BGG 20 Coziest Tea Time Games (2024 Edition)

Build a landscape of hexagons and populate it with animals. It‘s cute, it‘s nature and you will always end up with a beautiful landscape. Who cares about scores when you now have this wonderful forest filled with bears who eat the salmon from the river and the deer who live next-door? Why it is cozy? * Everyone gets their own landscape * Interaction happens only through drafting * You get to do something on every turn, it is incredibly rare to be unable to place the animal tile. * Unless you play with 6 it plays quickly * Difficulty can be scaled with the choice of animal cards. * Probably don‘t play with Landmarks or the tea might grow cold * It‘s pretty and colorful

Another build-a-landscape… this time no bears for most players. Take some chunky wooden tiles put them in patterns. Draft beautiful animal cards and create harmonies. Why it‘s cozy? * What the cover isn‘t enough already? * Interaction is only through drafting the blocks and the cards * The wooden tiles are so nice to touch * You always get to do something on your turn * The resulting landscape is pretty even if you never matched a single animal pattern * Slow pattern matching just makes me happy (don‘t get me started about Set, that one is decidedly uncozy) * It is a quick satisfying game that‘s just the right amount of thinky to keep it from being boring

You have this little village and you build it up. You shore up the meadows further out and out so you can place more sheep. And breed them and have more sheep. And sheep until you have ALL the sheep… maybe consider getting a horse to put in front of the cart so you can go and see the world outside of your village to trade a little? Or have a ship (expansion only) to trade for… wait for it: tea? Why it is cozy? * There is tea in it (sorry only with the expansion) * You can watch the sheep breed (and cows and horses and of course you score only the type of animal you have the least of, it is not that cozy) * There is always an action spot that does something nice for you. * The switch between the seasons is just nice. * The board may look daunting at first but once you‘ve settled in … you can drink your tea hot. * It plays surprisingly quick if you ignore the setup/teardown phases but you prepare the table before your friend comes over, right?

So there‘s a fjord in Norway with those cute red houses and there are a bunch of old people that you need to feed fish to. So you go out fishing no matter the weather… and then you want a bigger ship just cut down those woods, who needs trees anyway? Why the bigger ship? Because the elders get hungry and if you are out in the fjord you can’t hear their complaints. I admit I have only played this one solo, so maybe it shouldn‘t be on the list. But of the Rosenberg worker placement / farming games I have, this one is definitely the most relaxed. Also it is the only one without animal breeding. Why it is cozy? * Because you only play at going out in a fishing boat into the fjord * Every building in every deck is unique and there is always an interesting combo to be had. * Interaction is reduced to worker spot competition and who gets which buildings * The economy is pretty relaxed, you can always do something. * It is nice to see your village grow on your player board.

This is the current iteration of Everdell that I own. But this goes for both versions. Build a village filled with cute buildings for cute critters who live there. Why it is cozy? * You build up your own tableau. * There is a little bit of satisfying combo-ing going on but since Farshore reduced the luck factor this makes it more cozy than the OG in this aspect. * Interaction is mostly reduced to worker spot competition and card drafting and actually in Farshore there is even less competition as there are more spots that allow for more workers and the ones in your tableau are no longer open to other players. And the market can now hold stacks of multiple copies of cards… * It is just sooo cute and pretty. * The little resources are also cute. I like the pink berries from the base game the best. I miss those in Farshore * You will almost always fill up your tableau. It is rather the question if you fill it up too early and have nothing to do (Farshore also mitigates that) * You end up with something you built and that is really quite satisfying and also tells a little story about the type of village you built.

You have children that need to be married? Don‘t worry there are two most eligible Fairchild heirs in the neighborhood. Just impress them enough and they are sure to marry your offspring. You better make sure your estate is the most impressive one and your reputation the most shiny. Why it is cozy? * How can a game about regency England not be great for having a nice tea time? * Building up your estate with new rooms and new gardens feels good * Each room tells a bit of a story. Each hand of cards you play does the same. (Not all of them are nice stories. Some of the cards are anything but) * Interaction is mostly through the tile drafting. Though there are a few interactive tiles (also see below, just remove it) * There are tea parties held during the game * There are libraries and salons… so cozy just ignore the servants. They are only there to bring you tea. * There is definitely a wedding at the end Non-cozy caveat: there is one mean tile that nearly ruined the game for me because it allowed my friend to leech my whole reputation or something—I am trying to suppress the memory… I think if that one comes up again, I‘ll ban it.

