During the reign of King John V, Portugal was a major European power. From Brazil, the king ordered Sergeant Melo Palheta to travel to French Guiana to formally establish the Utrecht Treaty of 1713 and to secretly bring coffee seeds to Brazil. The Sergeant was successful and by 1800 Brazil was one of the largest coffee producers in the world.
In the early 20th century, coffee from Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola and Timor is largely appreciated in Portugal and inspires the appearance of prestige coffee shops in emblematic locations that attract the elite. Through dedication, hard work and skill, the Portuguese 20th century witnesses the birth of one of the biggest coffee industries in the world.
In Café, 1 to 4 players represent coffee companies that from plantation, drying, roasting and distribution try to create and control the best supply chain of coffee.
—description from the publisher
Café Review
- Simple to learn, yet cleverly designed tile placement
- Travel-friendly and portable
- Solid engine for economic actions
- Not a flashy or thrilling experience
- Publisher/designer details are uncertain in transcript
- Array
- Global coffee trade
- Tile-based, methodical engine-building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action economy — Actions are spent to perform each stage of the coffee production process; actions can be chained when tiles are adjacent.
- tile laying — Players place tiles to grow, dry, roast, and send coffee while unlocking actions.
- tile placement — Players place tiles to grow, dry, roast, and send coffee while unlocking actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's one of the few of this style games that are this heavy that I'm willing to play the art cute helps and the very unique characters obviously helps as well
- we did a co-op game and I got to play my favorite lizards
- it's very simple to play but it's really clever
- travels easily
- not the type of game I like to play with anybody because people get pretty aggressive
References (from this video)
- Fast and thinky, 15–20 minutes per play
- Compact footprint suitable for quick sessions
- Sharp puzzle that rewards careful tableau optimization
- Suitable for solo play with a personal high-score challenge
- Expansion options to alter balance and replayability
- Can be challenging for newcomers due to placement optimization
- Requires attention to the exact coverage rules which can slow first plays
- Some players may prefer deeper thematic integration over the puzzle mechanics
- coffee production, resource management, optimization, and service throughput
- A competitive cafe management environment where players run a cafe and fulfill coffee orders across eight rounds.
- abstract puzzle with light thematic dressing; procedural flavor conveyed through coffee terms and cafe imagery
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection from a three-card display — Each turn starts with three new cards; players choose one to add to their tableau, shaping their available actions for the round.
- end-game scoring tied to deliveries and warehouse — Score is earned for fulfilled cafe orders and for the two lowest bean types you have in your warehouse.
- placement optimization and coverage rules — When adding a card, players must cover certain slots on their board; over-coverage or under-coverage can break action flow and affect scoring opportunities.
- set collection — Beans of four types are managed, stored in a warehouse, with scoring tied to the two most scarce bean types and deliveries to cafes.
- set collection / resource management — Beans of four types are managed, stored in a warehouse, with scoring tied to the two most scarce bean types and deliveries to cafes.
- Simultaneous Actions — The game emphasizes concurrent decision-making and returns to a common round tracker; play is succinct, with eight rounds allowing quick plays.
- simultaneous/parallel play with fixed rounds — The game emphasizes concurrent decision-making and returns to a common round tracker; play is succinct, with eight rounds allowing quick plays.
- tableau building — Players select and place cards to build their personal action tableau, choosing where to place cards to maximize simultaneous actions and to connect related bean types.
- worker-like actions with production chain — Actions include gather beans, dry, roast, and deliver, forming a small engine for producing and delivering goods.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's thinky it's quick it's one you can pull out while you're having a cup of coffee
- I definitely recommend the game Cafe
References (from this video)
- beautiful production theme
- fast, thinky puzzle with satisfying overlaps
- publisher/designer details not specified in the transcript
- production optimization and chain management
- coffee production and distribution
- puzzle-like with overlaps and combos
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card overlap / tile-building — arrange overlapping cards to build and optimize production areas
- production chaining — set up sequences to maximize output and scoring
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Calico I love Calico it's the game I've played the most ever in my life
- this top 10 focuses mainly on games that are either solo only or games that I've played that I think are better solo than they are multiplayer
- I could talk on and on about board games
References (from this video)
- easy to teach with abstract, puzzle-like depth
- compact playtime (20–45 minutes) with quick rounds
- solid digital implementation via Board Game Arena; Yukata availability noted
- lacks deep strategic depth for some players
- two-deck requirement for multiplayer in a live setting
- coffee/beans drafting and processing
- abstracted coffee production and trade
- card-lane puzzle with iconographic cues
- Trailblazers
- Pipelines
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action-icon visibility and timing — Selected icons (coffee cups, beans) grant turns or scoring opportunities.
