The New York Times - Bored of your board games?

As Wirecutter’s board game expert, I’ve tested 150 board games over the past two years. After all that time spent learning, teaching, and playing in all types of settings—from coffee tables in cramped apartments to the basement of Wirecutter’s Long Island City office—I can attest: There’s probably no better season to settle down with a game than the crisp, cozy days of autumn.

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Whether you’re solving crimes in Victorian London or building beautiful tile mosaics, cozy games run the gamut of theme and complexity—a great trait when you’re hiding from the weather with a partner or enjoying some solitude. And they all enrapture the mind in a way that can make the time fly by.

Light a few candles, grab a beverage—preferably warm with a healthy amount of cinnamon, chocolate, or pumpkin flavoring (we won’t judge)—and find some table space. Here are four of my favorite games right now.

• For mystery lovers: Take the experience of reading a great mystery novel and splay it out across your table with Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Each puzzle is a rewarding, wonderful mix between a traditional game and a choose-your-own-adventure book.
• For the whole fam: Cascadia is a game all about building out environments with tiles and then populating them with the right animals. It presents just the right amount of predictability and risk-taking without becoming too mean or tense.
• For those who find comfort in pattern recognition: Azul is a colorful and relaxing game that tasks players with building tile mosaics. Its mix of soothing colors and wonderfully tactile tiles makes it a fun and calming experience.
• For zen puzzlers: Food Chain Island is a tiny deck of cards that can fit into even the tightest of pockets but packs a meaty feast of a game. The main task is to reduce the grid of 16 cards down to one by having higher-value cards “eat” the lower-value ones. It’s a fun puzzle that I love as a casual time-killer.

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Explore more of Wirecutter’s favorite games→

Thanks for spending Cozy Week with us. ’Til next time.

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