Image Composition: Ross Miller/PolygonRoss Miller (he/him) is Polygon’s Senior Commerce Editor for the summer. He has nearly 20 years of experience in media and was a founding editor of The Verge.We’ve formally said our goodbyes to October Prime Day, where we’ve spent countless collective hours sifting through literally thousands of deals to find a few hundred we think are worth your time across video games, board games, Lego, and more. And from there, we’ve noticed a few that stood out as the best of the best, according to our favorite tastemakers out there — you, dear reader.Looking at the most popular deals among our readers, it’s clear that folks are gearing up for the changing of the seasons. Board games like Azul, Mysterium, Whitehall Mystery, and Spirit Island have dominated — all perfect for the spooky season, some more literally than others. So, too, has the Hoto electric screwdriver, which is handy for any DIY plans, planned or otherwise. And as for the digital games, the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 deal is a clear favorite. Does this mean more people will soon become huge fans of Raiden? We can only hope.Here are the top Amazon October Prime Day deals according to Polygon readers. We say it every time and we truly mean it: y’all have have excellent taste.What Polygon readers bought for October Prime DayAzul$24$4040% off$24Azul is a board game where you work with friends to build an exquisite tile mosaic. The rules are simple enough to make it pick up and play but has endless strategic depth.Read More$24 at AmazonThe Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set$98$16039% off$98The story of a boy with a vivid imagination and his best friend (a stuffed tiger, naturally) defined many a childhood. This four-volume paperback box set features every Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that appeared in syndication, which ran from 1985 until Bill Watterson’s retirement at the start of 1996.Read More$98 at Amazon (Paperback)$125 at Amazon (Hardcover)Catan: Starfarers Duel$28$3520% off$28Catan: Starfarers Duel is the unlikely reboot of an obscure 2001 game called Starship Catan. This two-player variant has solid reviews, but the 75-minute playtime seems like it might be a bit of a tough sell for all but the most dedicated players.Read More$28 at AmazonHoto electric screwdriver (12 bits)$40$6134% off$40With a long-lasting battery, adjustable torque (be gentle with your screws!), and a ring-light if you need, Hoto’s USB-C rechargeable electric screwdriver is one of our go-to tools for opening up your games and gear. The kit comes with a USB-C cord, case, and 12 steel bits.Read More$40 at AmazonJust One$12$2552% off$12Just One, the hit word-guessing game, is a snappy little gem that can easily kick off a night of longer games with a bang. Or kick back with a few beverages and play it all night, your call.Read More$12 at AmazonLego Super Mario Piranha Plant$48$6020% off$48The sassy, carnivorous plant from Super Mario is now available as a 540-piece Lego set. The LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant comes complete with gold coins and adjustable limbs to give it some extra personality.Read More$48 at AmazonThe Lord of the Rings Illustrated$47$7537% off$47The single-volume hardcover includes thirty color illustrations, maps, and sketches (all produced by the author) sprinkled throughout its 1,248 pages. Inside, you’ll also find a pair of removable, fold-out maps of Frodo’s journey and of Middle-earth produced by his son, Christopher.Read More$47 at Target$47 at AmazonLove Letter$13$1513% off$13Love Letter packs all of the spicy drama and intrigue of Bridgerton into a deck of just 16 cards. Similar to Coup, Love Letter is a game of secrets as you attempt to deduce the contents of other player’s hands and uncover the single princess card among them. An easy game to tote around just about anywhere.Read More$13 at AmazonMTG Doctor Who Commander Deck Bundle$129$18731% off$129No need to pick a favorite when we have all of time and space. Pick up all four ready-to-play Doctor Who themed Commander Decks for Magic: The Gathering: Timey-Wimey, Paradox Power, Blast from the Past, and Masters of Evil.Read More$129 at AmazonMTG Commander Masters Deck – Planeswalker Party$60$10040% off$60Legendary Planeswalker Commodore Guff is the emcee of the Planeswalker Party Commander Deck, a ready-to-play, 100-card blue-red-white that boasts two foil legendary cards and a two-card Collector Booster Sample Pack “containing 2 special treatment cards from the Commander Masters set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare.”Read More$60 at AmazonMTG