What is A Gentle Rain?
After demoing this at UKGE for two days, I can honestly say that A Gentle Rain is one of, if not the top game I enjoy playing—either solo or with friends—as a nice, calming experience, especially after a tough D&D session. It’s a tile placement game where you create a pond. When you form a complete 2×2 square of matching tiles, you place a blossom (more on that below).
The game is advertised as a “1+ cosy cooperative game,” which I find to be spot-on. You can start playing solo, and others can join in at any point—helping to decide where to place tiles or even drawing their own and planning alongside you. It’s simple, intuitive, and delightfully relaxing.
If you’ve seen this game around and thought, Hmm, should I buy this?, I would highly recommend that you do. So many people at the expo were unsure at first but were rushing off to buy it just moments after trying it.
How does it play?
A Gentle Rain is a tile-placement game where the challenge is essentially against your past decisions. Each game feels different. Even if you try to use the same strategy—like placing tiles close together—you’ll often end up with wildly different outcomes. Sometimes I get just 2 blossoms, other times 6 or even all 8. No two games ever end the same way.
To play, shuffle your tiles and place them within reach. Draw a tile and place it on the table to start your pond. From there, pick up the next tile, flip it over, and place it where it matches. Each tile has four edges with lily pads in various colours (Blue, Red, Orange—up to 8 colours). You match edge to edge—blue with blue, red with red, and so on.
When you complete a 2×2 square (4 connected tiles), and the adjacent edges all match, you can place a blossom in the center of that square.
You continue this process until either all the blossoms are placed or you run out of tiles. At that point, “The rain has stopped, and you have created your pond.” (Insert cute squishy face here.)
To score, count one point for each blossom placed. You don’t lose points for unused blossoms—remember, it’s a cosy game. If you run out of tiles, simply count the blossoms on the board. If you place all 8 blossoms and have leftover tiles, you get bonus points equal to the number of unused tiles. For example, 8 blossoms and 4 unused tiles = 12 points total.
Complexity of the Game
If you haven’t guessed by now, the game’s difficulty depends mostly on your luck. You’re playing against yourself and chance—what tiles you draw and how you place them. You can make smart plays to give yourself good setups, but if luck isn’t on your side, those plans might not work out.
What I really enjoy is how flexible the game is. You can make it more complex by adding your own house rules. For example, the rules don’t require that the colour of the 2×2 matching edges has to match the blossom you place—but if you want an extra challenge, you can add that condition.
How it fares as a co-operative game
Being marketed as a “1+” player game is surprisingly accurate. It works beautifully as a solo game but also shines when played cooperatively. Others can join in by pulling tiles or helping find the best placement, and adding more people doesn’t take away from the cosy feel—it enhances it.
Having more people involved is great. It’s easy to miss good moves under pressure, but extra eyes can help spot clever placements. It also makes it more exciting—placing a blossom becomes a shared victory.
At UKGE, I demoed a game with six people around the table—three drawing and placing tiles, and three helping to find optimal placements. There were cheers, laughs, and even groans when someone suggested a move that might cause a block. The amazing part? These six were complete strangers but played like lifelong friends. A Gentle Rain truly brings people together.
Final Thoughts
To summarise—yes, I love this game. When I first saw it, I wasn’t sure if it was for me. But by my 27th game, I can honestly say I love it even more each time I play. Sure, it can be frustrating sometimes, but that never takes away from the cosy, calming fun of placing blossoms.
If you’ve been thinking about picking it up and haven’t yet, I’d 100% recommend it. You won’t be disappointed. It fits into any game night and is even perfect to bring to work for a quick lunchtime unwind.
Ratings:
Artwork: 5/5
Complexity: 1/5
Replayability: 5/5
Player Interaction: 5/5
Component Quality: 4/5
Overall Score:
95 out of 100
I’d honestly give it a full 100, but I think it just needs a small extra feature—maybe a variant or two—for perfection.
5 Likes:
The calming atmosphere of the game
Beautiful, appealing artwork
Every game helps you relax
Perfect for a cosy night with friends
Once you finish one game, you’ll want to play another
5 Dislikes:
Games can feel a bit short
You may have to stop playing… You know, to do life
