8 x 8. Hunters, miners and swarmers (one bishop piece, one rook piece, 14 glass pieces per player). All pieces move orthogonally. You roll four one/zero dice, then move any one of your pieces that distance. Hunters can capture miners (win), miners can capture swarmers (six is a win) and swarmers can surround the hunter (win if hunter can't move).

It's drab.

Lose the dice, make it more like tablut? No, the hunter would just chase the miner in circles. How about a mechanism to force players to use different types of pieces? No, it doesn't work. It's a failed experiment.

Q: What's with the dice?

A: This and that. It's something different. The randomness means you can play a game with your little niece. Last but not least it forces you to move different pieces, not just the obvious ones.
 
 

Might as well try the rugby idea.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Which decade was more innovative? The 1970s ... well, uh, the 1960s. We'll give it to the 1970s, with its diverse acts doing their thing.

But it doesn't matter. We really want to know which decade had better music.
 

There were specialty channels, sirius or something, in a car, one for 60s and the other for 70s. They alternated known songs with unknown songs. The 70s channel seemed to provide more dependable entertainment. We'll give that to the 70s.
 

I'm a little hazy on this, but it seems to me that in the 60s acts put out their hit single, and the rest of the album was filler, whereas in the 70 acts were more likely to put care in all the songs on their albums. So chalk one up for the 70s.
 

When I think of a list of candidates for the best song ever, it's 1970s songs, like a couple of Yes songs (Siberian Khatru, Starship Troopers/Wyrm), Come and Get Your Love by Redbone (was the best song ever done by native Americans?), and the Harvest King song has serious legs. Of course all this is subjective, personal. For me the best song ever is from the 60s. I find this funny because of the genre. We'll give this to the 70s.
 

Sometimes I wonder if I am burned out on 70s music. Consider Led Zeppelin. They walk all over any and every other band. And yet, I genterally don't seek out their music. I've heard it before.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You could make Gamaroo for Christmas. It is a bunch of work, but I pretty much guarantee it will be fun for the family. What you could do is have more than one person work on it, to lighten the load and make it a fun social experience.

I'm thinking use those two-bite cinammon buns as sweets (just one small part of the game!). Minimal hassle while getting the job done.
 
 
 
 

You could assemble Stand By Me and stuff it in an Altoids tin.

Nobody's actually going to play it. You would need something like a dozen willing players. It's not exactly a team-building exercise.

But there are various good things to say about it. It is rugged, small, portable, disposable, fits in a stocking. It is hand assembled rather than purchased, parts won't cost much, not hard to assemble. It may lead to fun.

Regarding providing the rules, do what you think is best.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You can easily find this eagle puzzle "The Screamer" at the shop. Should you get it? Yeah, might as well, under $5, could put in a stocking. I tried it, and thought it had the right amount of challenge. On the simpler side.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I'm proud of the originality of this. I will give a humble fruit fly trap. Just a bowl, some malt vinegar in a container, instructions on the bowl, syran wrap, elastic band and a couple of toothpicks. Kids can assemble it and observe it.