The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting holiday spending in a lot of ways this. Online buying continues to be increasingly popular and our new stay-at-home culture is driving sales to improve our at-home lifestyles. People are investing in things that are enhancing their experiences with their family including even-bigger-screen televisions, workout equipment, gaming consoles and, yes, even good old-fashioned board games and puzzles.

Following that trend and the desire to support Black-owned businesses and knowing that your level of support for these businesses can be increased by your desire for the kind of product they sell, we think we’ve found a winning combination – a great way to support Black-owned businesses this year.

We’ve found nearly a dozen Black-owned board games, all of which are developing a following. All of them are culturally specific, which makes even more fun for family gathering and fun during the holiday season and this lingering stay-at-home-driven pandemic.

Here are the games we found, a brief description of each, their website for ordering and price points. More info about each game and how they’re played can be found on their website.

Brilliant or BS

BrilliantOrBS.com

Always wanted to call out your friends and family on their BS? Well, now you can with the hilarious bluffing party game that proves it’s not what you know. It’s what others think you know. $19.99

Puzzles of Color

www.PuzzlesOfColor.com

This company was started by a brother-sister duo who enjoy the challenges of puzzle and the long hours of family time they spent putting them together. However, they noticed the imagery didn’t often represent who they are. All of these puzzles’ images were created by artists of color. If you don’t have 4 or more players for a board game, these puzzles can provide hours of engagement, even if you live alone. Finished puzzles are 20 x 27 in. $31.99

Trap Wars

FamFoolery.com

Get your team to say your word the quickest without using trap words … or your card gets snatched! There’s an original laugh-infused edition (125 cards) and Black history edition (75 cards) that offers a fun way to learn. Buy one deck $19.99 or both decks $36.99.

One Gotta Go

OneGottaGo.com

One Gotta Go is an adult party & debate game. 4 Choices, One Gotta Go. Have fun, intense, real, and memorable conversations with your friends and family Each card has four options. Based on the chosen round type, each player decides which option “gotta go” or which one “can stay.” If the choice is not unanimous, each player has 30 seconds to convince the moderator to side with them by explaining why their choice makes sense. The moderator chooses a winner and the winner gets a point. There are two available games, the culture deck and the first deck. Individually, the decks are $25 of $45 for both.

SAWA

SawaTrivia.com

The name SAWA means “it’s good” in Kiswahili. Sawa Trivia is a fast-paced, exciting, African pop-culture card game. If you are African, love Africa or want to learn about Africa, this game is for you. Sawa Trivia covers many aspects of the African continent. The cards are categorized into six major categories: History and Politics, Geography, Arts and Culture, Cinema, Sports and Business, and Technology. $39.99

Verified

VerifiedTheGame.com

What is Social Media without Followers, Likes and Comments?

“Verified” takes social media and turns it into a hilarious and entertaining party game. Can you gain those Followers and Likes? Each round, one player picks a card (116 cards) asking a question based off 1 of 5 categories.

University of Dope

www.UniversityOfDope.com

This is a game targets urban millennials and anyone else that adores the Golden age of Hip Hop. This is really a party game, if you get a pop quiz card and you fail, you’re supposed to take a drink. The last person standing – you haven’t passed out drunk – is considered the winner. Other cards (144 total) are multiple choice and the majority rules. If you lose, you have to pluck the next card. Beware, it might be a pop quiz. $20

Discretion

DiscretionGame.com

This is a timed trivia game with our culture in mind. It’s a guessing game and the player giving clues must avoid saying any of the words on the game card (218 cards). Score the most points by correctly guessing the most cards before the time runs out. $27

Culture Tags

CultureTags.com

The game is simple. Grab a card (350), show your team the #CultureTag (acronym) and give hints to help them guess the phrase without saying what it is. Can’t figure it out? Pass! Just get through as many answers as possible before your time runs out! $25.95

Black Card Revoked

CardsForAllPeople.com/collections/all

This is likely the granddaddy of the Black card games, the company is now in the fifth edition of their original game Black Card Revoked. The concept is if you don’t know the answers, your Black card is revoked. The original games is great for multi-generations, with questions from ’50s to today. However, the company has come up with a number of new games including Old School Card Revoked, Saved and Sanctified Card Revoked, Latino Card Revoked, Gay Card Revoked, Girl’s Night Out and even the adult game Lip Service: Nasty Freaky, Fun. Individual games run $13 to $22.99 and there’s a value pack for $44.99.