Game of Thrones board game, second edition

If you miss the HBO series or want to create your own ending, here is your chance. This game for three to six people allows players to take command of the Great Houses of Westeros. It includes a streamlined rulebook, updated art, and new enhancements like Tides of Battle cards. The detailed board is an accurate map of Westeros, and players use footmen, knights, ships, and siege engines to wage battles and win territory. At the end of 10 rounds, the player who has claimed the most castles or strongholds wins.The game takes about three hours and is for ages 14 and up.

Price: $44.49

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Mother of Dragons, Game of Thrones expansion

Now you can expand beyond Westeros and increase the maximum player count of your battles to eight. This expansion set for the main game includes a side board of the Free Cities of Essos and an overlay of the Eyrie to bring House Targaryen and House Arryn into the fray. This set includes new characters and mechanics, including a vassal system and the ability to take loans out from the Iron Bank.

Price: $31.00

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Door Pong

If your office or apartment isn’t big enough for a ping pong table, this is the solution. Door Pong attaches to the top of any doorway. You adjust the length of the string and start playing. This game enhances your hand-eye coordination, concentration, and reflexes. You can play solo or with a friend. Door Pong is based on the design of the 2017 Kidventor Competition winner and was originally designed to improve coordination for kids with autism.

Price: $24.95

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Slime New York

Why should kids have all the fun? A couple in New York quit their jobs to make extra-fancy slime full-time, including Cotton Candy Squish, Cupcakes at Tiffany’s, and Floofy Purple Fuzz. This high-end slime is scented, and some versions have sprinkles, glitter flakes, or foam balls for even more sensory stimulation. SLIME NEW YORK handcrafts all products, so the chemists will need a few days to produce your order. And remember, slime is not edible–do not eat slime.

Price: $8.00 for 3 oz; $12.00 for 6 oz; $15.00 for 8 oz.

Roger von Oech's Ball of Whacks

Based on the rhombic triacontahedron, this ball consists of 30 magnetic pyramid-shaped pieces. You can create inspiring shapes, recreate patterns from the activity book, and form new designs. The Ball of Whacks will  jump start your creativity and imagination and refocus your mind if you’re having trouble keeping your mind on your work.

Price: $25.00

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Roger von Oech's X-Ball

Based on the rhombic triacontahedron, the X-Ball consists of 30 magnetic  pieces. You can create inspiring shapes, recreate patterns from the activity book, and form new designs. This ball will jump start your creativity and imagination and refocus your mind if you’re having trouble keeping your mind on your work.

Price: $25.00

Affiliate disclosure: When you click through from our site or one of our downloads to a retailer or vendor and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.

FEEL FLUX - Skill Flux

The FLUX is an extremely strong magnetic ball and an aluminum tube. You drop the magnetic ball into the tube, and the ball slows its fall without touching the tube’s surface. The forces at work illustrate Lenz’s Law–anti-gravity. The moving magnetic field of a falling ball induces eddy currents that in turn creates a magnetic field that slows down the magnet. The toy is made in Hungary.

Price: $49.00

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Big Larry's Magnetic Simple Steel Bracelet Begleri by Zeekio

A begleri is a skill toy made of one or more beads at either end of a short string. It is flipped and twirled around the fingers to perform tricks. This version is made from custom drilled solid steel with magnetic ends so you can wear it when you are not using it. The cord is braided polyester. Begleri originated in Greece and are often flipped around to pass the time. If you hate fidget spinners, you’ll hate these. If you need a new desk toy, try this one.

Price: $19.99

Across the Sun and Moon Liberty puzzle

Each Liberty Puzzle contains dozens of hand-drawn pieces cut into the shapes of characters, animals, and geometric designs. This puzzle is a vivid scene full of beautiful colors and artistic images. The finished size is 16.75 x 12.75 and contains 478 pieces.

Liberty Puzzles produces more than 650 puzzles and adds new items each year. The puzzles are made with 1/4″ plywood in Boulder, Colorado. Many of the new designs are made to order and require five to seven days of production time, so don’t wait until the last minute to order.

Price: $105 

Fly Hawaiian Air Liberty Puzzle

If it’s winter in your part of the world, this puzzle will bring some sunshine into your day. This puzzle features palm trees, ocean waves colored red by the sunset, and a canoe full of people. The image above shows some of the unique puzzle pieces that make up the set, including surfers, tropical flowers, and fish. This puzzle has 553 pieces and is 13.75 x 17.75.

Price: $105

Dog Pile

This game includes 12 uniquely shaped dogs and 48 challenges. Your job is to arrange all the dogs listed on the challenge to fill the grid completely. Working with one layer of dogs is easy–building two, three, or four layers is more difficult. This puzzle will sharpen your spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. It’s a perfect mental break when you’re stuck on a problem at work.

