My online comfort games are Ticket to Ride & Lords of Waterdeep depending on how much time I have. I also like Cascadia online, but am excited to receive the Kickstarter version next week. Currently I'm loving pulling out Kohaku as a relaxing comfort game. I tend to like tile laying games that can play solo.
Probably the most pleasant board game channel on TH-cam! Favorite comfort game is New York Zoo. Nicely competitive, enough thinking, not overly competitive. And the components are really fun to look at. The Aesthetic is just top notch
Great video Mr. Stegmaier! The games that came to mind that you didn't mention would include Dominion, always been an easy teach and a great game to play. Palace of Mad King Ludwig, the overlooked sibling game to Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Micropolis, very simple but lots of fun. Bunny Kingdom, the only argument I could see against it is it's a little mathy to score but that's never been a problem for me. Queendomino, and Ohanami. Both are simple and quick enough to play multiple times each time they come out
What a great topic Jamey! I hadn't really thought about it before, but I think for me my top five would be: Karuba K2 Castles of Burgundy Expedition: Northwest Passage Everdell I'm sure it would be easy to find more, but those are the ones that jump to the front of my mind when I think of the excitement to play, the ease of remembering the rules and also a dash of nostalgia for all the memories of having played them all so much.
We have been playing some asynch games on BGA. A problem with asynch games is, if you are making a move a day or so, you forget your long-term strategy. In games like Marco Polo II, Lost Ruins of Arnak, or Yokohama, which I love, I often put off making a move until I can really think it through. So "comfort games" for me are games that are very tactical with a small decision space on each turn, as these I feel I can play a move without feeling like I need to be in a perfect frame of mind. So Castles of Burgundy, Trekking the World, Luxor, and Nidavellir have become favorites for online play, at least in asynch move a day type games.
My top are: 1. Unmatched - Easiest to teach the rules (regardless of the Hero), competitive, fast, and enjoyable. 2. Horrified - Easy to learn and the cooperative Element makes it interesting to people. 3. Wingspan - Easy to teach. Players always feel satisfied at the end of the game regardless of who wins. 4. Parks - Easy to teach the rules, very easy to gain resources and visit the parks. 5. Ticket to Ride - easy rules and very competitive. I LOVE Villainous but it has become tiring to teach it. At this point, I only find it enjoyable once players are familiar with it. Mostly, because new players have more questions About the cards to play than focusing on enjoying the game. It changes Once people find a favorite Villain and Know all the dynamics of the game.
Dixit for 4+ players Takenoko for 3 players Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride or Century: Golem edition for 2 players + I recently bought Rhino Hero: Super Battle, did not play it yet with my group but I think it could fit into Comfort Games category for me as well.
Most of the games that would fall into this category for me would be really old school games, so to speak. Games like backgammon, chess, cribbage, gin rummy, poker, Othello etc. Those are games that most people I play with know how to play and we don’t have to think about them. However there are some more modern games that are starting to reach that level of comfortability for my group. Games like Love Letter, Sushi Go, Catan, No Thanks and Ticket To Ride. Even though a lot of people would say these games are a little played out at this point, most of my group aren’t “in the hobby” and have only recently played them for the first time. Also, let’s be honest, those are all great games.
I love the idea of a comfort game! Right now, mine would be Wingspan, Kohaku, Quacks, Space Base, Cubitos, Calico, Cartographers, Azul SP, Viticulture, and Everdell
Great video! Confort games that I own: -Wingspan. -Splendor (I always play it with the 4 modules that one in the expansion). -Dixit -Azul: summer pavilion -Kingdomino
I recently purchased the Geeked up tokens for Quacks on the BGG store and it makes the game even more comforting. It’s like plunging your hand in a bag full of candy - I even take out the game just to hold the pieces sometimes
Cool idea for a list and cool list. In addition to Quacks, Azul SP and Sagrada, mine would include Dixit, Welcome To, Decrypto, Wingspan, Parks, Skull, and Insider.
For me, playing solo, those comfort games are ones that offer great choices but are so streamlined/well-organized that even time away hardly requires rule referencing. Usually set up or a little edge case... but in no particular order: Nusfjord, Viticulture, and Terraforming Mars will be my go-to comfort games. Each have 30+ plays
Thanks for the setup hack for quacks. I already switched to have the bags pre-filled with the correct stuff but having 3 bags for the rest will be even better
oooh hard to do a top 3 ;) I would say my comfort game is one I would play alone on a Sunday morning and all the other things you said... so perhaps: - The Search for Planet X - Meadow - Nova Luna for playing with more people, I just got MegaLand and I think it will become this! also Roam and Cat Lady. thanks for the video!
