Harmonies

You start with a blank hexagonal board and a pile of colored tiles. Mountains here. Forests there. A river curving through the middle. As your landscape grows, animal cards come out of the deck wanting specific patterns to call home, and your job is to read what's already on your board and decide which animals to invite in.

Harmonies is an open-drafting tile-laying puzzle. Each turn you take three tiles from the central market, stack them on your board following placement rules, and decide whether to add an animal card to your tableau. The animals demand specific spatial patterns — three forests in a row, mountains stacked three high, a stream of water flowing across the board — and they only score if you can match what they want.

What makes it sing is the way every choice you make shapes the rest of the game. Place a forest in the wrong spot and the bear you wanted to score never comes home. The 3D stacking turns the board into a piece of small-scale landscape art by the end of the game, and groups regularly pause to take photos before scoring.

Couples who love spatial puzzles, families with older kids, and game nights looking for a 30-minute brainburner will all find a great fit. Plays 1 to 4 with 2 to 3 the most-recommended count, and includes a solid solo mode and an expert mode that adds Spirit cards for repeat plays.

It's the rare game that's beautiful enough to leave on the coffee table after the game ends, and you might.