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The best cheap games to gift

A great game says more than a gift card, and it doesn't need to be expensive. These are the safe, universally loved picks under $20 — with honest advice on when to gift a card instead.

By Stephen V.Deal hunter & value analystPublished August 7, 2026How we pick

#ad— Penny & Pixel is reader-funded. We earn a commission when you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes a pick or a verdict. Full disclosure.

A wrapped present beside a game controller — best cheap games to gift

A game makes a better present than its price suggests, because the value is in the hours it gives, not the number on the receipt. The trick to gifting one is picking something safe: broadly loved, easy to get into, and unlikely to already be in their library. That rules out niche and hardcore picks and points you at the universal crowd- pleasers — which happen to be cheap.

These are ranked with the giver in mind: how likely the recipient is to love it, how easy it is to start, and how much game it delivers for the money, all priced live. If you're buying for a child specifically, cross-check the best cheap games for kids; if you just want the most game per dollar for yourself, see best value games.

The short answer

Quick picks

#GameBest forValuePrice
01
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley

Nintendo Switch

The single best value in gaming. A farming-life RPG so deep people sink hundreds of hours into it, for the price of a sandwich. If you buy one cheap game, buy this.

Best value, full stop
9.7/10
Value
$14.89Amazon
02
It Takes Two
It Takes Two

Nintendo Switch

A full-length, wildly inventive two-player co-op adventure — and only ONE person needs to own it thanks to the Friend's Pass. Unbeatable value for a pair.

Best two-player adventure
9.2/10
Value
$39.95Amazon
03
Overcooked! 2
Overcooked! 2

Nintendo Switch

The best cheap couch co-op game there is. Chaotic, hilarious, and instantly understood by anyone — the value comes from the nights it creates, not the hours.

Best couch co-op
9.0/10
Value
$24.99Amazon
04
Minecraft
Minecraft

Nintendo Switch

The most-played game on Earth for a reason. Effectively infinite, plays with friends across platforms, and never really goes on sale because it never needs to.

Best endless sandbox
8.7/10
Value
$29.88Amazon
05
Celeste
Celeste

Nintendo Switch

A precision platformer with one of the best stories in the medium and an assist mode that lets anyone finish it. Tremendous value at its usual price.

Best platformer under $20
9.1/10
Value
$19.89Amazon
06
Nintendo eShop Gift Card
Nintendo eShop Gift Card

Nintendo eShop

The safe way to add eShop funds for a free-to-play top-up or an eShop-only sale price. Delivered as a digital code; no risk of a revoked key.

Topping up the eShop safely
7.5/10
Value
$5.00Amazon

#ad · Live prices from the Amazon Product API, as of Sep 5, 2026. Where we have no verified live price, we show none — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has rotted.

In detail

The picks, in full

01
Stardew Valley

Best value, full stop

Stardew Valley

Nintendo Switch · Digital code

Farming RPG100+ hrs1–4 playersDigital
9.7/10
Value

The single best value in gaming. A farming-life RPG so deep people sink hundreds of hours into it, for the price of a sandwich. If you buy one cheap game, buy this.

Pros

  • Effectively bottomless — farming, mining, fishing, combat, relationships
  • Four-player co-op on the same farm
  • Runs perfectly in handheld; ideal pick-up-and-play

Cons

  • Slow, gentle start
  • No hand-holding — it expects you to explore

Don't buy this if…

…you want fast action or a clear finish line — this is a cozy, open-ended time sink, not a tight campaign.

$14.89View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Stardew Valley

02
It Takes Two

Best two-player adventure

It Takes Two

Nintendo Switch · Physical

Co-op adventure12–15 hrs2 playersPhysical
9.2/10
Value

A full-length, wildly inventive two-player co-op adventure — and only ONE person needs to own it thanks to the Friend's Pass. Unbeatable value for a pair.

Pros

  • Constant fresh mechanics, never repeats itself
  • Free Friend's Pass for player two
  • Genuinely great start to finish

Cons

  • Strictly two-player — no solo
  • Story is corny

Don't buy this if…

…you don't have a reliable co-op partner — there is no single-player mode at all.

$39.95View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to It Takes Two

03
Overcooked! 2

Best couch co-op

Overcooked! 2

Nintendo Switch · Digital code

Party co-op8–15 hrs1–4 playersDigital
9.0/10
Value

The best cheap couch co-op game there is. Chaotic, hilarious, and instantly understood by anyone — the value comes from the nights it creates, not the hours.

Pros

  • Instantly fun with anyone
  • Escalating, clever kitchen chaos
  • Great with non-gamers

Cons

  • Best with 2–4 players; less so solo
  • Can spark genuine arguments

Don't buy this if…

…you mostly play alone — the magic is entirely in playing it with other people.