If you ever want a nice twist on Uno my gaming group is highly enthused by Uno Flip. it just adds an extra layer of strategy without bogging down the game with a ton of new complex rules.
I was just thinking yesterday that Tapestry is my comfort game. I have the set-up down to a science and I know I will always enjoy my play (vs Automa, even though I'll probably lose). It is intuitive and delightful.
Awesome List! It sounds like you need a 3D printer. 🤣 We've printed organization for both Quacks and Castles of Mad King Ludwig and man oh man it's a game changer! Set up is so quick and simple!
That's awesome! I'm getting the deluxe version of Mad King Ludwig, so that will fix any setup issues. As for Quacks, a friend owns it and another friend has a 3D printer, so I'll see if I can connect them. Do you have a link to your recommended files for Quacks?
Azul Summer Pavilion is now on my wishlist :) Jamey, have you tried Santa Monica? That game is a great tableau building game, with enough in it to keep it interesting for many plays, but simple and short enough to be a good 'after work' comfort game. Definitely would make my top 3 for this topic
from my collection #1: cribbage others: 6 nimmt, aerion, dale of merchants, hanabi, lama dice, now boarding, patchwork, quadropolis, piepmatz, railroad ink, welcome to
For us it’s: Lords of Waterdeep, Azul, Dice Throne, Any of the DND branded dungeon crawlers, and of course Wingspan. Super glad to hear you got to a vaccinated game day. We’ve started doing the same and it’s amazing to be at a table with other humans.
An interesting topic...on Steam, I consider Wingspan a comfort game that I play often. I have the app for Tokaido, which I haven't played in a while, but it is very relaxing. Kohaku is a gorgeous and entertaining game that is easy to teach. The game garners a lot of attention when it's out on the table.
Great videos always! Fun to hear your thoughts on games. Have you played Castell? Perhaps not fully a comfort game. But, easy to teach, to remember rules and always a great puzzley fun! One of my favorites.
Great video! Some games I own, some others I’m going to look into. But in the list at the end, there is a mistake: Tidal Blades on nummer 1, it’s suposed to be Fantasy Realms.
The most popular answer to this question has got to be Wingspan, so kudos to Jamey and Elizabeth for creating possibly the most chill game of all time! However, I think a deeply underrated answer here is Cartographers. Jamey, if you haven’t played Cartographers, give it a try. I think this game is way up your alley.
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Great list :) My top 3 would be: The Crew, Res Arcana and Carcassonne
Clearly, we all need to rebuild our capacity to play several back-to-back, heavier, games in a single session, but I'm always happy to jump into a game of Azul, Ticket to Ride, or Quacks. With honorable mentions for Cockroach Poker and 6 Nimmt! 👍
My comfort games depend on who I'm playing with haha Personally: Isle of Cats, Lignum, Star Realms With whole family: Isle of Cats, Bunny Kingdom, Carcassone, Viticulture, Wingspan With just the spouse: Sagrada, Azul/Azul:SP, Lords of Waterdeep, Rajas of the Ganges With just my daughter: Viticulture, Gingkopolis, Shards of Infinite With just my son: Hive, Star Realms/Cthulhu Realms, Chess, Magic: the Gathering With both kids: Shards of Infinite, Star Realms, Rajas of the Ganges, Lords of Waterdeep, Uno Flip, Go Fish of all things :/
A note: #1 on your last slide says Tidal Blades instead of Fantasy Realms. My top 3 comfort games are 1) Mystic Vale 2) Doppelt So Clever & 3) (online, lately) Nidavellir
My Comfort 13/Baker's Dozen (no particular order, Knizia/Schacht/Colovini heavy): Medici v Strozzi High Society Circus Flohcati Ra Serengeti (= Don = Templari) Spirits of the Forest (= Richelieu) Web of Power (= China = Iwari) Mount Drago Terra Nova Clans Parade Hey That's My Fish Yinsh
I'm curious to know what you will think of Creature Comforts, by Roberta Taylor / KTBG! This was designed specifically to capture the feeling of "cozy", so I feel like it will end up on a lot of people's "comfort games" lists.
