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What makes a cozy game? It’s an answer I should probably have readily available, consider I’m the one titling this week’s newsletter. If I’m to recommend cozy games, I should probably have a definition of some sort.

So, here goes nothing: A cozy game — at least as I’ve used the term here — is a game that doesn’t take too long, isn’t too competitive, and just feels good to play. It could also mean (and may mean here) a game that you can easily get comfortable while playing. It can make you think, and it might test your thinking, but it should never feel like you’ve been thrust into the chaos from the offset. Conflict between players should be minimal, if it exists at all. There will be counterexamples to these that still put forth a cozy vibe, so let me know what I’m missing here — both in my definition and in my list of games.

• Tussie Mussie — This is the game I knew would be on my list when I wrote the idea down. Tussie Mussie is an 18-card game about giving flowers to your friends. You’ll give them a choice between two cards — one face down, one face up; they’ll take one, and you’ll take the other. Over the course of the game, you’ll build a tableau of flowers, some of which will score you more points than others. It’s a breeze to learn, but there’s still some thinking you’ll have to do. It strikes just the right balance. Designed by Elizabeth Hargrave.

• Nana — Sometimes compared favorably to Go Fish and Memory, Nana is a game that does have players asking others to reveal cards, but I think it’s quite a bit more interesting than that dubbing would imply. This is a simple Japanese card game (published in other locales under the name Trio) all about finding sets of cards around the table, but you can only ask players to reveal their highest or lowest card. There’s enough strategy (read: a little bit) to keep it interesting, but it’s casual enough that you’ll want to take it everywhere you go. Designed by Kaya Miyano.

• Inflation! — This trick-taking game has no suits. It features just numbers. You don’t even have to pick up your tricks after you play them. In fact, you better not. You’ll ruin the game. Each subsequent card you play increases the value of your trick. If your first card is a 9 and second card is a 1, congratulations — you just played a 19 on your second trick. Maybe you’ll time when to use the dangerous 10 cards. Inflation! has players bidding for the tricks they’ll win each round, but if the player who won the most tricks misses their bid, they’ll score zero points. If you meet your bid, you get double points. Anything else gets one point per trick won. This is a delightful little trick-taker, and you can absolutely chat as you play. Designed by Taiki Shinzawa, published by Newmill Industries.

You know the surge of adult coloring books last decade? (Sorry about the “last decade” bit. If I’m going to feel old, I’m certainly not going to feel it alone.) These are games that embody that cozy spirit, but there’s a game here. You’ll want to work toward a good score, but 

• Second Chance is a flip-and-write game in which you’re drawing polyominoes on a grid, and when a card is flipped that you can’t fit on your page, you get a second chance to draw something by flipping a card yourself. It’s the perfect game for a light lunch and chatting with friends. You’ll find yourself drawing patterns in your polyominoes, and you might even find yourself reaching for some colored pencils or a brightly colored gel pen. Designed by Uwe Rosenberg.

• Cartographers — I love a flip-and-write game, and Cartographers is a nice cozy take on the genre. You’re flipping cards, drawing polyomino groupings of terrain on a map, and trying to meet end-of-round scoring goals. It’s got all the makings of a great, cozy game — except there’s one misstep that I think makes the game a lot less cozy: There are monster cards, and you lose points for the tiles that will be drawn on your board. By you? No. By your neighbor. You know what? Just don’t play with the monster cards. They’re mean, and they certainly don’t make the game better or cozier. Designed by Jordy Adan.

• Floor Plan — When I was a kid, I got really into one of those “build your home with rudimentary two-dimensional tools” programs that we probably got free with the purchase of something else. I was always designing increasingly elaborate homes that had too many basements to be practical (I mean, anything more than one basement isn’t practical, I think, but you get the idea.), and Floor Plan brings that joy back, though instead of serving my own irrational whims, this game is about serving the whims of your clients. Roll the dice, draw your home. Cozy, right? Designed by Marek Tupy.

• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective — OK. Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective is not cozy in the sense that it won’t force you think a fair bit, but it’s cozy because you can easily play this game lounging on a coach with some friends, and everyone’s probably going to have a good time. (I trust you know your friends better than I know them, though. You be the judge of that.) Everyone’s reading passages and deciding where to go next to gain some more information. Sure, the game encourages you to try to solve mysteries in fewer steps than Sherlock Holmes, but let’s be realistic here. That’s just not going to happen. Designed by Raymond Edwards, Suzanne Goldberg, and Gary Grady.

• Decktective — If you like solving mysteries, and you like the idea of a card-based escape room (but are not exactly looking to play one at this moment), Decktective is just right. It’s a spin on the Deckscape series, but it has players holding information on cards, which they’ll reveal (or not) at the right time. It’s cooperative but with some secret information. As the game progresses, you might realize you discarded some key evidence — will it come back around? What can you communicate without breaking the rules? What might have led you down the wrong path? I like the series a lot, and it really does make you think. Designed by Martino Chiacchiera and Silvano Sorrentino.

Refer a friend

• Cascadia — Sometimes cozy and crunchy go together. Like eating Doritos under a blanket. That’s the ultimate in the cozy-crunchy pairing. Cascadia is like that. The gameplay loop is simple: Draw a tile and accompanying animal. Place them in your hexagonal grid. Earn points for variable scoring goals. Lovely. Now, some might say this game isn’t cozy — it’s going to make you think. It’s going to make you work for those points. Cozying up doesn’t have to be an anti-intellectual activity. (Fun fact: My initial definition of cozy included “doesn’t make you think too much,” but I think that’s wrong. Let’s not fall into that trap.) What makes this cozy, then? There are two major factors for me. First, the theme is delightful and pleasant. Animals! Terrains! It’s perfect. Second, the scope of your decisions every turn is limited, so you don’t start this game burning your brain. It will probably get there eventually, but the way a game starts out is essential for its coziness quotient. Designed by Randy Flynn.

• Calico — An abstract strategy game with cats on quilts as a theme. It’s cozy, alright? No, don’t mention how punishing the game can be by the end. That’s not important. Let the rest of the game lull you in, because this game really is cozy. It’s also smart and a bit puzzly, but the theme will carry through here. You’ll enjoy playing quilt tiles to your board, trying to sew buttons and attract cats to it through clever placement. Designed by Kevin Russ.

• boop. — This two-player outing is cozy, and not just because it features kittens and cats. When you place a kitten, it pushes other kittens that surround it, potentially making them fall off the bed. When you get three kittens in a row, they’ll grow into full-size adult cats. Cats push kittens and other cats. When you get three cats in a row, you win the game. There’s a fair amount of thought that you’ll eventually put into the game, but when it starts out, you’re just placing kittens and pushing other kittens off the bed. It’s cute. It also goes against one of my definitions — that conflict should be minimal. I would hold abstract games in a different regard. Designed by Scott Brady.

Of course, you might just want a great two-player game — read my last issue for some of those, too.

Ten great two-player games

Thank you, as always, for joining me for another edition of Don’t Eat the Meeples. Writing this and sending it out is consistently a highlight of my week, and I hope you enjoy reading it. I’d tell you what’s coming next week, but I’m on vacation and don’t have my notebook with me where I’ve made my plans. It might be a bit shorter than usual. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out, huh?

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