Guide To The Best Toys and Gifts For Teen Boys

Hunting for treasure may be exciting, but how much pressure you can handle in finding the treasure before the island sinks in the two-player board game Forbidden Island. Although you are playing with other players, you are competing against time and teamwork becomes essential.

To be a winner requires strategic thinking, the ability to solve problems, and cooperation with others in finding the 4 treasures on time. Game master Matt Leacock created a board game that achieved considerable awards like the 2010 Mensa Favorite Brainy Games Winner and the Top Board Game of 2010.

Each of the six characters has their skills and unique abilities. The game is for two to four players, which creates a twist to the game because you can’t have all six characters.

If you don’t like the idea of a sinking island, then there is the Forbidden Desert or explore a mysterious platform in Forbidden Sky.

Number of players: 2-4

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 30-45 minutes

Complexity Level: Medium

Recommended ages: 10+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 7+ years

If the idea of saving the world interests you, then join the disease control team in Pandemic and protect the world against deadly diseases. You play against time to find the cures before the virus spreads.

It’s essential to work together as a team to find solutions. Pandemic is a great game to inspire teamwork and strategic play. Players must decide which actions to take next. Do they treat the diseases, find a new cure, build research stations, or fly or drive across the globe?

The game starts with nine infected cities. With each round, the number increases, and epidemic cards may re-infect previous cities that may cause chaos if wrong actions are taken.

Easy to understand the board game allows for all ages to play, requiring tactical and strategic moves to save the world. Players control the difficulty level by deciding how many epidemic cards they place in the deck.

Number of players: 2-4

Set up time: 10-15 minutes

Average Playtime: 25-45 minutes

Complexity Level: Medium to High

Recommended ages: 8+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 8+ years

The Doodle Crate makes our best toy and gift list for teens because it’s different than the average gift.  It’s not for every young adult, but those with an artistic bent will really appreciate your thoughtfulness once they receive it.

Every month, a “crate” is mailed to your child.  Inside are numerous projects based around the theme of the month.  It’s not just painting or drawing – projects require working in different materials including wood, clay, and resins.  Different styles of artistic expression are explored each month.  There are also written and video resources provided to allow inclined kids to explore the subject more thoroughly.

Not every teen boy will love this gift – but it’s the perfect gift for the kid that’s shown an interest in art in the past.  I know in my family, my youngest son had a blast working on his project.  I’m confident your creative kid will enjoy the Doodle Crate as well.

Ever used a telescope and thought “Big Deal”?  That’s usually because the images you see aren’t coming in very bright.

When your child has outgrown a more toy-like telescope and is ready to step up to an adult-level, quality tool, the Orion 10014 Skyquest XT is a perfect fit. Due to the much larger aperture, this telescope producers images over 260% brighter than your run-of-the-mill starter telescopes. That means they will be able to see hundreds of more objects from the night sky.

The Dobsonian style means it’s more compact, so it’s easier to transport.  Just be careful when moving it.  It’s not a toy – it’s not meant to take too much abuse.   Try this telescope out, and view the moon – or Venus – and see if you still think “Big Whoop”!

The Unicorn Adventure Scratch and Sketch, an art activity book, is one of the best unicorn gifts to give a creative child and budding artist…and a unicorn fan. What is hidden behind the black-coated scratch-off art board pages? Even boys and girls who don’t think they can draw could be inspired to follow the tracing and drawings in the activity book. Tracing with the wooden stylus strengthens hand-eye coordination.

Kids of all ages are invited to join Polly with the unicorn on an adventure to the unicorn’s castle. Scratching the black-coated art board pages reveal rainbow swirls and glittery foil unicorn-related images. The hardcover activity book contains twenty drawings and descriptions of unicorns and friends, twenty pages for doodling, and the twenty black-coated scratch-off pages. Kids may use crayons, markers, or colored pencils to create their unique unicorn artwork and their unicorn adventure stories.

It’s not only a drawing book; it combines the story with the drawings taking kids on an adventure. Boys and girls may build confidence in their art skills and create new experiences for the unicorn combining imagination and creativity.

The hardcover activity book with its wooden styles is convenient for road trips and to keep kids occupied in restaurants and waiting rooms. It gives kids the freedom to sketch on pages at the back or for the less daring to trace and color in the drawings.