My top 10, in alphabetical order: Aquatica Bites Camel Up Five Tribes It’s a Wonderful World Just One Las Vegas Royale Smartphone Inc. Space Base Tapestry
I considered it (it's a game I greatly enjoy), but there's a certain type of puzzle game that just doesn't fit the "comfort" category for me, and Canvas is in that category.
My online comfort games are Ticket to Ride & Lords of Waterdeep depending on how much time I have. I also like Cascadia online, but am excited to receive the Kickstarter version next week. Currently I'm loving pulling out Kohaku as a relaxing comfort game. I tend to like tile laying games that can play solo.
Great list! My top 3: Carcassonne, Star Realms, and Cartographers.
I have been playing Carcasonne hunters and gatherers for year now. I love Carcasonne
Probably the most pleasant board game channel on TH-cam!
Favorite comfort game is New York Zoo. Nicely competitive, enough thinking, not overly competitive. And the components are really fun to look at. The Aesthetic is just top notch
Great video Mr. Stegmaier!
The games that came to mind that you didn't mention would include Dominion, always been an easy teach and a great game to play. Palace of Mad King Ludwig, the overlooked sibling game to Castles of Mad King Ludwig. Micropolis, very simple but lots of fun. Bunny Kingdom, the only argument I could see against it is it's a little mathy to score but that's never been a problem for me. Queendomino, and Ohanami. Both are simple and quick enough to play multiple times each time they come out
What a great topic Jamey! I hadn't really thought about it before, but I think for me my top five would be:
Karuba
K2
Castles of Burgundy
Expedition: Northwest Passage
Everdell
I'm sure it would be easy to find more, but those are the ones that jump to the front of my mind when I think of the excitement to play, the ease of remembering the rules and also a dash of nostalgia for all the memories of having played them all so much.
Solid list. My top 3 would be Century: Golem Edition, Azul, and Mint Condition Comics
We have been playing some asynch games on BGA. A problem with asynch games is, if you are making a move a day or so, you forget your long-term strategy. In games like Marco Polo II, Lost Ruins of Arnak, or Yokohama, which I love, I often put off making a move until I can really think it through. So "comfort games" for me are games that are very tactical with a small decision space on each turn, as these I feel I can play a move without feeling like I need to be in a perfect frame of mind. So Castles of Burgundy, Trekking the World, Luxor, and Nidavellir have become favorites for online play, at least in asynch move a day type games.
My top are:
1. Unmatched - Easiest to teach the rules (regardless of the Hero), competitive, fast, and enjoyable.
2. Horrified - Easy to learn and the cooperative Element makes it interesting to people.
3. Wingspan - Easy to teach. Players always feel satisfied at the end of the game regardless of who wins.
4. Parks - Easy to teach the rules, very easy to gain resources and visit the parks.
5. Ticket to Ride - easy rules and very competitive.
I LOVE Villainous but it has become tiring to teach it. At this point, I only find it enjoyable once players are familiar with it. Mostly, because new players have more questions About the cards to play than focusing on enjoying the game. It changes Once people find a favorite Villain and Know all the dynamics of the game.
Dixit for 4+ players
Takenoko for 3 players
Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride or Century: Golem edition for 2 players
+ I recently bought Rhino Hero: Super Battle, did not play it yet with my group but I think it could fit into Comfort Games category for me as well.
Most of the games that would fall into this category for me would be really old school games, so to speak. Games like backgammon, chess, cribbage, gin rummy, poker, Othello etc. Those are games that most people I play with know how to play and we don’t have to think about them.
However there are some more modern games that are starting to reach that level of comfortability for my group. Games like Love Letter, Sushi Go, Catan, No Thanks and Ticket To Ride. Even though a lot of people would say these games are a little played out at this point, most of my group aren’t “in the hobby” and have only recently played them for the first time. Also, let’s be honest, those are all great games.
I love the idea of a comfort game! Right now, mine would be
Wingspan, Kohaku, Quacks, Space Base, Cubitos, Calico, Cartographers, Azul SP, Viticulture, and Everdell
Great video!
Confort games that I own:
-Wingspan.
-Splendor (I always play it with the 4 modules that one in the expansion).
-Dixit
-Azul: summer pavilion
-Kingdomino
My top 5 comfort games:
Sagrada
Kingdomino
Carcassonne
Isle of Cats (family mode)
Trails of Tucana
I love spatial puzzle games, they are so soothing.
