When we announced the 18-Card Cozy Game challenge, we admitted that we couldn’t quite define what “cozy” means. Thankfully, we received more than 130 submissions that pointed the way for us! We saw games about food/cooking, the great outdoors, crafting, gardening, and so much more. The largest category of submissions was animals: sure, we saw the usual suspects like cats and dogs, but also plenty of bears, monkeys, frogs, and other unexpectedly cozy creatures.

 

From all of these delightful submissions, we’ve winnowed our way down to a solid Top 10 that features a little bit of each of these cozy categories. There were also quite a few games that caught our eye, but didn’t quite make it into the finalist list.

 

We’ve chosen to give the following games an Honorable Mention:

A Cozy Night In - Nick Huster & Diana Lanzas Calero

Brownie Badges - Erica Pinto

Citrus - Jamie Thul

Happybara - Mae Wilkes

Kitchen Garden - Scott Smith

Mush Puppies - Justin Antezana

Painted Fans - Kirsten Lunde

Snow Sleuths - Jules Ford

Stork Market - Art Casey

Tough Cookie - Nathaniel Leduc

Trunk of Forgotten Memories - Joaquin Rajadel

 

As you can see, we really had our work cut out for us. Now, without further ado, our list of Finalists!

A Walk on the Beach

Karl Lange

 

 

How could we possibly resist A Walk on the Beach? This game of track movement and set collection feels like a fusion of some of our favorite cozy games – Tokaido, PARKS, and Button Shy’s own Tides, just to name a few – but it’s clearly more than just a mashup. With a variety of scoring possibilities, the game builds on the delicate tension of figuring out your next move with a simple-yet-effective “win two rounds” requirement that ensures each step you take matters. 

Bears vs Bees

Ryan Cooke

 

 

Bears. Bees. Battling? It may not sound particularly cozy, but this dueling tile-layer feels surprisingly comfortable as players try to outwit and outflank their opponent to get the most honey across 2 rounds of play. What makes it work are the elegant placement and scoring rules that require both players to think carefully about their own strategy… and their opponent’s.

Cats in Magic Hats

Neil Kimball

 

 

When the witches are away, the cats and their hats shall play! In this case, that means drafting cats from your opponent’s hand and putting them in hats from your own hand to create unique feline ‘fits that score across three suits. Our judges were drawn to this game’s depth and variety  – and also to those cute cats in their hats!

Cloud Garden

Amber Wells

 

 

Let the rains fall in this head-to-head battle game of cumulative combos! Players take turns rotating cloud cards to water their flowers and win the game. It might seem simple, but what caught the judges’ attention was the way each turn cascades into a flood of possibilities as actions chain into one another and depleted clouds get removed from the board, shifting the decision space for the next player in subtle ways.

Dear Santa

Patri Cheva

 

 

While we might have expected a game about Santa delivering presents during our 18-Card Holiday Challenge, Dear Santa feels just at home in this one: after all, what’s cozier than waking up on a holiday morning, surrounded by loved ones, and opening gifts together? Draft and build your tableau of gifts to maximize the points from your unique Santa and stocking scoring conditions in this cute and sleek game.

Dogpile

Dan Tardiff and Travis Williams

 

 

Snugglin’ puppers take the floor in this cooperative game for 1-4 players! Arrange each dog following specific connection rules that change during play while trying to leave toys visible to score points at the end. With simple-to-learn rules and a wonderful visual presence, Dogpile wriggled its way into our list of finalists. 

Down By the Water

Joseph Frederick

 

 

Spending a spring or summer day at a quiet pond, observing the different creatures and skipping stones, is about as cozy as can be. Down By the Water leans fully into that vibe, giving players lots of choices and flexibility as they navigate their time at the pond. A few different variations on play, as well as a set of achievements that players can complete over multiple plays, provide a little bit of structure while still letting players explore to their hearts’ content.

Jigokudani

Luke Wolyncewicz

 

 

Nothing’s more relaxing than slowly sinking into a nice warm bath… with a monkey? Get your troop of snowbound simians to chill out and warm up in this solo game based on the real-life hot springs of Jigokudani and its population of Japanese macaques. A quirky theme, slick visual design, and solid push-your-luck gameplay all helped this game stand out from the crowd.

Stitches

Nick Smith

 

 

Piece together the perfect quilt in this comfy solo game. Add swatches to your quilt to complete stitches, revealing buttons and patterns to rack up your score. The distinctly cozy theme is definitely appealing, but it’s the combo-driven gameplay that really earned Stitches a spot in the finals. 

The Herbalist’s Guide

Jacob Buss

 

 

Old books can certainly be cozy! The Herbalist’s Guide is an in-hand solo game that captures the feel of meticulously repairing a vintage manuscript. Arrange pages in your deck to take advantage of adjacency scoring even as each new draw threatens to undo your progress. And because it’s played in-hand, it has that extra level of coziness that we’re looking for.

 

That’s all of our finalists! Thank you to everyone who submitted. It was a pleasure going through these cozy submissions. Keep your eyes peeled: we’ll be announcing the winner on or before January 15th, 2026.