Price: $15.95

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Succulents Monthly

Gardening is good for the soul, particularly when you’ve got expert help in picking out the plants and caring for them. This monthly box delivers a small succulent plant, the right potting mix, and care instructions. 

Price: $17.41 or $26.58

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Engine Deluxe Amusement Park Physics Set

This building kit gives you all the parts to create a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round. This project will illustrate how a gear’s diameter affects force and speed and how to calculate gear ratio. The set includes 1,395 pieces, one motor, and building instructions for all the models. You supply two AAA batteries. It is designed for ages eight and up.

Price: $199.95

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International Meal Kits by Takeout Kit

If you need to ease up on ordering takeout, learn to cook with this monthly food box. Each meal kit feeds four–you add your choice of protein. The kits can be stored in your pantry until you’re ready to cook. With each kit, you’ll get the culinary history of the dish as well as suggestions for add-ins and drink pairings. Each month features a different dish, but there are 15 other options if you don’t like that month’s selection.

Price: $31.99/month and up

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S'mores Cupcakes Baking Box

If you want something fun to do with the small people in your life or just a fun family activity, try out this complete baking kit from King Arthur Flour. This box turns summer’s best dessert into delicious cupcakes. Each box includes step-by-step instructions, pre-measured ingredients, and all the speciality baking tools you’ll need. You supply the butter, vegetable oil, eggs, and milk. 

Price: $25.00

Ridiculously Easy No-Knead Sticky Buns Recipe Bundle

King Arthur Flour is an employee-owned company famous for high-quality flour. The company’s mission is to be the ultimate resource and inspiration in the kitchen, to inspire community through baking, and to use business as a force for good. Learning how to make delicious sticky buns on a quiet weekend morning will make you a force for good among your family and friends.

This kit includes a 9″ round pan, sticky buns sugar, baker’s cinnamon filling and SAF Red Instant yeast (and the recipe). 

Price: $38.75

Ultimate Juggling Kit

This kit includes rings, balls, and clubs. By the time spring rolls around, you’ll be able to juggle all of them thanks to online juggling lessons that come with this kit. Malcolm Crawshay, the managing director of the Home of Poi, will give you your money back if you are not 100% satisfied.

Price: $22.80

Learn to Knit Kit

If juggling doesn’t sound fun, try knitting. It is equally good for your brain. This kit includes yarn, beechwood needles, a pattern, and a label for the finished product to make sure you get credit for your work. You’ll also get links to video tutorials to illustrate the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch. You can pick your project and make an infinity scarf, a rectangular scarf, or a hat. 

Price: $55.00 for the infinity scarf or hat, and $95.00 for the rectangular scarf.

Affiliate disclosure: When you click through from our site or one of our downloads to a retailer or vendor and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.

Penguin Amigurumi Crochet Starter Kit

If two needles are intimidating, try your skills with one hook. This Learn to Crochet Kit will teach you how to make a penguin. The kit comes with a pattern, yarn, safety eyes, stuffing, and a stitch market. Once you’ve mastered this simple pattern, you’ll be able to make all kinds of little Amigurumi creatures. Amigurumi is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures.

Price: $20.00

DIY Kit Chainmail Ball

Here’s another way to feed the creative side of your brain and relive Game of Thrones. This kit includes materials to make a 2.5″ chainmail ball, a printed tutorial, 16 grams of u00bc” aluminum jump rings, and black cotton cloth filling. You supply the two pairs of flat-faced pliers to bend the rings without scratching them. This Etsy seller has other chainmail kits, if you’re interested in other forms.

Price: $19.00

Vew-Do Zippy Balance Board with Roller and Teeter

If you want a bigger challenge than juggling, try a balance board. This one is even better for your brain and your body. Balance training is good for your core and improves your proprioception, which means you’ll be less likely to fall. 

The Zipps is the original Vew-Do Balance Board. You stand on the board and apply pressure with your toes or your heels to get the board to move side to side. The board sits on a roller that sits between guide rails that make it easy for new users to get started.

Price: $139.00

Membership in The Planetary Society

Carl Sagan started The Planetary Society, and Bill Nye is the current CEO–what more do you need to know? This group works to advance space exploration by creating missions, nurturing new science and technology, advocating for space, and educating the world. LightSail is a crowdfunded solar sail project from society. The LightSail 2 spacecraft, launched in June 2019, is the first spacecraft in Earth’s orbit propelled solely by sunlight.

Members get a range of benefits, including:

• Subscription to The Planetary Report magazine

• Opportunities to influence space programs through our advocacy campaigns

• Invitations to special events including Planetary Radio Live

• Your name sent to space on select space missions

Price: From $50.00 per year to $30,000 per year