As the darkness of winter descends and people are driven to gather indoors for the holidays, it suddenly becomes a lot more important to have good board games on hand. If your board game shelf is looking a little barren, worry not; Amazon’s Black Friday sale has the excellent Azul for just $21.49 – a 33% drop from its usual price.
For the uninitiated, Azul is a strategic tile placement game in which two to four players are tasked with creating mosaics to win. It’s on IGN’s best beginner board games list – so at over $10 off, if you’ve never tried it, now is a good time.
Black Friday Deal: Azul Down to $21.49 at Amazon
Azul made our list of best board game classics for good reason. In our review, writer Matt Thrower said that, “Between its beautiful presentation, simplicity and depth there’s little doubt that Azul has earned its place as a modern classic.” And at this price? It’s certainly worth picking up for your board game collection.
If you’re looking for more board game deals, there’s plenty to explore from non-Amazon Black Friday sales. At the moment, Target has a ‘Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Board Games and Puzzles’ offer going on as part of its Black Friday sale, and other deals will surely pop up as the week continues. For more, check out our full breakdown of Black Friday 2025.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Black Friday Deal: Save on Catan at Amazon and Target
Catan is meant to be played with three-to-four players aged 10 and up, perfect for holiday game nights with family or friends. As you play, you’ll trade resources and construct roads and settlements in a race to 10 points. We rank it among the best classic board games to play overall, and it’s still one of the best strategy board games in 2025.
Far Cry is taking its special brand of mayhem to FX and streaming service Hulu with a new series based on the games. Alien Earth’s Noah Hawley is producing with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob Mac starring and producing.
“What I love about the Far Cry game franchise is it’s an anthology. Each game is a variation of a theme, the same way each season of Fargo is a variation on a theme,” said Hawley.
“To create a big action show that can change from year to year, while always exploring the nature of humanity through this complex and chaotic lens is a dream come true. I’m excited to partner with Rob and bring our shared irreverent, ambitious sensibility to the screen.”
The plan is for each season of the show to take on a new setting, similar to the games with Mac in the starring role. Details on the release date or content are still under wraps, but the games have given us everything from Montana, USA to the Himalayas and cults, insane dictators and pirates, so there’s plenty to work with.
“Getting to work alongside Noah Hawley is a dream realized,” added Mac, who also worked with Ubisoft on Apple’s Mythic Quest, where he played a game developer.
“Ubisoft has been remarkably generous, entrusting us with one of the most iconic video-game worlds ever created. And through it all, my FX family continues to lift me up with their constant belief and support.”
Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She’s been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to going time blind and staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.
Remember Tower of Fantasy? It was one of those Genshin Impact-ish gacha games, with its particular twist, so to speak, being that it’s sort of an MMO. I say sort of, because it’s described as a shared open world, meaning you can see other players, and there are some MMO elements, but its monetisations are much more gacha like. Or, well, they are until tomorrow, November 25th, as in quite a big move developer Hotta Studio is stripping Tower of Fantasy of all of its gacha elements.
Look, I have my fair share of problems with Palworld, but to give credit where credit is due, after announcing their foray into publishing earlier this year, they’ve lined up a suite of games. Dead Take, a psychological horror complete with Baldur’s Gate 3‘s Neil Newbon and Final Fantasy 16’s Ben Starr, launched earlier this year, Truckful just looks like a delight, and now there’s Vision Quench, a game for freaks like me who like it when fantasy gets a bit techy.
Nintendo’s weekly maintenance schedule has been released, and weirdly, the only console getting any love this week is the Nintendo 3DS.
Reported on by Nintendo Everything, the Nintendo 3DS’s available network services will be down between 3pm PST to 4:30pm PST today, 24th November 2025.
Level Up Your Look: Xbox and Crocs Launch Exclusive Gaming-Inspired Classic Clogs
Marcos WaltenbergGM, Xbox Global Partnerships
Game-mode: enabled. Xbox and Crocs have teamed up to release an exclusive collection.
