I’ve been pushing Wingspan Pocket in the bar this week—don’t worry, it’ll get spotlighted in the email soon—and it’s got me thinking about simpler versions of games. Wingspan Pocket takes the mechanics of the original game and simplifies them, tightening a good game into something great. Similarly, Trails is a condensed and, frankly, better version of Parks. When I mentioned to friend-of-the-bar James Nathan that someone had donated My Lil’ Everdell and it looks to be a tighter, better version of the original, he said, “Hot take: all kids’ versions of adult games are better.” While that is a spicy take, it gets to the heart of what I’m noticing for myself: I want a game to lean into what it wants to do, and not add on a bunch of other things for the sake of being more complex or “serious.” Don’t get me wrong, I love a complex, sprawling game, but I want all the bits to matter. And increasingly, I appreciate games that have only what matters. Sometimes I call this kind of game concise.

Humans are complex and sprawling, and that’s a beautiful thing—“(I am large) I contain multitudes” Walt Whitman famously wrote. But we (I) can also feel scattered, or like we need to be something we’re not, something other people want us to be. Big question, I know, but who are you really? Who do you want to be? Can you lean into what you actually want to do, what you are at your core? Be who you are, like Wingspan Pocket and Trails!

Alice C., board game librarian

Play Kanō!

Kanō is brand new, so new that when I saw it at GenCon and told the guy behind the table that it was on my list of “must see” games, he said, “How did you hear about it? We only started talking about it three days ago!” I’ve no idea how I heard about it, but I’m glad I did!

Players take paint pots from the main board and place them on their player boards, attempting to build up the appropriate pattern of paint colors to replace them with gorgeous illustrations and fill in their empty space. But be careful, your paint pots will “dry out” if you leave them too long!

The paint pots are so pleasing in the hand, the main board is a lovely cloth, and players’ completed paintings are so satisfying and beautiful. The aesthetics alone make this a game worth playing, but it’s also got a bit of a puzzle to it with placing paintings efficiently and not wasting your paint.

Try the Everdellicacy!

Though it’s named after the charming game Everdell, this gorgeous drink would go well with a game of Kanō. Last year, at our first anniversary, we gave out some prizes including a custom cocktail experience, won by regular Melody. It’s got Dragon Berry rum, blueberry simple syrup, lemon juice and lemonade, and is garnished with sweet dragon berries.

Order one to sip while playing its namesake or a couple rounds of Kanō!