These games are a good pick if you want screen-free play that travels well and does not need a long rulebook. You can compare the full Genius line-up and read how each version plays at Happy Puzzle.

Stocking fillers are where the smaller puzzles shine. Self-contained games such as the Genius Square, along with pocket brain teasers, drop neatly into a stocking and give someone a challenge for the quiet bit of the morning. For children, a game matched to their age, from Bee Genius for the little ones to WordSnap XL for older siblings, tends to get more play than yet another plastic toy.

To see jigsaws grouped by piece count and theme, from first puzzles for toddlers to harder pieces for adults, take a look at the jigsaw collection at family board games.

Brain teaser puzzles for adults come in a few broad styles. There are mechanical puzzles, such as interlocking metal or wooden pieces you have to take apart and put back together, logic puzzles that ask you to work out a single correct arrangement, and spatial puzzles where you fit shapes into a fixed space. Knowing which type someone enjoys makes it much easier to choose one they will actually sit down with.

These games are a good pick if you want screen-free play that travels well and does not need a long rulebook. You can compare the full Genius line-up and read how each version plays at outdoor garden games.

Think about space and time too. A large jigsaw needs a table or board where it can stay out for days, which is not always practical. Puzzles can be a calming, screen-free way to spend a wet afternoon, and working on one together is a quiet way for a family to sit down side by side without a fixed finish time.

It is worth thinking about the setting too. Games with a drawstring bag or a tin survive being thrown in a rucksack better than a large flat box. For a caravan or a beach hut with limited space, Happy Puzzle pick a few small games rather than one big one, so you can match the game to the mood without taking up a whole shelf.