Ready up with this controller-meets-clog design that reimagines the iconic Xbox controller with fixed buttons and joysticks into the perfect shoe for couch co-op and kicking back – complete with cushioned footbeds adorned with Player Left and Player Right, which give expert-level comfort to support your next session.
Available on the Crocs website starting tomorrow, the limited-edition Xbox collection includes a 5-pack of Xbox + Jibbitz charms featuring fan-favorite characters and icons from Halo, Fallout, DOOM, World of Warcraft, and Sea of Thieves.
No matter how you choose to play, or where your holiday plans take you – the iconic Xbox controller-inspired clog will be with you along every step of the fun.
Be ready to defeat all adversaries in the biggest Season 01 ever, bringing a massive variety of maps, modes, loadout content, and more, including the new Astra Malorum Zombies map and the new Haven’s Hollow Resurgence map in Call of Duty: Warzone. Unlock an arsenal of rewards including new Weapons, Attachments, Camos and Equipment across multiple in-game challenges, events, and a stacked Battle Pass.
Season 01 is live in Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty: Warzone on December 4.
Season overview
General Dorne is out for revenge in Season 01 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The Guild was just the beginning for Dorne —and Season 01 will be only the beginning for fans, ushering in the biggest seasonal content plan in the history of Call of Duty.
Grab your squad and load up for more ways to play than ever before, including updates to the post Co-Op Campaign epilogue, Endgame.
The Multiplayer mayhem continues, bringing new maps & modes along with fan-favorites returning for chaotic non-stop fun.
The Zombies story progresses on Astra Malorum, an 1800s viewing tower transported to a skull-shaped asteroid.
With plenty of new content across all game modes plus more to come in-season, Season 01 of Black Ops 7 has arrived, with endless content for everyone.
Multiplayer Overview
New Maps
Fate (Launch): Revisit a Cradle-twisted version of Raul Menendez’s Nicaraguan compound where giant machetes slice up the sky.
Utopia (Launch): Utopia was once a refuge for the rich, but this futuristic city now lies abandoned, setting the stage for fast-paced combat.
Odysseus (Launch): This floating carrier boasts intense close quarters combat and non-stop action.
Standoff (Launch): Standoff has been Remastered for Black Ops 7. Revisit your favorite spots and shoot your best shots on this Black Ops 2 classic.
Multiplayer Modes
Prop Hunt (Launch): Prop Hunt returns with fresh updates, ready for a whole new era of Black Ops.
Sharpshooter (Launch): Players compete in a free-for-all match where everyone is given the same randomly selected weapon.
One In The Chamber (Launch): With the spirit of high stakes competition comes the return of a Call of Duty classic, One in the Chamber.
Zombies overview
New Map: Astra Malorum (Launch)
The Dark Aether story continues in Astra Malorum, where the crew has been transported to an observatory set on a skull-shaped asteroid in outer space. Follow the footsteps of a forgotten death cult and hunt down the threat.
New Survival Map: Exit 115(Launch)
Take a break from the open road and test your mettle against the zombies that await you on Exit 115.
Call of Duty: Warzone Overview
Haven’s Hollow
Take a stateside detour to investigate the mysterious Haven’s Hollow in the latest addition to Resurgence. Nature has sequestered this Appalachian town from the rest of the world, making it feel like a living relic of old school American charm. Discover the secrets of Haven’s Lab, see what’s been left behind at the Mansion, or take a moment to win big on the floating casino on the tourist favorite Riverboat— there’s no shortage of play space here. Haven’s Hollow awaits.
Verdansk POI Updates:
Signal Station
Let no enemy escape your sights thanks to the new Signal Station. Located south of the Military Base, any squad skilled enough to activate satellite systems will be rewarded with the Tactical Heat Map that identifies player densities in locales all around Verdansk.
