The 2017 Good Gift Games
Our resident board-game expert picks the best new games released this year.
Guides
A collection of 69 issues
The 2016 Good Gift Games
Board games are always the answer. After a dinner party, when conversation dwindles. At family gatherings, when politics loom. When you want to give a good gift, but aren't sure where to start. Begin here, with 10 of the best from 2016.
How to Drink in Qatar
The World Cup and its drunken fans are about to crash head-first into a repressive, restrictive society, where alcohol is illegal mostly everywhere.
The 2015 Good Gift Games
Give someone the right board game, and you're offering easy access to endless fun. Choose incorrectly, and you're giving misery in a box. Start here instead, with the best board games of 2015.
A Recipe for Disasters
Calculating the probable dates for very bad things—a catastrophic solar megastorm; Seattle destroyed by earthquake—that are likely to occur.
Ars Erotica
What one woman labels kinky, another person calls a crime against cake. Offering a taxonomy of erotic fixations.
The Apocalypse Will Be Televised
When the world ends, CNN won’t be the only channel with a doomsday video ready for broadcast.
The 2014 Good Gift Games
Board games are a gift that keeps on giving—the best of the bunch provide hours of fun for years on end. But when a new crop of great games arrives every year, how can you choose? This is how.
Queen of the Jungle
Orangutans are some of humans’ closest relatives, genetically. They also rarely exhibit aggression, despite how we've abused them. One is different.
Demolish Me
The present-day lust for ruins is nothing new. In fact, it’s nearly as old as any ruins themselves. From a flattened Louvre to Percy Bysshe Shelley, a journey to the dawn of ruin porn.
The Misplaced Birthday of President George Washington
The truth behind Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day, Presidents’ Day, or whatever the hell you want to call it, as briefly explained by puppets.
2013 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Which is just as well, because she wouldn't have liked the gift you bought for her at the last minute. Gift ideas for the ungifted.
A Lifetime’s One Regret
Does hindsight improve with age? People, ages five to 60, name their life's biggest mistake and what they learned.
The 2013 Good Gift Games
During holiday family get-togethers, don't risk bringing up a topic everyone's hoping to avoid. Instead, bring a board game and circumvent all conversation. Here are 10 of the best from 2013.
The Window Cleaner
Dirt is difficult to see on glass. That’s why so many people don't bother to hire a professional for the job—they just can’t see what’s wrong.
Bombs Over Damascus
As another military intervention gets underway—with your name on it—we thought a brief tour of recent history in Syria would be useful, with lots of pictures.
Explaining the Inexplicable
Readers of science reporting often find their heads spinning. Some of the science reporters do, too. A look at how the best of them make inexpertise an asset.
The Pyongyang Papers
North Korea’s intentions are unknown for the moment. But its memos are, at the very least, straightforward. The TMN staff uncovers a worldwide exclusive: internal documentation of the DPRK’s plans for the remaining calendar year.
She Nukes Me, She Nukes Me Not
Pyongyang’s frequent threats toward the United States appear to be ratcheting up in intensity. How did we get to this point? An illustrated guide to the relationship’s recent romance, and why you should be nervous about North Korea.
2012 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
'Twas the day before Christmas, when all through the house still no presents were purchased—again, you're a louse. Gift ideas for the ungifted.
The 2012 Good Gift Games
Oh look, it's the holidays and time to interact with humans again. Thankfully, there are board games to facilitate or replace conversation. Here are 10 of the year's best to get you started.
A Buyer's Guide to American Colleges
Rare is the college graduate who’s attended more than one school. But when you’ve attended four very different types of university, it’s incumbent upon you to share what you’ve learned.
The 2011 Good Gift Games
The problem with a trip down memory lane is that it might strand you in Candyland. Here are 10 new games well worth remembering.
Our National Posters
People say you can never go home again. But you can go back on vacation. Notes on the specific tragedy that occurs when, revisiting the great national parks of your childhood, you realize all your memories of the wild derive from gift shops.
Arbotchery
An illustrated catalog of abuse taking place across the country, in cities large and small, where trees are being hacked, whacked, and chopped into unnatural shapes in the name of power.
What Your Salute Says About You
How you start an email reveals a lot more about your intentions than you know. Common e-greetings for etiquette voodoo.
2010 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
You made your list, you checked it twice, then you waited until the last minute to do any of your shopping. Ideas for gifts for everyone on your list, whether they want them or not.
The 2010 Good Gift Games
Presenting the year's best board games, all of which must be easy to learn, quick to play, and exciting for non-gamers.
Just Like Heaven
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we answer that eternal question: What happens after we die?
2009 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
It's that time of year again--actually, it's way past that time of year. And again, you still haven't done your holiday shopping.
The 2009 Good Gift Games
This holiday season, your loved ones could play Operation: "Death Panel" Edition, or you could give them a game where somebody besides the government wins.
Handel Reborn
Beethoven said Handel was the greatest who ever composed--so why do we only seek him out at holidays? Marking the 250th anniversary of Handel's death with a guide to all the life in his music.
2008 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
It's a holiday tradition: You're giftless mere hours until Christmas, and it's printouts and January ETAs for the unlucky few on your list. Gift ideas for the eternally belated.
How to Go Caroling
'Tis the season to be jolly, all over the cul-de-sac, on your neighbors' porches, against your neighbors' most fervent holiday wishes.
The 2008 Good Gift Games
This holiday season, rather than hock what's left of your 401(k) for Starbucks gift cards, gather friends and family around a cozy, non-energy-dependent board game.
An Arachnological Guide to the Spiders From Mars
Our planet welcomed their invasion, despite unknown dangers they may have posed.
