Over the last few weekends, Siobhan and I have added more than a handful of new games to our collection, and we've been slowly making our way through them. It's been so nice having quiet, screen-free weekends where we can learn a new game (or three), revisit some of our old favourites, and just spend quality time together.
Our latest additions to our ever-growing collection were; Coffee Rush, Sea Salt & Paper, Spooky Tower, Joking Hazard, Mycelia, and Gloomies. We still have a couple to play properly and with a few more people before we can give them our reviews but the ones we have played have offered some solid gameplay and more than a few laughs.
☕ Coffee Rush
If you love making coffee then you need to play this game! Coffee Rush is so cute and so fun. You're baristas racing to complete drink orders before everyone else, and there's something really satisfying about collecting the exact ingredients you need before dashing off to fulfil another order. I love that you get all the matching ingredients to go into the drinks - they are so cute and dinky. And as an added bonus, the game gives you storage for all the pieces once you’ve played through so you’re ready to go the next time you want to play.
As a two-player game, we found it worked well, although we did end up tweaking one of the rules to speed things up a little. Otherwise, unless someone gets particularly lucky with the cards, you can end up working through almost the entire deck before the game ends. With our little house rule, though, it became a much faster and more exciting race.
I’m also really excited for the grab and go edition of this game but I hope it’s managed to keep all the cute vibes that has both me and Siobhan obsessed with this game.
🌊 Sea Salt & Paper
Sea Salt & Paper was... an experience.
For the first few rounds we genuinely couldn't decide if we were enjoying ourselves. We kept looking at each other asking, "Is this actually fun?"
The funny thing is, once we stopped expecting it to be something bigger, it completely clicked. It's meant to be a calm, thoughtful little card game, and that's exactly what it is.
The artwork is absolutely adorable, the rounds are quick, and there's just enough strategy to keep you thinking. Each round you're trying to be the first player confident enough to call the end of the round, deciding whether to risk giving your opponent one last chance to score or stopping things immediately.
On top of that, collecting different sets unlocks special abilities like stealing cards, drawing extras, or taking another turn. It's easy to learn, relaxing to play, and would make a fantastic game to throw in your bag for easy on the go games.
👻 Spooky Tower
This was the standout game of the bunch.
We absolutely loved Spooky Tower.
Everything about it is charming, especially the artwork. Every card is designed to look like a little Polaroid photo, and it's one of those games that makes you smile before you've even started playing.
At first, Siobhan was absolutely destroying me. We were flying through games so quickly that eventually we realised we'd misunderstood one of the rules. Once we fixed that, things became a lot more competitive... and thankfully I finally managed to win a few games!
It's quick, cute, and one of those games we'll happily pull off the shelf again and again.
😂 Joking Hazard
Playing Joking Hazard by Cyanide & Happiness for the first time was complete chaos.
We decided to play as four players by each controlling two hands, which somehow made the game even more ridiculous. The biggest thing to come out of it wasn't even one of the comics, though. We discovered how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors against ourselves to decide which of our two hands would go first. I'm not convinced it'll ever be a useful life skill (it might be though), but at least we're prepared now. And yes, we do have a video of it... no, you can't see it.
This is definitely not a family game. Some of the cards had us both making the "should we really be laughing at this?" face. 🫣😱
The goal is simple: build the funniest, weirdest, or most outrageous three-panel comic using the cards in your hand while another player judges the winner of each round. The first player to collect three winning comics takes the victory.
It's silly, completely unhinged, and had us laughing through round after round. If your humour leans towards the wonderfully inappropriate, this one is an absolute blast.
🌸 Gloomies
I have been obsessed with Gloomies ever since I first saw the artwork, so I couldn't wait to finally get it to the table. Thankfully, it lived up to all my expectations. Between the gorgeous illustrations, the adorable theme of growing and harvesting flowers, and the clever gameplay, we ended up playing it multiple times in a single afternoon.
The game is split into two rounds. During the first round, players use their cards to plant flowers on the board, but every card you play has the potential to come back and challenge you later. As you complete rows, you'll earn one of three bonus tokens: an Order (used in round 2), a Magic Bean, or a Helper that gives you extra cards. Since there are only three rewards available for each row, timing and choosing wisely really matters.
Once the board is full of flowers, everyone scores their first-round points before resetting for the second round. This is where the game gets really interesting. The cards you played while planting become your personal deck for harvesting, so every decision you made earlier comes back into play. If you weren't thinking ahead... Well, let's just say you might regret a few choices! (I sure did, but I didn’t know any better!) Along the way you'll harvest flowers, fulfil Order promises, and race to score the most points.
This was easily one of my favourites from the weekend, and I can already tell it's going to be hitting our table a lot.
🍄 Mycelia
The Mushroom Man in the solo version of this game is so strong.
I know that's not actually his name, but after several games (and several rants about how much he kept winning), that's what he'll always be called in our house.
The first time I played against him, I honestly didn't really understand the strategy, and he absolutely crushed me. So I reset the game, gave myself a tiny head start while I learned the flow, and tried again.
As a solo experience, I had a lot of fun figuring out the best ways to outsmart him. It turned into a bit of a puzzle as I learned how the game worked and how to use my cards more effectively.
My biggest piece of advice? When the rulebook tells you the Mushroom Man is powerful... believe it. He's relentless! But don't let that put you off. Once you start understanding the strategy, it's incredibly satisfying trying to outplay him.
We're not slowing down any time soon! Next on our table are some exciting upcoming releases that will be arriving at Book Hero soon, along with Tea Witches, Underwater Cities, Beacon Patrol, and 12 Rivers. I can't wait to see which one becomes our next obsession.
If you love the sound of any of these games and want to give them a try for yourself, check out our cosy weekend games list! Sorry, Joking Hazard didn't meet the cosy vibes but we could be wrong 👀
We would love to hear what games you enjoy playing on the weekends too.