A Shopping Guide to Black Friday Deals for Gamers

Picking out gaming equipment can be confusing, especially if you aren’t familiar with gaming culture. With new games, expensive gear, and flashy accessories constantly releasing, looking around the all-RGB-everything world of gaming can be pretty overwhelming. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered.

Whether you’re a PC power gamer or looking to buy for a console commando or your board game bestie, we’ve compiled some of the best Black Friday gaming deals out there. So instead of stressing, you can start practicing your coolest victory dance this holiday season.

PC Gamers

Computer gaming has come a long way since the days of Diablo II. If RGB lights, clicky keys, and tricked-out setups are something the gamer in your life is passionate about, these are the Black Friday deals for you:

CORSAIR - K70 RGB MK. 2 Keyboard

Price: $169.99 $141.99 at Best Buy

If you’re still using a standard office keyboard for your gaming sessions, you truly have no idea what you’re missing out on. Corsair is a quality brand for most gaming gear, and the K70 keyboard is no exception. The K70 comes in a variety of switches (super-responsive key types that give mechanical keyboards that distinct “click"), and all of them are currently on sale at Best Buy. Corsair products aren’t often discounted, and at $28 off, this is an absolute steal.

You’ll love seeing the huge quality-of-life improvements a mechanical keyboard can bring. The K70 feels super comfortable and is made with a solid aluminum frame, so there’s no cheap plastic feel at all. A whole utility-belt of neat features and customizable RGB options mean that you can truly make this keyboard your own. If you’ve already got other Corsair gear, you can sync all your RGB lighting with a convenient desktop app! While this bulky behemoth is definitely not the best for travel, you can bet that the Corsair K70 is a great mainstay in any PC gamer’s home battle station.

CORSAIR - Scimitar RGB Elite Wired Optical Gaming Mouse

Price: $79.99 $64.99 at Best Buy

Continuing with the Corsair theme, the Scimitar RGB Elite is a solid gaming mouse. If you haven’t seen an MMO mouse before, it can be a bit like looking at an airplane cockpit for the first time. With 12 additional buttons on the side, it’s definitely not a mouse for everyone. This is a must-have for fans of online games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV Online, or some other game with so many buttons on-screen it looks like they’re operating an alien spacecraft (and maybe they are). The Scimitar offers a great mouse solution for the digital gymnastics gamers to smoothly operate their favorite games.

In our experience, the Scimitar mouse has a great balance of weight and size. It’s light enough to easily move around on a mousepad, but not so lightweight that it feels cheaply made. The adjustable button slider means a perfect fit for every hand, and there’s a huge amount of customization, as with all Corsair products. It may take a bit of practice for the user to retrain and adapt to a new way of playing their favorite games, but we’re willing to bet that once they’ve tried an MMO mouse, they won’t look back.

Razer - Nari Ultimate Wireless Headphones

Price: $199.99 at Best Buy

Razer, Corsair, and Steelseries are three of the biggest names in gaming gear — and comparing them is a lot like the Coke vs. Pepsi debate if there were a third soda titan to contend with. Of these, Razer would be Coca-Cola; it’s a classic brand, well-developed and absolutely dependable. If you’re buying for someone you know is already a part of the Razer ecosystem or hasn’t drawn their line in the sand yet, check out their Nari Ultimate wireless headphones.

At $80 off the original price tag of $200, you can be sure you’ll be giving the gift of quality audio at the best possible price. Besides just looking cool, the Nari is designed with cooling gel ear cups to keep your ears nice and comfortable over long sessions (who knew before the pandemic that ear sweat was a thing?). This one doesn’t have RGB, which can be a pro or a con depending on your gamer’s tastes.

Console Gamers

Some gamers prefer the comfy couch to a flashy desktop battle station. If the mouse and keyboard life doesn’t fit your gaming lifestyle, take a look at these Black Friday console gaming deals:

AmazonBasics Switch Carrying Case

Price: $32.49 at Amazon

Taking a console on the road can be an ordeal. The cables pack away easily enough, but then come the controllers, the games, the power block … factor in the bulky frames of most consoles and it can be almost impossible to keep everything organized, let alone safe. The Nintendo Switch Hardshell from AmazonBasics solves all of those problems in a snap (technically a zip, but “snap" rolls off the tongue more naturally).

The Switch isn’t the bulkiest console by a long shot, but it simply doesn’t pack well into luggage or loose bags. The AmazonBasics Carrying Case keeps your gaming gear snug and secure, with room for controllers, cables, TV dock, and the all-important system itself. This case is a great option for gamers who travel often. Or for those who enjoy taking their full setup on the road to visit friends to defend the honor of their favorite Super Smash Bros character (Ganondorf all the way).

