For Northwood!
A solo trick-taking game with cute animals and land management
In the Clever Games household, one of our most played video games has to be Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The delightful, mostly single-player, mix of cute animal characters, each with a little personality, mixed with a dash of land management really tickles our itch. In For Northwood! you're tasked with visiting eight fiefs to unite the kingdom, one cute animal ruler at a time.
How it works: It's a trick-taking game, where each animal ruler has different powers and abilities. You start with four allies, with powers you can use to your advantage. As you win over other rulers, more abilities become available. Oh, did I mention this is single player?
Why it's clever: We play a lot of trick-taking games around here (42, Hearts, Spades), and it's so rare to see a one-player version, especially with original art and lore. In addition to the quickplay rulebook, For Northwood! comes with a little "The Noisy Year" journal that includes a full slate of extra adventures (single player game setups).
The game won the BGG "Best Overall Game" in the 2021 single-deck category, and we can see why. It's also out-of-print right now, so your best bet at picking it up might be eBay, or keeping an eye on our emails...
Price: $30+ on eBay