The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Boosters Box$114$17033% off$114Legendary Planeswalker Commodore Guff is the emcee of the Planeswalker Party Commander Deck, a ready-to-play, 100-card blue-red-white that boasts two foil legendary cards and a two-card Collector Booster Sample Pack “containing 2 special treatment cards from the Commander Masters set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare.”Read More$114 at AmazonMetal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1$20$4050% off$20Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 brings together the first Metal Gear Solid for the PS1 and its two PS2 sequels, Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, in addition to the original Metal Gear, Metal Gear: Snake’s Revenge and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. This collection is available for Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.Read More$20 at Amazon (PS5)$20 at Amazon (Switch)Mysterium$30$5545% off$30Mysterium, a favorite of the Overboard crew, will have you set up for a seance in no time. Up to 7 players can become psychics and interpret cryptic clues to solve crimes. Perfect for the spooky holiday!Read More$30 at AmazonSpirit Island$40$7043% off$40Everything you’ve heard about Spirit Island is true. We consider it at once one of the best cooperative games and one of the best solo games, so there’s no bad time to play. Take on the role of spirits fighting against colonizers. If you’re looking to upgrade your Spirit Island experience, the Jagged Earth expansion is on sale, too.Read More$48 at Amazon (Base Game)$40 at Amazon (Jagged Earth)Splendor Duel$28$307% off$28Finally, Splendor Duel turns the beloved gem-buying game Splendor into a taught little two-player experience knife fight of a strategy game.Read More$28 at AmazonTwilight Inscription$52$6520% off$52Twilight Inscription is a roll-and-write strategy game, featuring the space cats of the Twilight Imperium franchise. Playable solo, or with up to eight players, this clever game summarizes the epic galactic conquest of Twilight Imperium into a single afternoon.Read More$52 at AmazonWhitehall Mystery$30$313% off$30Whitehall Mystery is an overlooked gem of a hidden movement game, where one player secretly plots their course on a hidden map and everyone else tries to hunt them down. The theming here is key, however, as it puts players on the hunt for a mysterious murderer in Victorian London. It’s a fast-moving experience that rewards repeating the game after switching up roles at the table.Read More$30 at AmazonLooking for more deals? Check out all of Polygon’s favorite October Prime Day 2024 deals right here, and subscribe to our newsletter below to get great deals delivered to your inbox every week.
Related Posts
By Alana Semuels
Jane and her husband loved the house they bought in central Los Angeles in 2022, until they noticed the cats. Lots and lots of cats. At any given time, more than a dozen would be lounging in their yard, peeing on their packages, leaving dead birds in the grass and fleas on their outdoor furniture. “The amount of cat feces we’re exposed to is truly insane,” says Jane, who asked that her real name or the name of her neighborhood not be used because of the ensuing battle over feeding the cats.
A family in the neighborhood had left their pet cat behind when they moved, neighbors told her. That cat had multiplied into two, then four, then more. Now, a cat colony rules the neighborhood. Ja…
Read morePlayStation’s 30-anniversary collection presale came and went, selling out within minutes, and this drove demand even higher. With the limited amount being only 12,300 units, some parts of the collection like controllers and PlayStation Portable have made their way to eBay with prices reaching wild amounts of money. There’s even a seller who, for $50,000, will personally drive it to you…once he gets his new car. Japan wants to be different though.
In response to the demand and wanting to strike down the number of scalpers, Sony has decided to restrict preorders to those who can prove they are previous PlayStation owners and played games for a minimum of 30 hours over the last 10 years.
If you’ve signed into a PS4 or PS5 console between February 22, 2014, and September 19, …
Read morePlayer First Games and Warner Bros. made a risky decision last year by deciding to put its platform fighter MultiVersus on hiatus and pull it from digital stores–especially when some players had spent real-world money on characters and cosmetics. With MultiVersus set to return next week, Player First has revealed what returning players can expect to see when they log in to the game for the first time.