2007 Holiday—uh—Christmas Survival Guide for Slackers—uh—Cultural Warriors
Talented gift-givers put time and thought into selecting presents for their loved ones. Gift ideas for the ungifted.
Gift Subscriptions
A gift in the mail is a joy to open--a gift every month (or less) trumps that. For those stumped on how to tie up their holiday shopping, our resident shopping expert advises you to pour yourself some ’nog, and order a few magazines.
The 2007 Good Gift Games
As long as you've got two to four friends, that's all you need for a fun afternoon of playing board games. Oh, except for a board game that's actually fun. Presenting this year's crop of games even sore losers will enjoy.
Ozymandias's Washington
Though the U.S. capital is home to scores of memorials, just a handful of them command the attention of most visitors. A tour of Washington's other monuments.
2006 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
It's always better to give than to receive--at least that's what your loved ones say, just as they're about to open another present from you.
Our Favorite Gifts
The most meaningful gifts are so personal they cannot simply be plucked from the shelves of a store--but sometimes we need a little help. Turning holiday inspiration into shopping salvation, the writers recall their fondest gift memories.
The 2006 Good Gift Games
Around the holidays there are always two to four players within earshot. Every year dozens of board games are marketed into existence, but some are so fun they stand alone.
2005 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
You made your list, checked it twice, and still haven't bought a single gift. With just over 48 hours to go, it's gift cards or IOUs--or these suggestions for the presents nobody will forget, no matter how much holiday cheer they down.
Twelve Calendar Gifts for a Happy New Year
In 2006 you will remember every birthday, every tooth cleaning, every oil change and tune-up. Your mother will get flowers; you will turn your mattress; you will schedule your vacation months in advance. Our writer picks the calendars that will help.
The 2005 Good Gift Games
Being with friends and loved ones is what makes the holidays special--and once you're fed up with that, it's time to humiliate them over a board game. Here are this year's best tabletop entertainments.
Fifteen Prudent Gifts for the Budget-Minded
You enjoy the lights, you're fond of the cocktails; you loathe the stores. Our shopping expert offers her online picks for under $30, so you can focus on making merry.
Fifteen Luxury Gifts Worth the Splurge
Maybe you're feeling especially generous, maybe you did something unforgivable, maybe you're just loaded. Our shopping expert suggests gifts they'll remember for years.
To Blunt the Razor’s Edge
November is National Beard Month—but before you stop shaving you’d better have a close look at your options. An explanation of common facial hairstyles, including notes on those best avoided.
Valentine's Gift Guide
The heart-shaped box of chocolates was sweet and the bouquet of roses was lovely, but your Valentine deserves a surprise this year.
2004 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
Every year you show up with a stack of giftcards from Rite-Aid. And every year your family roasts your chestnuts for waiting until the last minute to do your shopping. This year will be different.
Twenty Gifts That Go Easy on Your Budget
You're a generous sort, but you don't have much time (or cash). Ideas for gifts that won't leave you paying off your credit cards through July.
The 2004 Good Gift Games Guide
The last time you played a board game you got the Adam's apple caught in the funny-bone slot and then you couldn't pass GO or collect $200. These days, however, board games are a lot more enticing and fun.
Couples Showers and Late Wedding Gifts
You're asked to buy an expensive, ugly bridesmaid's dress, but aren't invited to the shower. You bought the wedding presents years ago; they're just in your closet.
RSVPs and "Best Persons"
A wedding invitation arrives without an RSVP card, and a bride wonders what to call a female "best man."
Grand Old Partying
Where’s the best party in town? Not here, apparently. After corralling an invitation to the Sunday night shindig thrown by the Bush twins, our good-intentioned correspondent learns how the other half lives and plays.
When Guests Outstay Their Welcome
If your guests are walking all over you, it may be that you look suspiciously like a doormat.
How to Walk in New York
Walk or don't walk? In New York, there is rarely a choice. The ground rules for how you should maneuver the pavement, always showing your best side under special circumstances, and what to do when sidewalk rage hits.
A Reasonable Guide to Scum Rock
Let the strippers go unpaid, let the motel rooms burn--rock's only as good as its most depraved leaders are terrible.
2003 Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
Last year you did all your shopping on the drive to grandmother's house, but this year you've got a chance to make good.
How to Carve a Pumpkin
It's nearly Halloween, time for ghosts, treats, and hours of time invested in what invariably winds up splattered down your block. Yes: the season-o-Jack. Here's how to cut your gourd.
How to Write a Thank-You Note
"Sincerely, Help?" Having trouble finding the right words to thank cousin Sal for that mango slicer? How to write the perfect, honest thank-you note every time.
Holiday Survival Guide for Slackers
Don't know what to get your (sorta) loved ones for the holidays? Well, there's always powdered urine.
Weddings
Why you can’t ask your wedding guests to pay for your mortgage, or their own drinks.
Socializing
Why is that woman next to you gasping? Oh, dear. You seem to be stepping on her toes. You didn’t even notice, did you?
Relationships
Advice on relationships: how to call, coo, cuddle, and compete, all by adhering to a decent code of conduct.
Kindness
You may think that etiquette doesn't matter, that grapefruit spoons are for sissies and no one should hold the door anymore. Think again, jerk.
Kevin Fanning's Home Security Basics
Dangerous times call for drastic measures. From mental combat to homemade weaponry, a few good tricks to keep the bad guys away.
The Morning News Guide to New York
Summer is tourist season in New York City and maybe you're one of them, on a visit to the city, unsure of where to go. Maybe you have recommendations from friends, maybe relatives have ideas for where to go; don't trust them. Trust us.