We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. A mini 3D tic-tac-toe puzzle made of wood that's an elevated version of the game you played as a kid. It’s the same concept, but because of the spatial element, it’s a bit more challenging. It's handmade, comes with a lifetime guarantee, and it'll look great on your coffee table.
2. Or a 3D wooden puzzle that's like Tetris, but IRL. It's deceptively simple-looking — fitting together all of the pieces to create the finished product could take a few hours, but it's totally worth it for the brain stimulation!
3. Or a metal puzzle that'll make you get creative. The object of this is to get the marble out of the centre of the "atom," which might take you a few (or few dozen) times to achieve.
4. A labyrinth table game that'll also put your motor skills to work, as you use two knobs to try and guide a ball through the course. It's made for ages six and older, but adults say they find it plenty difficult, too.
5. Or a handheld maze puzzle board that'll have you holding your breath, as you carefully tilt the game to get the ball to the middle slot. It comes in three sizes, the smallest of which is perfect for younger kids who also want to play (but don’t have big enough hands for the larger ones).
6. A wooden solitaire board that the whole family can play. It also comes with extra marbles, in case a few get away from you. You might find yourself getting addicted to this game, because winning at it just feels so good.
7. An activity book that features a bunch of different kinds of puzzles. One reviewer says it's the perfect balance between not too difficult, and not too easy. There are 92 pages, so you'll have enough to keep you occupied for a good chunk of time.
8. A peg game that'll take you right back to your childhood. Jump the peg over the other pieces to try and remove all but one peg from the board. It comes in a collectible toy box, so it would be a great present as well.
9. And one of the classics: dominos. You can play this the traditional way, which requires strategizing to empty your hand while blocking your opponents, or a drawing or scoring game. Each tile has a brass spinner in the middle, so they're satisfyingly easy to shuffle.
10. A sleek mahjong set with everything you need to play. This set has 148 tiles, three dice, a set of betting sticks, and a decorative wooden spinner that sorts out who sits where. The tiles are made with pretty champagne gold and have both Western numerals as well as Chinese characters.
11. A wooden sodoku set that'll actually make you like math. This desktop version has a little drawer container at the bottom to hold all the pieces. It comes with a book of 100 puzzles (and the answers, in case you need a little help).
12. A chess set, because your dad was onto something when he made you learn how to play this when you were a kid. Brush up your skills and get ready to take down your opponent, because saying "checkmate" is super satisfying.
13. A tile lock and compact version of Scrabble that'll keep all of the letters in place, which makes it great for travel. No more tiles sliding around if you need to shift the board! It's also perfect for family night and brushing up on your vocabulary.
14. A 500-piece puzzle of Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian. You'll want to frame this when you're done just to have his cute lil face peeking out at you.
15. Or a 3D jigsaw puzzle of the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts, if you're looking for a different kind of puzzle. It has 875 pieces, so putting it together will take some patience, but the end result is ~magical.~
16. Or a 540-piece 3D puzzle of the planet, if that's more your thing. Putting together the ocean is sure to be a struggle, since it's all the same colour, but imagine how satisfying it'll be when it's done! It comes with a rotating metal stand, so once it's complete you can spin it just like a real globe.
17. A foldable game of Mancala, which is actually one of the oldest known games that we still play today. This deceptively simple game requires math and strategy skills in order to steal your opponent's beads.
18. And lastly a Rubik's cube, because it's a classic for a reason! I've personally spent hours trying to solve this sucker and have never come close, although I know it's do-able. This is perfect for when you need something to do with your hands and get your mind thinking!
Your brain after doing any of these things:
