Black Friday Gift Ideas for Nerds

As I strolled through the local Target yesterday, the speakers overhead serenaded me with Christmas music. At once I was struck with two competing feelings. The first was one of indignation. I haven’t even eaten my Thanksgiving turkey yet, Saint Nick. Slow your roll!

But the second was one of anxiety. I have yet to buy a single gift for my nerdy friends. Every shopping day passed is a shopping day gone, and I can’t keep Santa at bay forever.

With that in mind, here are a few gift ideas for nerds.

Black Friday Gift Ideas for Nerds

One immediately comes to mind: Pandemic Legacy.

Pandemic is a co-op game, meaning that friends play together (cooperate) to beat the game itself. (Our list of top co-op games.) Legacy games are unique in that gameplay permanently affects future play-throughs. Decisions made and victories achieved change the landscape of subsequent plays.

So, if you and your friends win a game, you might unlock a new rule or open up a box that contains brand new game pieces. Old rule cards might be torn in half. Stickers might be placed over locations on the game board.

It’s great fun and the best thing is the legacy aspect means you have a series of game nights built in, which is the gift that keeps on giving.

Pandemic Legacy is available via Amazon: Pandemic Legacy

Do you have a family member or friend that is into Dungeons and Dragons?  If yes, then snag them a spell deck corresponding with their character’s class.

The cards allow for easy reference; bypassing constant flipping to the appropriate pages in the Player’s Handbook. Nothing interrupts the immersion of a campaign more than, “Hold on…I have to look the spell up in the Handbook.”

I play with my nephews. Them having cards that let them know the spells they can cast is an incredible help toward making the game more fun and accessible for them.

Spell decks are available via Amazon.

One of the Nerds on Earth writers received one of these from a friend several years back and it remained one of his most treasured (and used) Christmas gifts ever. Every book he adds to his ever-growing and constantly-loaned library receives the stamp.

This simultaneously plays to a reader’s ego while also making it easier to track which books are loaned out. Your bibliophile will love stamping his or her collection with their name.

Zazzle sells some nice ones.

We love Marvel Unlimited here at Nerds on Earth.  For any of your loved ones with an insatiable appetite for the Marvel Universe, this is a must have.

For as little as $69, you can give your family member or friend access to a full year of over 20,000 Marvel comics on their tablet of choice. It is a seriously hard bargain to beat and we can’t recommend it enough.

In the past month alone, I’ve read a 100+ comics via Marvel Unlimited. As a bonus, we have a lot of comic book content on Nerds on Earth that helps fans of the Marvel movies get plugged into the comics that inspired them. Here’s an example.

It’s not a clear process, but you are able to purchase Marvel Unlimited as a gift code that is emailed to a nerd in your life.

D&D fans love stuff to trick out their games. Outside of spell cards, few items are as useful as spell effect and condition indicators. Tabletop roleplaying games generate a lot of things to track. Being able to place a plastic ring over a miniature when that character is fatigued or whatever is super helpful.

The War Chest collects all these little plastic rings together in a sweet wooden box that doubles as your dice tray. Grappled, charmed, raging, stunned, haste. They are all there.

It makes for a beautiful gift. Get the War Chest here.