I recently purchased the Geeked up tokens for Quacks on the BGG store and it makes the game even more comforting. It’s like plunging your hand in a bag full of candy - I even take out the game just to hold the pieces sometimes
A friend has those tokens, and they're amazing!
Cool idea for a list and cool list. In addition to Quacks, Azul SP and Sagrada, mine would include Dixit, Welcome To, Decrypto, Wingspan, Parks, Skull, and Insider.
For me, playing solo, those comfort games are ones that offer great choices but are so streamlined/well-organized that even time away hardly requires rule referencing. Usually set up or a little edge case... but in no particular order: Nusfjord, Viticulture, and Terraforming Mars will be my go-to comfort games. Each have 30+ plays
Simple two+ player card games are my comfort games, like Love Letter, Arboretum and Fox in the Forest, as well as Hanamikoji and now Red Rising.
Oops!
There’s a typo on the final slide (#1)
Great List!
Thanks for the setup hack for quacks. I already switched to have the bags pre-filled with the correct stuff but having 3 bags for the rest will be even better
Top 3:
Calico, patchwork, carcassone
Azul: SP is definitely our favorite comfort game, excited to try some of yours that we haven’t played yet.
oooh hard to do a top 3 ;)
I would say my comfort game is one I would play alone on a Sunday morning and all the other things you said... so perhaps:
- The Search for Planet X
- Meadow
- Nova Luna
for playing with more people, I just got MegaLand and I think it will become this! also Roam and Cat Lady.
thanks for the video!
My 5 in no order:
Railroad ink, Herbaceous, Red Rising, Tiny Towns, and Parks :)
My top three are Euchre, Gin, and Uno. A long history with these games and playing them is so relaxing.
If you ever want a nice twist on Uno my gaming group is highly enthused by Uno Flip. it just adds an extra layer of strategy without bogging down the game with a ton of new complex rules.
@@ClockworkWyrm love it! I’ve busted it out a time or two myself. :)
I was just thinking yesterday that Tapestry is my comfort game. I have the set-up down to a science and I know I will always enjoy my play (vs Automa, even though I'll probably lose). It is intuitive and delightful.
Awesome List!
It sounds like you need a 3D printer. 🤣
We've printed organization for both Quacks and Castles of Mad King Ludwig and man oh man it's a game changer! Set up is so quick and simple!
That's awesome! I'm getting the deluxe version of Mad King Ludwig, so that will fix any setup issues. As for Quacks, a friend owns it and another friend has a 3D printer, so I'll see if I can connect them. Do you have a link to your recommended files for Quacks?
Thank you!
Azul Summer Pavilion is now on my wishlist :) Jamey, have you tried Santa Monica? That game is a great tableau building game, with enough in it to keep it interesting for many plays, but simple and short enough to be a good 'after work' comfort game. Definitely would make my top 3 for this topic
My top 3 would have to be:
- Res Arcana
- Roll Player
- Disney Villainous
from my collection
#1: cribbage
others: 6 nimmt, aerion, dale of merchants, hanabi, lama dice, now boarding, patchwork, quadropolis, piepmatz, railroad ink, welcome to
For us it’s: Lords of Waterdeep, Azul, Dice Throne, Any of the DND branded dungeon crawlers, and of course Wingspan.
Super glad to hear you got to a vaccinated game day. We’ve started doing the same and it’s amazing to be at a table with other humans.
bought Fantasy Realms based on your preference. no regrets. truly a fantastic game.
Interesting list. I'd include Mandala, Ohanami, The Crew, Gizmos, Welcome To, Silver and Gold, and For Sale.
All great ones! My wife and I have lately loved Nova Luna.
Wowzers! Lots of honorable mentions this time! Got me thinking what my comfort games would be!
An interesting topic...on Steam, I consider Wingspan a comfort game that I play often. I have the app for Tokaido, which I haven't played in a while, but it is very relaxing. Kohaku is a gorgeous and entertaining game that is easy to teach. The game garners a lot of attention when it's out on the table.
Wingspan is my number one go to comfort game!
We have similar comfort games: Quacks of Quedlinburg, Space Base, Lords of Waterdeep, Sagrada, will have to check out some of the others you mentioned
Great videos always! Fun to hear your thoughts on games.