Speaking with GameSpot during a recent preview session, Huynh confirmed that “all characters and cosmetics players purchased before May 28 will still be there when [players] come back to the game.” That’s not all, however, as Huynh also confirmed some new content will be offered free of charge to those who choose to return. Come from Read more
Keanu Reeves: actor, person with excellent taste in motorcycles, video game star, and soon-to-be published novelist. Best known for his work on the big screen in The Matrix and John Wick as well as the rebel rocker Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077, Reeves has now co-authored a book with China Miéville, an award-winning writer of speculative fantasy and science fiction. The Book of Elsewhere releases next Tuesday, July 23, and is available to preorder in hardcover at Amazon for $21, which is 30% off its $30 list price.
The Book of Elsewhere is inspired by the Boom Studios comic book series BRZRKR, which Reeves co-created with Matt Kindt and Ron Garney. BRZRKR also happens to be receiving a new limited-edition hardcover edition later this year.
“There have always been whis…
Read morePalworld will have you duking it out against all creatures great and small. Of course, it’s totally fine to just start with baby steps, especially in the first few hours of the game. Here’s our guide on the best early-game weapons in Palworld, out now on PS5 following several months on Xbox and PC.
What are the best early-game weapons in Palworld
The best early-game weapons in Palworld are the Stone Spear, Old Bow, and Common Shield. Do take note that all of these need to be unlocked first in the Technology menu, which means leveling up a bit to spend the points you’ve earned.
Once unlocked, you can craft them via the Primitive Workbench Come from Sports betting site VPbe…
Read moreIn 2021, the South Korean thriller Squid Game raced to the top of Netflix’s charts to become the streamer’s most-popular series of all time. While Netflix has now finally set a post-Christmas premiere for Squid Game Season 2, it also comes with word that the show will come to a conclusion following Season 3.
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk made the announcement about the series’ end on the show’s social media media pages. In his message, Hwang shared the set up for Season 2 and confirmed that Season 3 will arrive in 2025.
“Seong Gi-hun, who vowed revenge at the end of season one, returns and joins the game again,” said Hwang. “Will he succeed in getting his revenge? Front Man doesn’t seem to be an easy opponent this time either Come from Read more
World of Warcraft: The War Within’s next content update has been detailed, and in addition to introducing a whole new zone to explore (something usually reserved for major raid tier patches), it will add a mount first teased over a decade ago.
Update 11.0.7 will bring players to the Siren Isle, where an expedition is underway to investigate a mysterious signal and discover what happened to the Kul Tiran forces that once occupied the island. The update will introduce two new questlines that will continue The War Within’s story, one dealing with the aftermath of the destruction of Dalaran and the mages of the Kirin Tor, and another that will serve as a prologue to the game’s 11.1 update, with Blizzard teasing the return of a “familiar face.”
The S…
Read moreMost of the early research into video games seemed to be designed to find a link between in-game violence and its effects on players in the real world. More recently, there have been studies about the adverse affects of gaming addiction. However, there’s now research that suggests playing games may actually be beneficial for players, depending upon the type of the game.
According to Reuters, the majority of the research into the benefits of gaming focuses on cozy video games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These casual games are designed to be soothing to play and almost impossible to lose. That genre also avoids putting players into overly stressful situations. Come from Sports betting site VPbet Read more
At Gamescom 2024, Everspace 2 developer Rockfish Games revealed the next chapter in the space shooter-RPG’s story. Titans is the game’s first paid add-on, and it brings something we’ve strangely never seen before in the game.The DLC expands the scale of Everspace 2 in some exciting new ways, offering massive new encounters, and it will be available for purchase in September.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings Titans is made up of two story chapters: Dreadnought, and Leviathan. Dreadnought will have you join a group of freelancers to investigate a rumour about a massive ship that’s unlike anything else in the game. This multi-stage boss fight will be challenging, and is designed for players with well-balanced ship loadouts.Levia…
Read moreSilent Hill 2 is a bit tricky to play these days, but the PC version’s fan-made Enhanced Edition is finally complete.While you’ve been able to play the Enhanced Edition of Silent Hill 2, a to-be-honest half-remaster of the awful PC port of the game, for quite a while now, earlier this week the team behind it released the 10th and final update for it, somehow bringing in even more quality of life improvements to the already impressive overhaul. The whole goal of the project was to add in things like high def resolutions, upscaled images, widescreen camera fixes, and restored effects missing in the PC port, which it had already achieved as well as much more than that. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Manage cookie settings Now, its final update is here, which includes “enh…
Read more