I'm loving Mike. I felt you could never replace Sam in the Top 10s, and Mike is very different from Sam... .... but he's great. He's really great. Love him on these videos.

I am a grad student who was been working on his PhD dissertation and navigating the academic job market. I have relied heavily on board games to destress and relax.

I think "top 10 rules we ignore" or "top 10 games where we ignore the rules" might be an interesting list

Zee's description, about three minutes in, is how I feel about relaxing games. I think he hit the nail on the head.

Isle of Cats Family Mode is fairly relaxing. Nice, simple and not overly competitive.

I find Love Letter relaxing. It is easy to keep track of what's been played. If you lose, it was a quick game, so no big deal.

i personally think board games help me take my mind off of work/other areas and get me to think about something else.

Sunset over Water and Silver and Gold are such great choices, I love playing these games to chill out.

I find Tsuro relaxing, choices aren’t difficult and it’s so short that losing doesn’t matter because you just play again.

If there was a top 10 list of top 10 relaxing top 10 lists...this video would be on that list.

I watched these top 10 to relax

I can’t believe they left “silly putty with the funny papers” off this list. So relaxing. 😌

Everdell solo and with family is actually quite relaxing. Baren Park is also very chill.

For as long as I can remember I’ve used video games as a way to destress and relax. Whether it’s Call of Duty, WoW, Doom Eternal, or Stardew Valley, coming home and turning on a video game has always helped me relax. Board games accomplish the same thing. Sometimes I’ll even pull out a solo game instead of a video game.

My favorite dice tower trio. Great list.

Some great choices on this list! Similarly, Tokaido, Bob Ross Art of Chill, Sunset over Water, and Herbaceous (pocket edition) are chill games for us. Kanagawa is for me as well (my wife and daughter are split on it though), but haven't played it in a while! I played Santa Monica only solo once, certainly enjoyable and one I'd like to get out again! I can't really think of others off the cuff, but certainly enjoy nature themed games as our relaxing ones! Thanks for the video!

Dixit is probably my number one. You just guess, no stress! Also Kodama, where you just build your little trees. Easy peasy! And original Carcassonne. You're hoping to get a tile you need, but no real stressful play to me anyway. I find Barenpark quite a bit more tense than Tom, once the tiles start disappearing.

Having grown up playing those kind of traditional card games I totally get what Tom and the rest of them are saying. When I was too young to really play I'd be sat in front of my parent/sibling with them holding the cards in front of me/them. Then, as I got older I was able to play and for years when I'd stay with my Dad every other weekend and it would just be the two of us we could play cards for hours. I could play things like Gin (using family rules, ofc, as every single person seems to have grown up with a slightly different set of rules) and Cribbage in my sleep now and whilst newer games have replaced these sorts of games over the years I will still always travel with a deck of cards.

I find single player wingspan to be the most relaxing game to play. It's such a nice simple game

Updated version of this! I love relaxing light board games

My wife and I find Lanterns to be a very relaxing and fun game.

My group calls Bob Ross Art of Chill "the most unchill chill game ever"! Totally agree with Zee, we're constantly yelling at Bob every time his face comes up on the die.

I think a solo game that you know very well can be relaxing. It's like a physical mantra.

Watching this late, but Mike is really great, glad to be seeing more of him

Has anyone noticed that the list has three games each of Antoine Bauza and Phil Walker-Harding?I guess that means they are the most relaxing game designers. ;-) Also, three games were graphically designed by Beth Sobel.

I find heavy and complex games the most relaxing. The more my brain needs to work during game play, the less I can think about my other worries. I just need games that fill my brain to the brim to flush everything else out.

A relaxing top 10 for the top 10 relaxing games. Well played.

Any game where you already know the rules.

Playing a game, just like playing a piece of music, requires energy. But watching a game, just like listening to music, is relaxing. I love watching pros play games.

I agree with Mike Tokaido is my #1 game of all time. It’s so relaxing. I have actually been painting the mini’s and that had also been relaxing. I just 100% love this game!!!

Most relaxing game, playing Coffee Roaster while having a cup of coffee

How do you make my grandma swear? Yell “BINGO!”

Herbaceous and Indian Summer came to mind immediately for me. Mike has the right idea. I also recently got Cartographers and find it extremely chill.

For me it is just the contrary as for one of the first comments you quoted. Gaming is one of the most relaxing activities I do. The way it engages my mind is perfect for me to relax from my day job and the chores of life. I guess it is just another way to look at it.