I never enjoyed the computer game all that much. It gets pretty stressful when your stack of tiles is running out when all you want to do is build a pretty landscape and those pesky quests just get in the way of building the most beautiful grove of blooming cherry trees and a river through rice fields… (see I called them rice fields and not forests. But they are green like the forests in the OG game. So forests!) Why it is cozy? * Well it is cooperative. * You cannot lose this game, you can just score badly. Surprisingly, a bad score is a bit like losing. You just know you did badly. But you are doing that to yourself, it is not the game. The game always gives you something at least one star no matter how terrible you played. It is not the game‘s fault that you think you did badly. The game says you did great. You competed and that is what matters! * I am kidding: it is kind of nice that you can’t lose and that the stakes are low… or as low as you want them. In theory you could just lay down tile after tile and do whatever you want. The game doesn‘t tell you what to do… * But of course there are incentives… but you do whatever you like * It is a neat puzzle that can get just as thinky as you want it in that moment. And it really also works as multiplayer and to me it kind of proves how quarterbacking is less of an issue than we make it out to be. Because my two player scores are generally higher than my solo score: 4 eyes see more than 2. * Also this iteration is really pretty * You get a satisfying thing you build together on the table and this one has some really really nice perks that make the finished thing look even better.

Grow a forest, watch the sun, draft the right biomes to get the best trees. Nobody likes the shadows. Why it is cozy? * Everyone has their own forest to grow * Interaction is only in the drafting of the biome cards * Watching trees grow is nice * It is quite pretty * The puzzliness is there but it is never overwhelming * Definitely not boring * Plays quickly and is easy to teach.

Look at that pair of ballet shoes and associate them with… work? Why did the others play the marionette, a bird in a cage and the sad clown? True story. I should post the picture if I can still find it somewhere. Also we‘ll never forget which card represents the Demon of the Fall (Opeth) Why it is cozy? * We play more as an activity rather than a game where we score * Telling each other stories about the cards just feels nice * The associations can get pretty weird * It is really fun to play this with good friends figuring out how well you really know how the others think * It never gets boring there are sooo many cards now * It is so pretty * It‘s been far too long since I played. * Gotta collect them all, them expansions.

This is like Dorfromantik only on the sea. No wait, this is like reverse cooperative Carcasonne. No wait, this is like a … super nice cooperative tile laying puzzle with enough flexibility in the puzzle to make it challenging and give you fun decisions but not overwhelming you with an endless decision space. Why it is cozy? * Tile laying is cozy by definition. Whose? Mine. * Cooperative games with low stakes are cozy * It plays quickly and has almost no tear down or setup * You build a nice landscape together * The art is kind of cute in its own way.

Collect your colors and your brushes and paint the most beautiful paintings. Admittedly it has been a while but I remember playing this on exactly such ocassions with a cup of tea and talking to friends. Why it is cozy? * It is beautiful * It is about beautiful art * Bruno Cathala makes cozy games * Pretty low interaction (need to play again but it definitely fits here)

A two player experience. Spill the pretty flower tokens on the black cloth and begin setting up your pairs. If you tend to AP this is not a game for you to feel cozy. But just let go. Follow the flow… because this game is all about that flow. Just try it for once. Don‘t think, just play… well until the last move anyway. Why it is cozy? * Shaking the flowers onto the cloth is cute * The little metall playing figures make a satisfying plunk as you place them just so. * The game plays so quickly, you just want to have another go. * Cute, pretty little game with low stakes. Just get the majority of the majority of the flowers, it‘s not that hard, just place your tokens here here here here and here. 5 moves. Done.

