夜之島

The sense of discovery the first time I rowed toward the island was incredible—my hound howled when we spotted treasure, and the night-time-only mechanic really makes the theme come alive. Setup was quick, and even my non-gamer friends were hooked after one round.

The box art alone makes me want to pull this out at sundown, and the rowing mechanic with your hound actually makes the exploration feel tense and rewarding. We’ve played it three nights in a row and the mystery still hasn’t gotten old.

The night-time setting with my loyal hound really draws you into the story, and setup was quicker than I expected. Only slight downside is the game board felt a bit smaller than I'd hoped for.