A good lightweight game should be light in almost every possible way: inexpensive, portable, colorful, pleasantly themed, quick-playing, low complexity, and playable at any skill level. Here are the games from 2020 that slid as easily into our lunch breaks as they did our game nights.
Don’t forget to cast your ballot in our 2020 Fan Favorite voting.
We’ll be announcing the rest of the nominees over the next few weeks; then check back on Friday, February 19, when we announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Diamond Climber Awards. Now without further ado, on to the nominees.
Zombie Teenz Evolution
In 2018 Le Scorpion Masque released the second game in the Zombie Kidz series, Zombie Kidz Evolution. Billed as the first cooperative legacy game for kids, it was a romp through the halls of a school as players attempted to defeat hordes of zombies. Along the way, players open sealed envelopes and earn new abilities and characters. In 2020 the next sequel was released: Zombie Teenz Evolution. This game features a new setting (a downtown city block), new characters, and far more content. No spoilers, but Zombie Teenz Evolution will have you and your kids on the edge of your seats with anticipation and delight.
Publisher: Le Scorpion Masqué
Designer(s): Annick Lobet
Artist(s): Nikao, Rémy Tornior
Unmatched: Cobble & Fog
The Unmatched series, a 2 or 4 player tactical miniatures skirmishing game from Restoration Games, took the hobby gaming world by storm in 2019 with a flurry of unlikely asymmetric characters (King Arthur, Alice in Wonderland, Medusa, and Sinbad). In 2020 Restoration unleashed new pairings from the Victorian Age (Sherlock Holmes, Invisible Man, Dracula, or Jekyll & Hyde). Play cards from a custom deck unique to each character and attempt to defeat your opponent.
Publisher: Mondo Games, Restoration Games
Designer(s): Chris Leder, Justin D. Jacobson, Rob Daviau
Artist(s): Andrew Thompson
Ohanami
Hanami refers to the traditional Japanese custom of “enjoying the transient beauty of flowers”. In Ohanami the card game, 2-4 players will grow up to three personal gardens by drafting cards, and placing those cards into numerical order in each column. The card colors dictate how cards will be scored at the end of the game. Come for the light card game, stay for the beautiful artwork, simple gameplay, and clever use of the box for scoring charts.
Publisher: Mercurio, Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag, Oya, Pandasaurus Games, Popcorn Games, Pravi Junak, White Goblin Games
Designer(s): Steffen Benndorf
Artist(s): Christian Opperer
Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game
Kawaii (or the “culture of cuteness”) has so thoroughly overtaken Japan, and other Asian countries, that they produce teapots with ears and noses, railings in the shape of rabbits, and now lazy eggs with butt cheeks. Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game is a trick-taking game for 2-7 people with a clever twist. Take as many tricks as you like, except for the last one, which will score you points equal to the card that won the trick. Gudetama is brightly colored, wickedly clever, and might just make you rethink the phrase “sunny side up”.
Publisher: Oni Games, Renegade Game Studios
Designer(s): Ben Eisner, Steve Ellis (II)
Artist(s): Wook-Jin Clark
Village Green
Peer Sylvester had quite a 2020, with the release of Polynesia and the second edition of The King is Dead. But it was the unassuming Village Green that stole our hearts, its gorgeous artwork hiding a surprisingly knotty puzzle. Players are trying to build 3×3 grids of garden-themed cards, whilst also creating their own scoring criteria for each row and column. Sounds simple but be careful or else before long you’ll find yourself holding a handful of roses with nowhere to put them. With simple rules, a quick playtime and a forgiving flexibility, Village Green is one of the sleeper hits of the year.
Publisher: Osprey Games
Designer(s): Peer Sylvester
Artist(s): Joanna Rosa
As with the article on the Best Artwork, reading this article made me sad. It made me sad because every one of these games looks fun and engaging (especially Ohanami and Village Green) … and none of them are in my collection. Modern board gaming is tough because of the sheer number of high-quality, well-designed, gorgeous games that are being produced!
Sigh… my poor wallet… 😉
Thanks for your expertise and for doing what you do. All of the information that you and Gary Chavez have put on Meeple Mountain has helped me tremendously. Cheers