed keypad for gaming that sits on the desk beside the mouse or keyboard, giving a computer setup its own compact cluster of keys.
Why we like it
The lefty on your list who plays PC games can rest his hand on a Razer keypad built for his side.
Most PC accessories assume a right-handed player, so this Tartarus V2 Left-Handed lets his matches with friends start from his side.
Clothing and accessories
A casual wristwatch from the Timex Weekender line, worn daily to check the time at a glance without pulling out a phone.
Why we like it
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.
Outdoor and sports
An outdoor team game of capture the flag that glows after dark, with rival sides guarding a flag and raiding for the other.
Why we like it
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.
*Paid link
A retro console that plugs into a TV with an HDMI input and brings classic Atari games to the living room screen.
Why we like it
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.
A dedicated handheld e-reader for downloading and reading digital books, keeping a growing personal library together on the same screen.
Why we like it
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.
Headphones that cancel surrounding noise, letting the wearer listen to music, podcasts or game audio without the sounds of a busy room.
Why we like it
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.
A gaming mouse from Razer's Basilisk V3 line, used at a desk to aim, click and steer through computer games.
Why we like it
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.
A basketball hoop that doubles as a game console, turning everyday shooting practice into video-game-style play at home.
Why we like it
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.
*Paid link
An electronics building kit for assembling circuits and seeing how electricity moves through them, running on AA alkaline batteries sold separately.
Why we like it
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.
*Paid link
A tabletop balance game where players take turns adding marbles and try not to be the one who makes everything tumble.
Why we like it
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.
A Kanoodle brain teaser puzzle game where a player works through spatial challenges, planning moves ahead to reach each solution.
Why we like it
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.
A magnetic board game built around head-to-head matches, where opponents face each other across a table and play to outscore the other side.
Why we like it
Two players face off over KLASK, steering their pieces with magnets in a match that plays like air hockey crossed with foosball.
Quick hands decide every point, so plan on taking a turn yourself, and on finding out how fast a 12-year-old can be.
A video game from the Tomodachi Life line by Nintendo, played on a Nintendo Switch system, so it requires owning that console to play.
Why we like it
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.
A jigsaw-style puzzle that builds into a Porsche sports car model, put together section by section and then displayed on a shelf.
Why we like it
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 cooperative card game where everyone plays on the same side, planning moves together and winning or losing as a group.
Why we like it
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.
A tougher take on the UNO card game, Show 'Em No Mercy, in which players match cards and race to empty their hands first.
Why we like it
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.
A strategy board game where players plan moves, form and break alliances, and compete to control territory around the table.
Why we like it
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.
A tabletop strategy game in the CATAN line with an energy theme, where players gather to plan their moves and compete against each other.
Why we like it
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-themed party card game in which players pair funny caption cards with pictures and compare the combinations around the table.
Why we like it
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.
*Paid link
A fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, a story to read alone or aloud and keep on the shelf for a later reread.
Why we like it
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.
A fantasy novel by Christopher Paolini to work through over many evenings and then shelve with other favorites.
Why we like it
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.
A novel by Suzanne Collins that a reader follows chapter by chapter, then can lend to a friend or keep on the shelf.
Why we like it
The Hunger Games gives a preteen boy a novel by Suzanne Collins that he can tear through on his own.
Once he finishes, the copy goes to a friend so they can trade theories at recess.
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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