Gifts for Gamers: Picks for Nintendo, Minecraft, Tabletop and PC Players

The easiest way to shop for a gamer is to work out which kind of gamer they are. A Nintendo devotee, a Minecraft kid, a D&D regular and a PC desk-setup person each want very different things. The picks below are grouped that way, with one detail on each that explains why it suits its person. For more in the same vein, browse the full Geek Gifts hub.

For the Nintendo fan

Nintendo fans tend to love the whole universe, not only the consoles, so the best gifts bring Mushroom Kingdom into the room.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is the one that makes people ask how it works. You set up four cardboard gates around the living room, and a physical RC kart zooms across the rug while streaming an augmented reality track onto the Switch. It suits anyone who has always wanted the game to spill onto the floor.

The Super Mario Animated WiFi Clock runs a little Super Mario Bros scene on an LED matrix. It is a desk object that invites questions, which makes it a good fit for a fan who likes explaining things.

For a plant-averse friend, the LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant is a 9-inch sculpture that sits in its green pipe looking hostile, with no watering schedule attached.

If they have the console covered already, Mario 8-Bit Playing Cards are officially licensed Nintendo cards in retro, dot-style artwork. It is a standard 52-card deck, so it can go straight into a game night.

One more for the wall: the Mario x Jaws Poster pairs a Piranha Plant with a Jaws mashup. A Piranha Plant has long treated plumbers as lunch, so the crossover makes a surprising amount of sense.

For the Minecraft kid

Minecraft fans love when the blocky world shows up in their actual bedroom.

The Minecraft Light-Up Redstone Ore puts a block on the desk instead of in an inventory. It has three levels of light controlled by a tap, which suits a kid who already arranges their shelf with care.

When the game becomes a costume, the Minecraft Foam Pickaxe is the full-size stone pickaxe version, made from heavy-duty EVA foam. A Minecraft outfit has a clearer job once it is in hand.

For walls, Minecraft 3D Wall Clings create the illusion of a blocky world opening up right in the drywall. They are for the kid who wants the bedroom to feel like a subterranean mine.

For the tabletop and D&D player

People who roll dice on weekends usually enjoy a little of the campaign at their elbow between sessions.

The D20 Mug With Lid holds 12 ounces of coffee, tea or hot chocolate inside a ceramic twenty-sided die. Its appeal is simple: the campaign sits on the desk without a lot of explanation.

Wooden D&D Dice Lamps are laser-cut wooden d20s and d10s that sit over LED tea lights and cast a pattern across the table. They are not glued down, so they can be moved around the game space. A dungeon master who cares about atmosphere will notice them first.

For the player who likes a rival board across the table, A Game of Thrones Board Game: Trust No One puts you in command of a great house of Westeros, with armies to maneuver. Be warned that the most dangerous thing at the table might be a friend saying, “You can trust me.”

For the PC and keyboard enthusiast

Desk setups reward small, deliberate upgrades, and these picks lean toward the details people argue about online.

The Razer Viper Mini Gaming Mouse weighs 61 grams and is 10% smaller than the regular Viper. It makes the case for less mouse, which suits players who want less heft under their hand.

The Razer DeathStalker Expert Gaming Keyboard recognizes up to ten simultaneous key presses in gaming mode. That is room for increasingly elaborate button combinations to register.

For someone who wants sound at the desk instead of in a headset, the Razer Nommo Chroma Gaming Speakers are a two-speaker setup with a physical bass knob. It is a good match for a PC gamer who likes a tactile control.

And for the person who already owns every sensible peripheral, the Astronaut Galaxy Resin Keycap holds an entire miniature cosmos floating inside a single mechanical keyboard switch. It is a small gift for a keyboard hobbyist.

Picking between them

Start with the game they talk about most, then choose the pick that puts a piece of it in their space. A wall piece suits someone with room to display, a desk object suits someone who games in a corner, and anything from the PC list suits the person who already spends the most time at a screen. If you want more ideas after this, the Funny Gifts hub is a good place to keep browsing.