Your child may not have a unicorn in the garden, but they can create their unique unicorn garden with Creative Roots Create Your Own Unicorn Garden kit. The 10-inch plastic planter is a nice size for a sustainable garden project for kids indoors or outdoors.

Each child creates a unique garden by planting or decorating with the flowers, herbs, or plants they wish to have in the garden. You don’t even have to buy seeds; they can also use plants from your backyard or flower bed. Some unicorn gardens may well have daisies, pansies, and violets.  Other may have more tropical effect with ferns and ground covers. For some, a quick-growing herb garden could be a great idea.  It’s up to your child!

The five hand-painted figurines create a personal touch and inspire imaginative play. Your kid may move the castle, two unicorn figurines, the toadstool, and a butterfly around depending on how their creative story unfolds.

Gardening is a soothing exercise that provides delayed gratification after you see the plants grow and flower. Start by layering the planter with soil (seeds and soil not included in the package). Place the garden accessories as desired. Add the plants or flowers and display your garden for all to see.

If your kid doesn’t want to create a live garden, they can use fake moss, and toy trees and shrubs to develop their unicorn garden.

The Color Changing Unicorn Mug is a great unicorn gift for kids and adults who enjoy their coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and other hot drinks that works the magic. There’s a reason the unicorn face looks like it’s smiling as if it has a secret. When you pour hot water into the unicorn mug, the unicorn’s hair changes into beautiful rainbow colors.

The design is on both sides of the mug, so it doesn’t matter whether your child is left-handed or right-handed; they will see the color-changing effect. The manufacturer, Infloatables, guarantees a quality ceramic mug with their trademarked Unicorn Mug Design that won’t scratch off.

With a one-of-a-kind design, the 3D mug is decorative enough to earn a particular spot on your desk, in your bedroom, office, or a special place among the other unicorn collectibles. Display it empty or use it to store your pencils, markers, or pens.

It is one of the best unicorn gifts for kids or adults who adore unicorns. They will be delighted with such an original unicorn gift but wait until you offer them a hot drink in their new unicorn mug. It’s a jaw-dropping experience the first time they see the hair of the unicorn change into rainbow colors.

7 Wonders Duel is designed for two players and is as much fun with a similar style of play than the award-winning 7 Wonders. The object is to build a civilization with the best army that will crush your opponent. If you prefer a more peaceful victory than invading your opponent’s capital, you have two other options. Become prestigious by winning the most victory points or achieve a monopoly through scientific advancement.

In the ancient world, the civilizations move through three Ages building wonders that strengthen their game. With only half of the cards revealed and multiple winning options, you are never sure if your strategy is working; your opponent may surprise you at the last move.

If you are a frequent player, don’t fret, there is the Pantheon Expansion pack available.

Number of players: 2

Set up time: 5-10 minutes

Average Playtime: 30 minutes

Complexity Level: Medium

Recommended ages: 10-15 years

Reviewed recommended ages: 10+ years

Hive is a two-player board game that requires strategic thinking like when playing Chess. The objective of the game is to protect your queen bee that she isn’t locked in by opponent bugs.

The game is quick to grasp but requires strategic thinking. Set up time is fast because you don’t require a board; a flat surface will suffice to place the tiles.

Each tile is decorated with one of the five types of bugs — each bug hast its rules of how it can move.

A portable game that can travel with you wherever you go.

Number of players: 2

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 15-30 minutes

Complexity Level: Medium

Recommended ages: 8-15 years

Reviewed recommended ages: 8+ years

If you are looking for a way for your teen to have access to music, stories and alarm functions without having to take out a second mortgage, this device is great for you! The Amazon Echo is quite amazing – the sky is the limit to what it can do when you install additional “skills”.  You can set it up to voice control your music – streaming music is available  from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Sirius XM, and others.  The Echo will answer questions, control your lights (if you have a a smart home), and work with other Echo’s around the home as a intercom system from room to room.  There’s more, but I only have so much room in this review.  :)

When paired with Amazon Free Time, the Echo becomes the top smart speaker for kids.  Why?  You can use the Amazon Parent Dashboard to enforce time limits, content filters and more so your children are only exposed to age-appropriate content at times you want.  teen boys need to learn how to use technology instead of being ruled by it – you can help them by setting reasonable usage limits.

