Pergola

Gardening, but with considerably less kneeling.

A year in a garden, from the first bare plot to whatever it has turned into by autumn. You decide what goes where, coax in insects and small animals, and watch the thing gradually acquire its own internal logic. The hand-painted watercolours are by Karolina Kijak-Dzikońska — the same hand behind the Meadow series — and the finished garden is genuinely worth leaving out on the table for a while before you pack it away.

Each turn you take one of four available tools, collect whatever it offers, and find somewhere sensible to put it. The catch is that placement is permanent and space runs out considerably faster than you expect, so the excellent turn you want to take in five minutes depends entirely on the mediocre one you're taking now. You're competing far more against your own plot than against anyone else's, which makes it unusually pleasant for a game that still bothers to have a winner.

Perfect for: Anyone who liked Meadow or Cascadia and has been waiting for something in the same register — and for the household where "competitive" isn't really the point of games night.

1–4 players | 45–60 minutes | Age 10+

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