Every month, The Zatu Show will be delivering the top gaming countdowns, a peek into our subscription boxes and a look into life behind the meeples here at Zatu HQ.
Be sure to pop over to the Zatu Games YouTube channel to watch this month’s episode.
This month, we will be bringing you our top 5 seasonal games that we discussed over on episode 4. As we're all still working from home, we wanted to make the most of all of the seasons. Amber and Arthur assigned each season a board game or a video game that they feel best represented it. Whilst many of us are still inside, we wanted to honour those seasons that we haven't been able to make the most of.
Spring - Village Green
Monty Don, watch out, The Zatu Show is coming for you! With Village Green, you'll be trying to win the annual village green of the year contest. Think the town in Hot Fuzz, minus the whole secret cult thing.
For a small box game, there is a surprising amount of punch and thinking involved, while maintaining a 30-minute playtime. The village green theme may also appeal to wider family members as you convince them to put scrabble away and battle for a more prestigious honour!
In this game, you'll be arranging flowers, planting trees and building ponds. Coming from Osprey Games, this is a quick and simple one for the whole family. With its beautiful design and stunning cards, this game perfectly encapsulates Spring. Plus gardening has seen a boom since the first lockdown was announced, so why not carry this through to your board game habits?
Summer - Maneater
When you think of summer, don't you just think of the beach? Soaking in the sun, relaxing on the warm sand. You then decide to take a dip in the cool waters. Normally this would just be a cold yet refreshing dip. In the world of Maneater, you would be lunch for a very hungry shark!
Experience the ultimate power fantasy as the apex predator of the seas - a terrifying SHARK! Maneater is a single-player, open-world action RPG (ShaRkPG) where you are the shark. Eat! Explore! Evolve!
Get ready to live out the ultimate shark fantasy. Bring the likes of Jaws to life with this gaming gem.
Think of it as a summer beach party with your favourite shark!
Autumn - Bosk
All the leaves are falling and the air is crisp once again. Autumn is the favourite season of many for its scenic beauty and natural wonders. Bosk captures this beautiful season within its board and exceptional components.
From majestic Maples to ancestral Oaks, players nurture their trees aiming to thrive over the course of a year in a beautiful National Park. When autumn comes, leaves fall in the ever-changing direction of the wind, guided to cover the terrain and other players’ leaves.
Get ready to gain the most ground in the park and take home a win in the stunning Bosk.
Winter - Spirit of the North
With the help of your new companion, shed light on the ruins of the past and overcome obstacles in our winter pick. Spirit of the North allows you to explore Icelandic-based environments as an inquisitive fox.
You'll be traversing tundra, glaciers, and mountainsides as you follow a foreboding scarlet trail that paints the sky. This quest for adventure will take you into the unknown and be one with nature. This game might not have any dialogue or narrative but that is entirely the charm.
Play as an ordinary red fox who’s story becomes entwined with the guardian of the Northern Lights in our winter pick.
All in One - Photosynthesis
Our final game is the perfect way to capture the whole calendar in one gaming session! Photosynthesis showcases the beauty of each and every season from the beaming sun to the finest of snowflakes.
In Photosynthesis, you'll be following the life of a tree through all of the seasons. This is an abstract green strategy board game that sees you nurturing seedlings to their full beauty.
Plant and shape the ever-changing forest as you cultivate your seeds and your strategy. Take your trees through their life-cycle, from seedling to full bloom to rebirth, and earn points as their leaves collect energy from the revolving sun’s rays. Carefully pick where you sow and when you grow, as trees in the shadows are blocked from light, and from points.
Soon you'll be able to enhance your forest with the Under the Moonlight expansion. The moon turns in the opposite direction of the sun and casts its moonlight across the woods. Players collect lunar points for their new forest animal to activate special powers. Which one of the eight animals will be yours? The boar collects trees, the hedgehog plants seeds, the fox steals and moves seed around, and the owl turns lunar points into sun points. Coming soon, this expansion will add a whole other dimension to your game.
Until Next Time
That's another episode wrapped up. Even though we are still at home, bringing you The Zatu Show each month is really a highlight for everyone involved.
Make sure that you like, subscribe and hit the bell to stay up-to-date with the show. We'll be back in April with another episode of The Zatu Show and maybe even another giveaway.