Factory
Grab your timecard and clock in just like the old days — well, almost. Factory is back, freshly renovated and redesigned specifically for Black Ops 7.
CODMAS (In-Season)
Be sure to be on your best behavior – CODMAS is right around the corner, and you definitely don’t want to be on the naughty list this year.
Which gift are you opening first? There’s the MP map Sleighjacked, in which everyone’s favorite sea-faring vessel has been transformed into a holiday sleigh. Plus, there will be CODMAS inspired LTMs and an Event spanning across all modes to celebrate the season.
The Battle Pass
Purchase the Battle Pass to immediately unlock rewards including a seasonal 10% Battle Pass XP Boost, the new “Dorne” Operator, and more, providing access to over 110 pieces of unlockable content. And get even more with BlackCell.
New Weapons: In the S01 Battle Pass, unlock the Maddox RFB Assault Rifle and the Kogot-7 SMG. Plus, be on the lookout to unlock even more new weapons via in-game events and weekly challenges.
Black Ops 7 is available now on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
We’ve officially entered the week of Black Friday. Pretty much every retailer under the sun has already unleashed a whole bunch of deals, so there’s no reason to wait to do your holiday shopping. If you or someone on your list is into Sonic the Hedgehog video games, you’re in luck: a bunch of them are on sale across the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox. Here’s a rundown of every Sonic game that’s already on sale for Black Friday 2025.
Sonic Games – Black Friday Deals
There’s no shortage of Sonic game deals for Black Friday. Here’s the full list.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
The newest game on the list is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Amazon), a kart racer with enough speed and new ideas that many think is actually better than Mario Kart World. In her review, Jada Griffin wrote, “Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds fires on all cylinders with a fantastic roster of 24 of my favorite hedgehogs, foxes, echidnas, and more. The lineup of 24 main tracks and 15 Crossworld tracks is the best designed selection we’ve ever gotten in any Sonic racing game, and there is a generationally great soundtrack to accompany them. The racing itself feels fast, fantastic, and intuitive, with lots of options to tweak your stats to your preferred playstyle.”
Sonic Superstars
If price is your main consideration, you can’t beat Sonic Superstars, a throwback side-scrolling platformer you can pick up for less than $10 at Amazon. That’s a killer deal on a game about which the very same Jada Griffin, in her review, said, “Most Sonic games put the pedal to the metal, having you travel at blindingly fast speeds while avoiding hazards on your way to the goal. Unlike its predecessors, however, Sonic Superstars trades that traditional breakneck pace for new abilities, more exploration, multiple mini-games, and slightly more challenging bosses. Most of that stylistic shift works well for the majority of Superstars’ roughly 15-hour multi-campaign story.”
Sonic X Shadow Generations
In addition to those, you can pick up the excellent 2024 game Sonic X Shadow Generations for the new all-time low price of $24.99 at Amazon. That’s for all consoles, including Switch 2. This game is comprised of two parts. One is a remake of the 2011 game Sonic Generations, and the other is a brand-new Shadow-centered addition. It adds up to a killer package we gave 9/10 in our review.
Sonic is far from the only game series getting Black Friday discounts. Tons of other PS5, Xbox, and Switch games, consoles, and accessories have gotten discounts. Or you can check out the Black Friday sales at Amazon, Best Buy, or Target. And remember, this is only the beginning of the Black Friday season. More deals will go live on the day itself, November 28, and even more on Cyber Monday, which lands on December 1.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
TimeSplitters is one of those weird series that I look back on quite fondly despite never having owned a single one of the games as a wistful youth. I think I’ve got one kicking around somewhere these days, but back then the only way I would play it was at a friend’s house, us messing about, not doing a very good job at co-op in the main story, me failing to beat my friend in multiplayer because I was crap at shooting games. And now, here we are, with a fanmade rework that’s been 13 years in the making finally released, offering unto me a chance to relish in some nostalgia, but New.