- card drafting — Players draft a row of cards to influence available actions and scoring opportunities.
- card drafting in a solo/2-4 player format — Players draft a row of cards to influence available actions and scoring opportunities.
- Compound Scoring — Roasting/processing beans and shipping to warehouses or cafes yields points.
- constrained asset flow and scoring — Roasting/processing beans and shipping to warehouses or cafes yields points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the biggest downside for me for Finsspan was the ratio between the complexity of this game versus the time length
- I would rather play Wingspan in a relatively quickly pace with gamers who knew Wingspan as well rather than play this game for 45 to 60 minutes
- This game is somewhat simple to teach but it does offer a little bit of complexity
- Visually, I think this game plays a lot like Bonsai
- Hey, that's My Fish—catchy title for my daughter as well
References (from this video)
- coffee theming
- expansion included
- may be light for some players
- coffee economics
- coffee shop management and cafe culture
- light strategy with tableau-like mechanics
- Latte Throwdown
- Veggies
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card tableau — cards laid out to form a tableau of actions
- expresso expansion included — base game plus expansion content
- tableau building — cards laid out to form a tableau of actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you cannot experience everything in one day
- I'm a lot more introverted than I thought I was
- I wanted to stick to having like a hundred dollar budget
References (from this video)
- pleasant coffee theme and components
- not something they'd revisit regularly
- coffee trading and shops
- coffee harvesting and commerce
- tableau/collection-driven
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile tableau stacking / resource management — A light, thematic tableau-driven game about producing and selling coffee.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a full-time successful job for me
- the newest macbook pro line is significantly faster
- i'm in a much better headspace about the numbers
- i'm not sitting there thinking that a three video per week plan is sustainable
- there's a lot of evidence to show that putting out more videos is not necessarily better for me
References (from this video)
- Strong thematic flavor
- Strong line in this publisher's coffee-themed games
- Box size / production quality could vary
- Economic/engine-building
- Cafe/coffee shop theme
- Thematic, cozy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource management — Players manage coffee/roast resources to earn points.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Shark Park, a memory kind of game.
- they're essentially just more complex versions of the last.
- it feels like it's a bigger game that was streamlined and streamline is often very good, but this one I felt almost a little streamlined too much.
- This one's almost there. And I know a lot of people love the Talisera.
References (from this video)
- thematic flavor with coffee culture
- tight, thinky decisions
- less accessible without explicit component quality or art in some versions
- beans, roasting, and service
- Cafe and coffee shop culture
- mechanics-driven, flavorful theme
- Sees the Bean
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Layering cards — stacking cards to trigger actions and maximize efficiency
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Switches get stitches.
- Pumpkin spice latte time.
- Century Pumpkin Spice Road was the obvious choice.
- This is the worst cash grab I've ever seen.
- Shoots and Ladders mixed with Candyland.
- What about a Muppets version of Robo Rally?
References (from this video)
- Rock-solid, thematic integration
- Good weight balance with engaging tension in decisions
- Might be a touch heavier for true light-game fans
- coffee supply chain
- A coffee production and distribution cycle (grow, roast, dry, ship to cafes)
- thematic and industry-tinged
- Sushi Roll
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine-building / card drafting — build an action engine around coffee production steps by selecting cards
- grouping actions by coffee cups — the number of actions you can take scales with the number of coffee cups you have
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Two very rare crossovers.
- This is the only one I thought we would cross over on.
- We'll see you guys and gals on the flip side.
References (from this video)
- Beautiful box art and graphic design
- Strong presentation noted in the transcript
- Economic strategy in a roasting business
- Coffee roasting industry
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card overlap / action typing — Overlapping cards with six action types; on your turn you draw a card and transpose to reveal actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "it's kind of a weird year for board game releases"
- "this is top five most anticipated essens digital releases"
- "we are going to discuss our top five"
- "there's 500 coming out this year"