Build a city together. Just decide what goes where and hope that the team thinks the same as the mayor. Because if you don‘t chaos ensues. It is like free-style suburbia without all the math. Just imagine what fits together. Should the graffiti tunnel be next to the school or next to the prison? Should the fitness studio go next to the expensive restaurant or near the art gallery? Why it is cozy? * It is just a fun game of building up a city together * It can be taught quickly * It plays fast and has almost no setup or teardown. * And then you want to go again to see what buildings come up together this time * It does feel like there is combo-ing but like Dixit it is all in the associations you have with the buildings * Can probably play this with anyone.

I want this game on the list. This is a pretty little game about building your garden with stacking tiles and placing them just so. I wish I had played this more. But building up a garden by stacking tiles is just a nice setup for a cozy game. Why it is cozy? * First the theme of course. Building up your garden feels good. * Everyone plays their own playerboard, interaction is reduced to the drafting and some majorities * Building something is alway satisfying * I seem to remember the action selection was interesting but not overwhelming * I just like tile placement games. Tile placement is cozy.

A worker placement game about producing tea. Who would have thought to include that in a list of games for a rainy afternoon with tea? We actually did that a few years back on vacation when it rained so much we didn‘t want to leave the hotel, so we sat, watched the stormy sea and played the game. Why it is cozy? * It has tea. Lots of tea. (just imagine Keanu Reeves saying that as racks and racks of tea slide into view) * It is really very pretty and the art feels cozy. * Worker placement is slightly interactive. * The production chain and contract fulfillment are not too complex to get going (It‘s been a while since I played)

More tiles, colorful chunky tiles and even if you … drop them they won‘t break. Just put them into your floor in the optimal pattern or face the wrath of…. who? I think this is an abstract game and whatever story there was got lost in the patterns. It doesn‘t matter story isn‘t required for cozy games. And because I can I can rank all the Azul‘s: Sintra > Hex > OG > Pavillion Caveat: I will not play hex with more than 2. It leads to incredible amounts of AP in some people Why it is cozy? * Interaction is reduced to drafting (hate drafters will hate draft) * The chunky tiles are chunky and nice * It looks really nice for an abstract game * Everyone builds their own tableau * It plays quickly (with the exception of Hex Azul‘s AP prone-ness)

Move up the tracks as you transform your planet into the perfect polyominoes layout of your dreams (those are dreams, not nightmares!). There is the lovely rotating susan that deals you just the worst tiles for your planet… deal with it. There are asteroids incoming… quick move your rover to collect them all. Why it is cozy? * Parallel play is great to keep playtime down * Interaction is through the tile drafting / lazy susan and the competing goals but mostly non-existent * It is easy to teach * Tile laying is cozy * The combos from the tracks are quite satisfying * It is the cozy game you want to get out if you have 6 people and don‘t want to be there for dinner still.

Just roll the dice and see what you get. And you always get something. This is one of those games that will not let you go empty-handed. Why it is cozy? * Despite the dice rolling you always have cards in every one of the slots—unlike Machi Koro—you start with a full set. * There is some satisfying engine building going on. * You always get to do something on your turn * You often get to do something on other players turns, now isn‘t that nice? * It is kind of cute. * Low tension, just roll some dice and drink some tea and laugh (don‘t cackle, not cozy) when your particularly built up spot is rolled by an opponent * Interaction exists but in a rather passive way through the spots you build up to gain something during opponents turns. * It plays fast. The end usually comes suddenly when one player crashes through the tipping point of points…

Just play your cards right to get all the tricks to the people who need to take them. Of course there are situations that are unsolvable. But those show themselves quickly usually and then you can try again. Solving one of those is quite satisfying. Why it is cozy? * Because it is THE cooperative trick taking game * Trick taking is great but usually has high tension this one mitigates that through cooperation * Trick taking is a comfortable childhood mechanism that reminds me of playing Skat with my grandma * Endless variety and most people I know like the game so I don‘t need to work hard to convince them to play that makes it quite cozy.

Build a nice fire and keep it going, higher and higher. Be the Firestarter not the Firetoppler. As stacking games go, this one is the most cozy I could find and I like stacking games too much not to include one. Because it is so small and quick and fits between two cups of tea… the tension isn‘t as high as with the bigger siblings Why it is cozy? * You build a fire as the sun sets * It is quick, if you topple it, have a laugh and start over. * Even if it topples it wasn‘t all that high, it‘s not jenga…