You are inviting a listening device into your home (which should make you at least a LITTLE uncomfortable) – but the mechanical On-Off button means regardless of Amazon’s promises, you can make sure certain conversations stay private in your home.  The speaker quality is good for the size – but you’ll need two for stereo sound.  For the price of almost any toy your teen would want, it’s a great gift.

Sequence is a two-player board game that requires strategic and decision-making skills. The object is to create a row of five pieces while simultaneously blocking your opponent from creating their rows.

The board shows two packs of cards. Each card lies with its image face up. Each player is dealt seven cards. When it’s your turn, you select a card in your hand to play by placing a chip on one of the two options on the board. That’s where the strategy and fun start, choosing the right one that will enhance your play.

There’s always the wild card to benefit a player and have a negative impact on the opponent. The Jack can be played as any card, or you could remove an opponent’s chip from the board.

The player who scores the required number of sequences wins.

Number of players: 2-3 or up to 12 in three teams

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 10-30 minutes

Complexity Level: Easy

Recommended ages: 7+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 6+ years

Patchwork may look straightforward, but there’s a catch. Uneven pieces of fabric require strategic planning and the ability to solve problems. When you’ve placed your fabric piece on the board, you can’t move it.

Created by game designer Uwe Rosenberg, this classic board game inspires creativity, problem-solving, and healthy competition. The competitive game challenges players to create the highest score with their patchwork quilt design.

A game could take up to 45 minutes, depending on the competitive play. The idea is to complete as much of the quilt as possible with the unique shapes. Kids who like solving puzzles will enjoy that element in the game. Creative kids who want to become textile designers will enjoy the idea of creating a quilt with odd pieces.

The secret lies in the buttons, which is the money currency and gives the quilt that final touch.

If you enjoy Tetris, then you may enjoy this engaging quilting game with its strategic puzzle-solving element.

Number of players: 2

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 15-30 minutes

Complexity Level: Easy

Recommended ages: 8-15 years

Reviewed recommended ages: 8-adults

Nerf dart blasters are a perennial favorite of boys and girls everywhere. The N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster is no exception to this rule. With this blaster gun, you’ll be able to fire 6 darts in a row up to 90 feet.  Just slam the slide to reload and you are on your way.  That’s right, this blaster doesn’t require batteries.

While fine to shoot at targets by yourself, the real fun comes when a group of boys organize into teams and play tag or other games. Kids learn to implement strategy, cooperate with teammates and burn off a ton of energy running around outside while working to tag opposing team members.

Solve crime mysteries faster than the famous Mr. Holmes in the two-player board game Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Thames Murders and Others. Players can cooperate to play against Sherlock Holmes, or they can up the competition level by playing against each other too.

There are ten mysteries to solve by visiting locations on the London map and reading stories and newspapers to find clues. If you enjoy reading and finding clues, then this is one of the best game choices for you. The clues you find leads you to a place on the map.

If you like games that don’t require a specific order structure, then you’ll enjoy being a sleuth in this flexible game. Players may visit any place in any order, read all newspapers to date, an interview any informant available.

As you progress as a consulting detective, the cases become more complicated with more clues. The first couple of cases are solvable within 1-2 hours; latter cases will take longer.

Number of players: 1-8

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 2 hours

Complexity Level: Difficult

Recommended ages: 10+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 10+ years

If you’re looking for a high-speed portable drone capable of stunts and fits inside your teen’s back pocket, then the Holy Stone HS190 Foldable Mini RC Drone is an excellent gift for your teenage son. The foldable drone fits neatly inside the transmitter, making it easy to transport.

Unfolded, the quadcopter is capable of various flight movements from high-speed rotations to 360-degree flips. Three switchable speed modes give beginners ample opportunity to practice their flying skills at low speed. For the experts, who are ready to show-off the quadcopter to friends and impress the girls, there are medium and high-speed modes.

In Headless Mode, the drone is programmed to return to the pilot; with the press of a button, the quadcopter returns home. Flying the drone is easy; take-off and landing also happen with the press of a button. The throttle stick steers the drone. When you release the stick, the altitude hold function keeps the quadcopter at that height.

