Missing the analog heydays or just want to get away from your screens for a while? If so, here are a couple of cute board games that you can play solo or with a few friends, Canvas and Hand-to-Hand Wombat.

Canvas
In Canvas, you are a painter competing in an art festival – and while the word compete is used, the overall feel of the game is very calm and creative. Your goal is to get the most points by collecting ribbons, which you can earn based on the icons from the art cards you use to create your paintings.
Number of players
You can play the game by yourself or with a maximum of four other companions. If it helps, the community at Board Game Geek says the game is best with 3-4 players.
Setup
To play the game, you need the following:
- Play mat: to organize the art cards available for selection
- Cards:
- Transparent art cards and background cards for your paintings
- Scoring cards that detail how ribbons are awarded
- Tokens:
- 6 different colored ribbons for scoring
- Paint palettes for you to strategize (i.e., choose or skip art cards)
- Plastic sleeves: to hold each painting you create
These contents are all housed in a box made to look like a beautiful painting that you can even hang on your wall.

Gameplay
Though it takes some time to go through the manual, getting a feel of the game becomes easier once you actually start playing. Plus, you’re given four initial paint palettes, so you can immediately start strategizing which art cards to use (or skip) for your paintings.
Your total score will depend on how you create your paintings by layering your art cards, since the icons come in random combinations. Luck is also a factor since your paintings will depend on how the given cards are shuffled.
In my case, I almost always end up creating paintings that I like instead of focusing on the score, so how you ultimately play is up to you!
Even if the game is quite slow-paced, it’s never boring as you can really feel creative while relaxing at the same time. Kind of like self-care, pretty much. And since the art cards are shuffled, you almost always end up making unique paintings.
Also, there are various scoring card combinations and three other game modes where you can play the game solo (even competing against an imaginary player), so there’s almost something new to try every time.

Where to buy
You can buy Canvas on Amazon (UK/US) or through the game’s publisher, Road to Infamy. R2i also released two expansions for Canvas, Reflections and Finishing Touches, which you can check out if you’re interested in exploring the base game further.
Hand-to-Hand Wombat
Your goal in this game is simple, depending on your secret role: if you’re a good wombat, you need to build all three towers in the correct order. If you’re a wicked wombat, you need to tear down each tower and avoid being suspected & voted out after each round.
Voting phase aside, you do aaall of this with one hand and with the other keeping your eyes closed. If this already sounds chaotic to you, it very much is!

Number of players
Hand-to-Hand Wombat can be played with 3-6 players. For reference, the BGG community notes that it’s best played with 5. Based on experience, I would personally say that 4 players would make the sweet spot. 5 is good, too. 3 makes the game too quick, while 6 makes the game more overwhelming than it already is.
Setup

You’ll need the following to play the game:
- Role cards: to determine if you are a good or wicked wombat, and kept secret from other players. Extra roles such as confident and confused wombats can also be used for bigger player groups and added chaos.
- Building blocks: embossed with 1-6 dots that need to be arranged in the correct order; used to construct a total of three towers
- Tower bases: to hold the building blocks
- Timer: to track the time during each round
- Scorecard: to track points for each team
In lieu of a table or a flat surface, the box doubles as a place to shuffle the blocks and build the towers. It also includes a cute comic with fun facts about wombats that inspired the game. (Did you know that wombats poop in cube form?)

Once you’ve built the bases, shuffled the blocks, and chosen your cards, you’re ready to start.
Gameplay
I’ve included a video so that you can better see how the game is played. Here, with 3 players, you have 1 wicked wombat (which is actually me, haha) and 2 good ones. Since you have to play with your eyes closed and with only one hand, the good wombats feel each dot on the blocks one-by-one so they can be arranged from 6 to 1, bottom to top. In the midst of all this, the wicked wombat silently messes things up.
As a wicked wombat, you can either dive straight into sabotage by removing blocks right away or, if you’re good at bluffing, you can throw off suspicion by delaying the mayhem until the very last round. This also creates an added layer of suspense!
As a good wombat, all you need to focus on is building the towers in the proper order and making sure that they don’t topple over. While stressful in itself, you also get used to the flow of things and start adapting your strategy. This also helps you in the voting phase as you deduce how each player defends themselves, so you can successfully vote out the wicked wombat. Sun Tzu says it best, after all: “Amid the chaos, there is also opportunity.”
I also love how the extra roles add to the overall confusion: as a wicked wombat, you can use these roles to fake your inability to fully contribute, and as a good wombat, you can brainstorm to maximize each role’s capabilities.

Where to buy
You can get your own copy via Amazon (UK/US) or directly from the publisher, Exploding Kittens (yes, the same people who made the infamous card game – so it’s no surprise they’ve come up with this one).
All in all, I highly recommend both games; Canvas would be good for casual gatherings whereas Hand-to-Hand Wombat would make for a great party game.
Which board game do you want to try first?
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