It’s October – and if any of you are getting the jump on Christmas present shopping for me or for that special Geek in your life, this list of cool stuff (some of it geeky, some of it is just things that appeal to me and maybe not to YOUR specific geek) might help you in your shopping endeavors.
Geeky Card / Tabletop Games
Arkham Horror
Magic the Gathering: Core 2012 Set or Return to Ravnica ($3-4 boosters, $40 Fat Pack, $20 Deck builder’s toolkit, deck boxes, card sleeves)
RPG Dice in various numbers (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 30, 100 sided dice)
World of Darkness (Vampire: the Masquerade or White Wolf books, I own none)
Shadowrun Books (any, I own none)
Nice chess set (wooden or marble preferred over glass)
GameStop Sells Steam Gift Cards
You can find info about them here and buy them at your local GameStop in $20 and $50 amounts. What is Steam? It’s Valve’s PC and Mac video games (and now SOFTWARE) online marketplace – it manages your purchases, downloading, your game library, item inventories, save games (for supported games, it saves them to their online service so when you reinstall or install on a new computer, you don’t have to start over or backup your own files), and gift purchases. Steam’s store offerings include most major games and a huge selection of indie titles and casual games. With their weekend deals and seasonal sales, a gift card will surely delight the gamer in your family. If you already use Steam, you can also buy games on your gamer’s wishlist and gift them directly to their account.
Video Games
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but if your gamer hasn’t had a chance to buy some of the bigger titles this year (or the last couple of years for some of these titles), here are a few that I’m looking for on PC (either physical copies or Steam – I am not playing video games on consoles anymore now that my Playstation 3 is dead) – that I don’t own yet:
Borderlands 2
Rage
Assassin’s Creed III
Dishonored
Max Payne 3
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age II
Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Left 4 Dead
Gadgets
Gotta love these fun gizmos from ThinkGeek for utility and geeky style:
Bluewave Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Drivemocion EX Series LED Car Sign
Juicebar Portable Solar Charger
Home Decor & Utility
Firefly 10th Anniversary Poster
Doctor Who TARDIS vs. Dalek Salt and Pepper Shakers
Portal 2 Warning Sign Coasters
Soda Stream Home Soda Kit (at Wal-Mart and Kitchen Stores)
Refill cartridges, Diet Soda Syrups (they have several including diet cola), extra bottles for Soda Stream system
Not So Geeky
Pistol, Smith & Wesson semi-automatic (.40 or 9 millimeter)
AR-15 semi-automatic rifle (any will do)
Ammo for above
Used guns are OK
Saws-all Power Saw
Table Band Saw
Nail Gun
Used tools are OK
The Easy Way Out
This is a list of places you can probably get a gift card or an e-gift certificate and not go wrong:
Wal-mart
Amazon.com
ThinkGeek.com
Netflix.com
Advanced Auto Parts
Lowes (Hardware Store)
Visa Gift Cards (From the SECU for $1)
World Market
McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s, etc.
CASH – CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH CASH IS ACCEPTED EVERYWHERE.
Obviously, no one would expect anyone to get me everything on this list. It’s intended to give a wide selection of things I would love to receive, and maybe your loved one has similar tastes. I didn’t post reviews of the products and not all the products have links because I’m not getting affiliate money for linking to them and I don’t have the items yet so there’s no way I can review them or offer new info that you wouldn’t find on the website where you’d buy most of these things.