What invokes the summertime to you? Is it the holidays at a blissful beach? Maybe a BBQ and some good tunes? Or maybe it’s just chilling out in your house after an evening stroll on long summer nights. Whatever your plans, don’t forget to bring a gaming companion for you and your friends to enjoy. Here are six different ideas:
1. Azul: Summer Pavilion Mini
The now ‘classic’ hit game has been revamped for the summer season. In this version, you’ll be tiling the King of Portugal’s floor with diamond tiles to create intricate circles.
In Summer Pavilion you’ll place colours in the same circles, building them up over the course of five rounds. Unlike the original version, negatives are absent in this version, allowing you to carry over spare tiles to use next round. Additionally, there’s a wild mechanic where a different colour can be used to complete spaces on the floor.
What makes this version so great is not only the award-winning formula, but also the new and interesting design. It’s also the perfect travel companion, fitting easily into an airline cabin bag or even your backpack thanks to the size of the Mini series.
2. Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
Shark fins and a fragile island, test your play group’s resilience with this father of modern gaming. What could speak more of that summer feeling (strawberries included) than a tropical island break?
Survive has you navigating your way to safety towards the corners of the board. Not only do you want to save your meeple, but during the setup phase, you secretly place ten people tokens from your opponents, hoping to spare their lives as well.
Survive is an easy-to-teach board game with each player allowed to move up to three times on a turn. You then begin to remove tiles from the island. The sea creatures all have different effects you can use to your advantage against others! Will the serpent eat your friends or the whale destroy some boats? Whatever happens, as soon as you see that volcano, the game is over. A fun and quick game which can be played.
3. Parks
Introverted hikers from the comfort of home can now explore beautiful national parks in the US. Whether you prefer to take in all the sights or race to the end of the trail, this simple yet addictive game is for everyone.
Parks offers a unique choice: race ahead towards the end of the trail or ambling slowly, taking in everything along the way. This is one of the game’s strengths. The weather throughout the year impacts the bonuses available on different trails. It’s worth taking the time to earn resources from various spaces and then convert them into points or gain extra actions. Points are earned by completing National Parks, as well as taking photos along the way.
The push and pull of finite resource management make Parks a gentle yet competitive game that welcomes all play styles.
4. Viticulture with Tuscany
Who knew making wine could be so tense? Viticulture, like many other games, features seasons with different opportunities to plant, harvest, and bottle wine. And good wine takes time.
With limited workers available per season, reaching 25 points is harder than it sounds. You will have to choose carefully which actions you want to take each season. Viticulture, along with the expansion Tuscany, is an excellent euro-style game for those familiar with the genre.
Each spring, the player has a powerful decision to make: go first or second. Choosing the latter offers a better bonus. You also have powerful workers to hire, structures to build and that all important aging wine. Alongside the calming artwork and intriguing theme, Stonemeier Games have made this a formula for success!
5. Through the Desert
Renier Knizeia’s Through the Desert, a lovely remake of the classic game, has been beautifully updated with modern components and artwork. The objective of the game is to strategically form lines of camels, effectively closing off portions of the map from your opponents.
Throughout the game, you’ll have the chance to connect oasis’s, which provide additional bonus points. Additionally, you’ll earn points for maintaining the longest line of camels, creating a satisfying puzzle as you navigate the lines of other players.
One of the game’s unique features is the restriction on being next to another player’s caravan, which can be both advantageous and disadvantageous depending on your strategy. This game is quick and will bring out the competitive edge of anyone who finds themselves in the desert.
6. Verdant
As the plants in your garden bloom and fill the air with bees and butterflies, why not try the cosy house plant game of Verdant? We all know that house plants can be difficult to care for, and Verdant recreates those headaches in gaming form.
In Verdant, players choose from a central pool of cards to place within their own tableau. Each card represents a plant or a room, and players must ensure that their plants receive the right amount of sunlight and grow in large enough pots to brighten up the room they are in. As players grow their plants over the game, they may achieve a “Verdancy,” a fully grown plant that scores them important points.
The game also includes individual objectives, which encourage players to create the most beautiful display of plants. This means that players must tread a line to score the most points, balancing the requirements for plants with their own personal goals.
Here’s to a summer filled with fun, rain or shine! Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, we’ve got a wide range of games to keep you entertained throughout the season.