Have you played Castell? Perhaps not fully a comfort game. But, easy to teach, to remember rules and always a great puzzley fun! One of my favorites.
Great list! I think Hues and Cues is great for this category, super easy to teach and a lot of fun!
Great video! Some games I own, some others I’m going to look into. But in the list at the end, there is a mistake: Tidal Blades on nummer 1, it’s suposed to be Fantasy Realms.
Thanks for catching that! :)
The most popular answer to this question has got to be Wingspan, so kudos to Jamey and Elizabeth for creating possibly the most chill game of all time! However, I think a deeply underrated answer here is Cartographers. Jamey, if you haven’t played Cartographers, give it a try. I think this game is way up your alley.
Great list :) My top 3 would be: The Crew, Res Arcana and Carcassonne
Quacks Hack = Mind Blown.
For us probably Wingspan, Welcome To, Aquatica is on the rise.
Clearly, we all need to rebuild our capacity to play several back-to-back, heavier, games in a single session, but I'm always happy to jump into a game of Azul, Ticket to Ride, or Quacks. With honorable mentions for Cockroach Poker and 6 Nimmt! 👍
Recent comfort games added to my collection are Kohaku and Canvas
Fantastic Factories, Herbaceous and X-Wing are like Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.😁
My comfort games depend on who I'm playing with haha
Personally: Isle of Cats, Lignum, Star Realms
With whole family: Isle of Cats, Bunny Kingdom, Carcassone, Viticulture, Wingspan
With just the spouse: Sagrada, Azul/Azul:SP, Lords of Waterdeep, Rajas of the Ganges
With just my daughter: Viticulture, Gingkopolis, Shards of Infinite
With just my son: Hive, Star Realms/Cthulhu Realms, Chess, Magic: the Gathering
With both kids: Shards of Infinite, Star Realms, Rajas of the Ganges, Lords of Waterdeep, Uno Flip, Go Fish of all things :/
definitely Star Realms and Azul, also Kingdom Builder and Kingdomino (at least in BGA)
My top comfort games are Wingspan, Rajas of the Ganges and Railroad Ink
Hi. My top 3 comfort games are: World’s Fair, Wingspan and Villainous.
how difficult is scoring with the expansion? i love how easy the app makes fantasy realms scoring and i don't see that they have added the expansion.
I think it's pretty easy--I just do it card by card.
A note: #1 on your last slide says Tidal Blades instead of Fantasy Realms.
My top 3 comfort games are 1) Mystic Vale 2) Doppelt So Clever & 3) (online, lately) Nidavellir
Thanks Laura!
My comfort games:
Agricola ACGS, Viticulture and Wingspan
My top 5: sushi go, downforce, bärenpark, can’t stop, modern art
My Comfort 13/Baker's Dozen (no particular order, Knizia/Schacht/Colovini heavy):
Medici v Strozzi
High Society
Circus Flohcati
Ra
Serengeti (= Don = Templari)
Spirits of the Forest (= Richelieu)
Web of Power (= China = Iwari)
Mount Drago
Terra Nova
Clans
Parade
Hey That's My Fish
Yinsh
Everdell, Wingspan and Villainous!
I'm curious to know what you will think of Creature Comforts, by Roberta Taylor / KTBG! This was designed specifically to capture the feeling of "cozy", so I feel like it will end up on a lot of people's "comfort games" lists.
Nice! I'll have to try that one.
We play everything except castles and fantasy rooms on a very regular basis in our house
My top 10, in alphabetical order:
Aquatica
Bites
Camel Up
Five Tribes
It’s a Wonderful World
Just One
Las Vegas Royale
Smartphone Inc.
Space Base
Tapestry
Muy top 3:
Ratzzia
Thats pretty clever
High Society
Top 3 Comfort Games:
Res Arcana
Nidavellir
Quacks
Grand Austria Hotel
Wingspan
COB
Clank
Quest to El Dorado
Viticulture
Orleans
Dopplet So Clever
Potion Explosion
Ticket To Ride
Dragon Castle
Azul
Fungi
For us it would be
Quacks
Space Base
Marvel champions
Lost cities
Surprised Canvas didn't make the lisy
I considered it (it's a game I greatly enjoy), but there's a certain type of puzzle game that just doesn't fit the "comfort" category for me, and Canvas is in that category.
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Unmatched
Meadow