James Lowder

When people started staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, we all looked for things to do for fun to keep us occupied while staying in the house. One major outlet is games.

Here at Lake Effect, one of our favorite holiday traditions is our annual Games to Gift list. Complied by our resident games expert Jim Lowder, the list is in its 10th year.

Lowder says there continues to be an oversaturation of games in the market. The influx of new games not only causes shelf shortage in hobby stores, but an attention shortage for players. So no matter how fantastic a game is, "finding a market now is really tough because the competition is very, very rigorous," says Lowder.

Playing games might be a year-round hobby for some of us, but buying games is generally a holiday season pastime. Since 2010, writer, editor and games expert James Lowder has joined us during the holiday season to share his Games to Gift List.

While older adults might have learned to games from an experienced player, many of today’s players are turning to online videos according to Lowder.

For eight years (and counting), game aficionado James Lowder has joined Lake Effect, WUWM's locally-produced magazine program, to talk about the best games of the year. We are talking about classic games here, not the kind that are played on a screen.

"The thing that's amazing is how much this has become mainstream culture," Lowder says. "Everybody's watching the Marvel movies and everybody's familiar with The Lord of the Rings, so they understand the tropes and they understand the storytelling."

Every December since 2010, Lake Effect has been joined by writer and game expert James Lowder. He is the  editor of the award-winning essay anthologies Hobby Games: The 100 Best, and Family Games: The 100 Best.

During 2016, Lowder noticed three trends in the gaming world:

Every December since 2010, Lake Effect has been joined by writer and game expert James Lowder. He suggests new and notable games to give as gifts - for nearly every age and ability level. 

James Lowder is editor of the award-winning essay anthologies Hobby Games: The 100 Best, and Family Games: The 100 Best. His next game-related project--The Munchkin Book, an official companion for the hit card game--is due for release in February.

Here are his top picks:

Hobby Category:

A favorite Lake Effect tradition at this time of year is our annual "Games to Gift" segment, helping you to find the perfect present for the board game enthusiast and casual player on your list.

A favorite Lake Effect tradition at this time of year is our annual "Games to Gift" segment, helping you to find the perfect present for the board game enthusiast and casual player on your list.