
Welcome to my #GamerGiftGuide for those who design games or who dream of being board game designers.
Buying gifts for gamers can be hard. You never know what games they have and which they don’t. I don’t know many game players who aren’t interested in designing games as well. So how about thinking inside the box?
Here is a list of gift items that any aspiring game designer is sure to love. Whether they are an old school OSR GM or trying to create the next hit board game, like Ticket to Ride.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thermal Laminators
You can get both high end and low-end laminators. For most people, something like the AmazonBasics Thermal Laminator will do. If you want to do thicker laminate sheets or sheets larger than 8.5×11 you may want something fancier like the Scotch Advanced Thermal Laminator, Extra Wide 13-Inch Input, 1-Minute Warm-up (TL1302VP)
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Blank Dice

Whether you put stickers on them (some blank dice come with them), paint them, engrave them, or whatever, blank dice are great for trying out various custom dice configurations. Take a look at this pack of 48 16mm six sided dice or this great set of 6 D12 that come with stickers: White D12 Blank 25mm Dice Set with Stickers
Blank Game Boards

For the longest time, I didn’t even know these existed. But, it’s true — you can get blank mounted game boards. They come in a variety of sizes, like your standard two-fold monopoly board: Apostrophe Games Blank Game Board
Board Game Construction Kits



To take it a step farther than just picking up a blank game board, you can get a whole board game construction kit. There are a number of these available and what you get varies by brand. For example, there is this deluxe board game kit that features a dry erase board, spinner, timers, tokens, standees, dice and more. Then there’s The White Box Board Game Design Workshop which was originally funded on Kickstarter. If you are looking for something cheaper there’s this Madanar Create Your won Board Game 143 Piece Set.
Resource Cubes and Chits
Meeples, Pawns, and Standees

Wooden Bits
Blank Cards
Printed Cards


It’s surprisingly cheap to actually get your own set of cards printed. I personally have had great luck with Artscow. They are designed for printing a standard deck of 54 playing cards but you can put whatever you want on them, front and back. People have been using them for some time. Here’s an example of Trait Cards for the Gamma World RPG. Artscow also has frequent sales where you can get three decks for the price of one. DriveThruCards also has a ton of different card sets for a variety of games (mostly RPGs) that include a lot of cards with generic arts and images that could be useful for prototyping.
Acrylic Tokens



Back when I ran 4th Edition D&D regularly, I found LIKO Aerosystems. This is a company that laser cuts acrylic and produces a ton of tokens and counters. I contacted them about making some custom components for playing 4e and they actually now sell those designs on their site. They’ve done so well selling stuff for tabletop games they changed their name. You can get a huge variety of counters in different shapes and sizes. They even do some interesting 3d stuff. They aren’t cheap but are perhaps something to consider when you are actually showing off your new game. LITKO Game Accessories.
Grab Bags
Looking for a bunch of bits cheap or not sure exactly what you need? How about a grab bag of board game pieces. I came across this on Etsy and thought it was pretty cool. This is a set of 100 random vintage game pieces for under $20
Looking for other gamer gift ideas? Check out these other gift guides:
- A Gamer’s Gift Guide to Inserts and Organizers
- Gaming Accessories: Adding Bling & Improving the Games
- A Guide to Replacement & Upgrade Money for Games
- Improving Your Tabletop Games with the Handmade & Unique via Etsy
