Café Game Review

Introduction

What exactly is a café? Is it just a place to enjoy the smell of brewing coffee or a mid-morning brunch, or is there something more to these spaces? Observe the workings of a café, and one will see lovers holding hands, parents educating children, deals being struck, research unfolding, assignments taking shape, and lives being made (and undone) simultaneously. Cafés, whether we realise it or not, are places where we commune and share our lives with others—even if we are only focused on our own. Both public and private, they are spaces where activity and reflection coincide, where life can be loud or quiet depending on what is required.

Café, designed by Costa (Luís Costa) and Rôla (José Carlos Santos), with artwork by Marina Costa and published by PYTHAGORAS, is a quiet game. Set in early 20th-century Portugal, during a period when the country was benefiting from the booming coffee trade in Brazil, Café offers a small-box, multiplayer solitaire euro that sees you produce, dry, roast, and deliver coffee beans to historical cafés across the region. Nominated for various awards, including winning the 5 Seasons Portuguese Game of the Year and Best Portuguese Strategy Game in 2020, Café is a 1-4 player, 20-30 minute, light-medium weight game that packs quite an impressive punch, with a theme that…

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