Holidays are made for game playing; it's a chance to escape electronic entertainment and reconvene over the card table. Here are a few ideas for under-the-tree games that will encourage family unity.

N.B.: To make sure we've got everyone on your list covered, we're running a new gift guide every weekday from now until Christmas. You can see all of our gift guides to date at Remodelista Daily: Holiday Gifts.

Above: The midcentury Chess Set was designed in 1966 by Lanier Graham; the pieces are shaped to represent the way they move (the L-shaped knight is an excellent example of form following function); $65 at MoMA.

Above: My mathematician father spent hours trying to teach me how to play Go, an ancient Chinese game of strategy and tactics; for similarly mathematically inclined families, this version of GO is $89.95 at the Games Supply.

Above: You can play backgammon on an iPad now, but there is something satisfying about rolling the dice and hearing the thud as they land. Besides, the Travel Backgammon Set from Undercover is just as convenient; £95.

Above: Helveticards by designer Ryan Myers illustrate the transformative powers of typographic design; $10 a set.