Bethesda’s Deathloop

Price: $59.99 at Amazon

Deathloop is an innovative shooter featuring two rival assassins locked in battle, repeating the same day over and over again (kind of like Mariah Carey singing “All I Want For Christmas Is You" every year, but cooler and a bit more violent). This one’s definitely not for kids, but with an award-winning name like Bethesda behind it, you can bet Deathloop is a time-bending gift that will keep on giving, and giving, and giving ...

Hisense 58" Class 4K UHD Roku Smart TV, 58R6E3

Price: $426 $378 at Walmart

Has your gamer been hunched over a screen the size of an iPad for the last six months? If you’re looking for a bit of a splurge without totally blowing a hole in your wallet, let Hisense give you a helping hand into the world of 4K television.

This TV is a great entry point for gamers looking to improve their setups without being on the cutting edge of OLED and QLED technology. Hisense TVs offer several different picture modes, so you can enjoy a crystal-clear picture for slower adventures or sacrifice a bit of image quality for those high-paced action games. (Because who needs Ultra HD when you’re sprinting and everything’s blurry anyway?) This TV does suffer in brighter environments, but if you’ve got a gamer cave to set up in, you won’t find a better price anywhere else.

Board Gamers

Who said gaming has to be digital? We’ve scoured the internet for Black Friday deals for the board game lovers.

Wingspan Board Game (Base Game)

Price: $60 $50.99 at Amazon

This one isn’t officially a sale, but with a recent price drop bringing this game down from the $60 2018 edition, we’re gonna go ahead and count it.

For those who are tired of getting all their friends together for game night only to destroy every bond of trust they’ve built (looking at you, Secret Hitler and Catan), Wingspan is a super-relaxing, award-winning alternative. Players can feel the emotional trauma of Catan carried away as they embark on a bird-watching journey to collect cards and gather points. This is a great pick for bird enthusiasts, art-loving strategists, and those who don’t enjoy heavy competition. The mega-chill nature of the game, however, can make it feel a bit slow at times.

Gloomhaven Board Game

Price: $139.99 $101.99 at Best Buy

Let’s be clear: Gloomhaven is an absolute beast of a game. Weighing in at a monstrous 20 pounds, this isn’t a game for the faint of heart. Lovers of dark fantasy can choose their own adventure stories and cooperative monster-clobbering – there is absolutely nothing like it.

Gloomhaven pits players against an unforgiving environment chock-full of monsters and intrigue. While it’s definitely a blast, it can be very complicated to set up and get going. We recommend having players watch an instructional video or two before playing rather than slogging through the instruction manual.

Pandemic Board Game (BASE GAME)

Price: $44.99 $22.02 at Amazon

We’ve all heard the word “pandemic" much more in recent times than anyone’s likely been comfortable with, but don’t worry – this one won’t take you two years to finish. Pandemic is a classic cooperative game in which players work together to cure four diseases breaking out worldwide before they can wipe out the world’s population. It sounds bleak, we know, but this Z-Man Games staple delivers on much more than death and destruction; its depth of strategy and truly collaborative gameplay make for an engaging experience any board gamer is sure to enjoy.

More Deals on Great Gaming Gear

If the above categories don’t fit into your gaming style or you’re just looking for great general gaming picks, don’t despair! Keep reading for some awesome Black Friday all-rounders:

Sony - WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Over-the-Ear Headphones - Black

Price: $349.99 at Best Buy

You don’t have to be a gamer to recognize Sony as a long-standing name in the electronics arena. Sure, they’re the monolith behind PlayStation 5 (a gift so rare we aren’t totally sure they exist), but did you know they also make top-quality audio gear?

The too-many-letters WH1000XM4s are hands-down the best headphones you can reasonably splurge on this year. At a discounted price at Best Buy, these headphones are for gamers who are serious about having an amazing audio experience. With tons of premium features baked in like auto-pause and hinges for folding when they’re not being used, these headphones cross the line from excellence into pure luxury.

The headset is compatible with PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and (with a Bluetooth adapter) Nintendo Switch, so this is a safe snag regardless of what camp your gamer life hails from.

Philips - Hue White and Color Ambiance Lightstrip Plus 2M Starter Kit

Price: $109.99 $68.99 at Best Buy

No gamer cave is truly complete without a killer RGB setup. Deck out your electronic haven with Philips – Hue Ambiance Lightstrip Plus.

With just a few taps on a connected phone or tablet, these vibrant LED lights will immediately set the stage for an epic adventure (or a night of rearranging furniture and gathering seashells in Animal Crossing). Early versions of this light strip required a Hue Bridge for an additional $60, but thanks to the evolution of Bluetooth tech, it’s easier than ever to get started. The hardest part of the whole setup process will be picking one or two of 16 million colors to bathe the room in.

Each starter set comes with close to six feet of lighting, with additional three-foot extensions available separately for purchase. While a Hue Bridge will expand your lighting options, it won’t be necessary to see the smile on your friend’s face when they plug these in for the first time.