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My life runs on caffeine. 2l of Pepsi Max Cherry gets me through my 14 hour workdays. But sometimes I need an extra shot to the system. Games need playing after the toiling is done! When that happens, it’s coffee time. 1st October is International Coffee Day so grab your favourite mug and pop the kettle on! Espresso, Americano, Long Black….something dark and harsh is like a lightning crack to my brain. Whether you like it bitter and black, or sweet and milky, however, here are 5 top games to stimulate your International Coffee Day games night!
Coffee Roaster
Starting off this list with a solo-only game, Coffee Roaster is a smooth pool building game. Adding some of 22 different kinds of beans and tokens to a bag, you’ll be trying to roast those beans to match your desired level. At the mercy of what the bag provides, it is your job to make the best of what comes out! Push your luck is the tasty foam layered on top of the intense drafting in this game. If you like a puzzle with your morning cuppa, this could be a stimulating choice for you!
Cafe
Card layering and patching is one of my favourite mechanics when I want a quick hit of gaming fun. And in Café, placement optimisation is the goal. Playing as coffee companies, you are working through the whole coffee production process. From harvesting beans, drying, and roasting to delivering them to the java houses, you are trying to make the most successful supply chain! With limited actions per turn, you need to balance what you’ve already got with what you need. Café plays brilliantly both multiplayer and solo, and the caramel colour scheme screams coffee shop chic!
Dulce
In Dulce, coffee beans are in the mix, but this time they are going to be made into the most delicious cakes! Along with cacao, peanuts, and vanilla, you’ll be planting, harvesting, and processing ingredients into tasty treats. Played over 20 fast rounds, the multi-use cards keep the footprint of this game small and sweet. They also pose sticky decisions – do you discard one to plant beans and collect ingredients, or do you build a shop to sell your baked goods? Low interaction provides a multiplayer-solitaire experience which means you can focus on furthering your own edible empire!
Grand Austria Hotel
What do you do when you go to a super posh hotel? Ordering a cup of coffee and a slice of cake sounds like a great idea to me. And in Grand Austria hotel, serving guests and making their stay as perfect as possible is the aim of this game! From humble café beginnings to world famous hotel, you’ll be kept busy as you develop your hospitality empire in this euro-style hand/resource management, dice drafting, tableau building powerhouse! Preparing drinks is just one of the actions you need to do to win, so make sure you have a caffeine hit before you start!
Coffee Traders
With a 2+ hour playtime and a 4+ weight on BoardGameGeek, you’ll be glad of the stimulating theme in Coffee Traders! A big cup of joe won’t harm the experience either! In Coffee Traders you are doing just that – building plantations and finding markets for selling your Arabica beans. Each round has three focuses – planting, harvesting, and…yep, you guessed it, trading! But with a grande cup full of player interaction and area control, as well as a pot full of strategy, this heady and heavyweight euro-style game could make your synapses sizzle!
I hope these games have got you buzzing in readiness for International Coffee Day on 1 October! However you get your fix, have a smooth and full-bodied experience!