$24.99View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Overcooked! 2

04
Minecraft

Best endless sandbox

Minecraft

Nintendo Switch · Digital code

SandboxEndless1–8 playersDigital
8.7/10
Value

The most-played game on Earth for a reason. Effectively infinite, plays with friends across platforms, and never really goes on sale because it never needs to.

Pros

  • Genuinely limitless
  • Cross-platform play with friends
  • All ages

Cons

  • Rarely discounted
  • No goals unless you set your own

Don't buy this if…

…you need structure and objectives — Minecraft hands you a world and nothing else.

$29.88View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Minecraft

05
Celeste

Best platformer under $20

Celeste

Nintendo Switch · Digital code

Platformer8–12 hrs1 playerDigital
9.1/10
Value

A precision platformer with one of the best stories in the medium and an assist mode that lets anyone finish it. Tremendous value at its usual price.

Pros

  • Tight, fair, brilliant level design
  • Moving, genuinely well-written story
  • Assist mode makes it as easy or hard as you want

Cons

  • Short if you skip the brutal bonus content
  • Default difficulty is demanding

Don't buy this if…

…you dislike reflex-based platforming — even with assists, the core loop is jump-and-die-and-retry.

$19.89View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Celeste

06
Nintendo eShop Gift Card

Topping up the eShop safely

Nintendo eShop Gift Card

Nintendo eShop · Digital code

Gift cardDigitaleShopInstant
7.5/10
Value

The safe way to add eShop funds for a free-to-play top-up or an eShop-only sale price. Delivered as a digital code; no risk of a revoked key.

Pros

  • Official and safe
  • Instant digital delivery
  • Great for eShop-only sale prices

Cons

  • Region-locked to your account country
  • Not a game itself

Don't buy this if…

…you can pay the eShop directly with a card — you don't strictly need a gift card to buy.

$5.00View on Amazon

Price as of Sep 5, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Nintendo eShop Gift Card

The honest part

What to skip

Skip · The hyped $70 new release, gifted blind

Gifting the biggest new game of the moment feels generous and usually isn't. If the person is a keen gamer, they may already own it, be mid-way through it, or want it on a different platform — and you've spent seventy dollars on a guess. Full-price launches are the worst value on the shelf even when you're buying for yourself.

A thoughtfully chosen cheap classic they don't have lands better than an expensive gamble. And if you genuinely can't guess their taste, a platform gift card is the honest move — more on that below.

Buy instead: A chosen pick from this list.

How to pick a game as a gift

Buying a game for someone else is a different job from buying one for yourself. Here's the checklist.

Match the platform first

The one way to ruin a game gift is to buy it for the wrong system. Confirm what they play — Switch, PlayStation, Xbox or PC — before anything else. A physical Switch or PlayStation game is a lovely thing to unwrap; a digital code works for PC and for anyone at a distance.

Safe and universal beats niche and personal

Unless you know their taste cold, avoid the hardcore, the divisive and the difficult. A cozy crowd-pleaser like Stardew Valley or a guaranteed-fun co-op game like Overcooked! 2lands with almost anyone. A brutal roguelike might be someone's favorite — and a stranger's worst gift.

Two-player games are a gift you share

A game like It Takes Two— where only one person needs to own it thanks to the free Friend's Pass — is a present you can enjoy together. That's a lot of gift for a small price.

When a gift card is the smarter present

If you honestly can't guess their taste or their backlog, don't force a specific game — a platform gift cardlets them pick, and it doubles as sale funds for whenever the game they want drops. A card isn't a lazy cop-out here; it's the right call when a specific game would be a gamble.

How we picked

We don't test games in a lab

Most "best cheap games" lists just re-rank the same store page. We don't, and we won't pretend to run a test lab we don't have. What we do: compile the real current and historical-low prices, the actual playtime and replay data, and the sale cycle — then do the value math and tell you what to skip. The full method is on how we pick. Everything here is checkable.

Questions

Frequently asked

01What's a safe cheap game to gift someone?
Stardew Valleyis about as safe as it gets — gentle, universally loved, and huge value. For two people, It Takes Two only needs one copy for both to play.
02Should I gift a game or a gift card?
Gift a specific game when you know their taste and platform — it's more personal and shows thought. Gift a card when you're unsure, buying at a distance, or they have a big backlog, so they can choose and time a sale themselves.
03How do I gift a game to someone far away?
A digital code or a platform gift card is delivered instantly and works anywhere — no shipping, no wrong-region disc. See our note on safe digital buying in where to buy cheap games.

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Sources

Where this comes from