Akropolis

Build a Greek city upwards as well as outwards.

Draft hexagonal tiles and slot them into your growing city, matching districts together to score. The clever bit is the third dimension — stack tiles on top of each other and the buildings underneath become foundations, multiplying everything above them.

It plays in about half an hour, the rules take two minutes, and the finished cities look genuinely lovely on the table. One of those rare games that satisfies the strategy crowd and the people who just like putting shapes in the right place.

Perfect for: lunch breaks, players who find Catan a bit much, and anyone who has ever rearranged a bookshelf for fun.