The LED lighting systems, consisting of navigation lights and control indicator lights, makes it possible for nighttime flight.

Timeline Challenge is a series of trivia games that may delight history fans and players who like to know facts. The original Timeline game was a card game that included topics like historical events, music, cinema, and science and discoveries.

Time Challenge transformed playing cards into a complete board game for two players. It is a set of mini-games increasing the difficulty level of the game. It is a standalone two-player game or serves as an expansion to Timeline.

Although the board game may remind you of Trivial Pursuit, moving around the board isn’t determined by the dice roll. It’s related to how many points the player earns answering correctly during a Trial (mini-challenge). If there are more than two players, players who are furthest behind have two opportunities to catch up by playing Challenges against each other.

Number of players: 2-10

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 30 minutes – 1 hour

Complexity Level: Easy

Recommended ages: 10-15 years

Reviewed recommended ages: 12+ years

Agricola is a turn-based, worker placement game where the goal is to build and expand your farm. The game starts with the farmer and his spouse, which means you have two actions each turn, one for the farmer and one for the wife.

Each farm chore can only be done by one player at a time, which means strategically, you can block another player’s progress or force them to do other actions. The game is low aggressive because there are no battles or destruction; you can only inconvenience your opponent, not destroy or harm their farm. Parents who want their kids to have competitive fun without aggression, Agricola is a great pick.

Players need to decide which chores are a priority to build the farm, stockpile, and feed the family. Players continuously faced with making difficult choices.

Number of players: 1-5

Set up time: 10 minutes

Average Playtime: 2 hours

Complexity Level: Medium

Recommended ages: 10-15 years

Reviewed recommended ages: 10=15 years

Instead of competing against each other, players work together as a team to win in Czech Games Codenames: Duet. The object of the game is to find the 15 agents among a grid of 25 that includes assassins and bystanders. Should you reveal an assassin, you lose the game.

Just like in the spy world, countries may work together, but they don’t reveal all their secrets to the world; they often communicate in code. With numbers and single word clues, players communicate to help each other find the agents and avoid the assassins.

Codenames Duet is a fast-paced strategic word game that could improve kids developing teamwork and cooperating skills by working together. For those who don’t like the challenge of finding the best word clue or trying to decipher the clue, the game may be frustrating.

Number of players: 2-4

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 15-30 minutes

Complexity Level: Easy

Recommended ages: 10+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 11+

The Beriwinkle Ceramic Unicorn Piggy Bank is the best unicorn gift to teach kids about finances. After all, if you want to go on adventures or enlarge your unicorn toys collection, you need to start saving.

The glazed ceramic unicorn head is available in six different colors to complement the décor in a child’s room. With more than one unicorn fan in the household, the different colors will avoid mixing up the piggy banks. If you have an avid saver, why not collect all the colors and have a unicorn display in their bedroom?

With dimensions, 7.5 x 9 x 4.5 inches the unicorn piggy bank isn’t too large for the dressing table or a bookshelf. The base is sturdy so that it won’t topple over and break. Then it is within arm’s length when kids want to add money to their piggy bank through the slot at the top.

When the unicorn piggy bank is full, or there’s a new unicorn toy to buy, the stopper at the bottom opens the bank and reveals the content. Note that it’s easy to remove the stopper, which means curious eyes may want to see how much money was saved.

Although it’s a piggy bank, the design is so tasteful, that it could be a great birthday or Christmas gift for any unicorn fan who collects unicorns or for people who enjoy unique décor.

Bananagrams adds additional competitiveness and excitement to traditional two-player board games like Scrabble. In Scrabble, players take turns, not so in Bananagrams. With this game, each player races to see who can finish all the letters building a grid.

All you need to play is the banana-shaped carrying pouch containing 144 plastic letter tiles and two players. No board, pen, or scoring devices are necessary.

Each player creates a word grid, trying to deplete all their tiles. When that happens, players take another tile. The game continues until all the tiles are taken.

The game is easy to play and teaches kids spelling and new words during play. Bananagrams pouch is compact and convenient for traveling.

Number of players: 2-8

Set up time: 5 minutes

Average Playtime: 15 minutes

Complexity Level: Easy

Recommended ages: 7+ years

Reviewed recommended ages: 8+ years