As important as the game itself is the company you play it with. If everyone is in a good mood and know the rules, many games can be relaxing.

That was a darn fine hat, Tom. Super sharp, dude. You looked tip top today.

I always played Concept competitively, or even cooperatively like they did on Tabletop, but I always use the scoring system in the game AND a one-minute timer, so it's really stressful! Really fun, but really stressful!

My dog and I regularly have competitive napping competitions.

10. Herbaceous 9. Qwirkle 8. Lanterns: The Harvest Festival 7. Bloom 6. Sagrada 5. NMBR 9 4. Carcassonne 3. Patchwork 2. Cribbage 1. Tokaido

I am glad Mike mentioned Sunset Over Water, we owned and enjoyed that game. It's definitely under radar.

Some find swimming relaxing some can't swim and find other things relaxing different strokes for different folks... am I the only one who died🤣

Yeah, Tokaido would be my first guess (hence my backing of Namiji!) but also Vindication and Tang Garden are rather Zen

I usually play Takenoko as a 2 player game and I find it to be highly competitive and stressful. Once 5-6 objectives are completed, you know you'll have two turns at the most before either player finishes all the ones from their hand in a row. Love it. :)

Zee, since I bought Sunset Over Water because of your review, I will check out Herbaceous. Tom, I thought of Tales of Arabian Nights before you mentioned it and it was for all the reasons you said!

I'm surprised how relaxing I find abstracts to be. First game that came to mind for relaxing is Santorini, especially base game, no gods. For me a lot of the tension (in a good way) from games comes when there is a random element. In a good abstract, with streamlined rules, everything is in my control. Drafting games, which I really love, are some of the least relaxing games because I'm trying to remember what was taken and I'm sweating the choices much more.

Thanks for this relaxing review. I don't game for relaxation, quite the opposite. I jump down the KZfaq rabbit hole to relax.

I like Hearts as well! I almost always shoot the moon in each game even though everyone knows it's my favorite thing to do in the game. Every round I am either bluffing to or actually going for it. I do not like trying to duck taking points.

There are a few games that almost actively tell me not to sleeve them -- not because the box or insert is too small, but because the card art is so pretty that they must not be hidden behind even clear plastic. Herbaceous is one of those games. And if Dixit was as affordable to replace, the cards would have stayed unsleeved too. Herbaceous is my top solo relaxing game, and Dixit is my top group relaxing game.

I love you so much Zee

I and my friends play Apples to Apples without keeping score. Very relaxed, very chatty.

I opened the video and was instantly pleased to see Mike in the middle!

My #1 relaxing game - a solo play of Axio, a game by Reiner Knizia. On a board, with the physical game, of course, not online gaming, never online.

I think all games are relaxing. Games are low stakes. In the end it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. So, escape the real world for a little bit and set your mind to working on something that if you screw up doesn’t really matter in the end. No one will die or be harmed by a mistake you make.

I agree with Toms opinion on Just One but it might depend on the group. When we played it the first time everyone was like "yeah just guess something doesnt matter if its wrong" but it still was fun

I find playing Gloomhaven solo to be relaxing in a decompressing kind of way

Lanterns and Carcassonne: Over Hill and Dale

I like when Mike is a part of these

For me, Scythe is probably the most relaxing (as long as you dont engage in combat). I find the Top Row/Bottom Row mechanic so satisfying.

Tom is so high energy, he can't even pretend to be low energy!

Great list guys

Playing most board games are destressing and relaxing to me and I would choose most over watching a movie. I think who you play with makes a difference so I wouldn't choose competitive mechanics if the group doesn't handle that well. Some very good picks guys! ok, gotta go to sleep now... hope I don't dream of competing with Bob Ross.

A lot of interesting picks i wouldn't have thought of :)

There's a variant in the original Lost Cities boardgame that lets you go up or down in the numbers.

In general, the heavier and deeper the game the more I am able to relax. When I become completely submerged within the game I can forget about all the stresses and worries of the world. If a game is too light I end up having my current life's stressors distract me. (Of course maybe I'm just odd. I find it far easier to focus on reading a book in a public place like coffee shop or library than sitting at home alone.)

Was Codex Naturalis not out yet? I find the artwork and gameplay to be very pleasant and relaxing.

Eeek! Thank you for using my photo of PARKS, I just uploaded it onto BGG and what a thrill to see it here! Love that game, don’t agree that it is relaxing though because I am always desperate to get as many of the beautiful cards as I can. And the solo version is even more stressful 😜 I agree that Near and Far is very relaxing and satisfying and also I like playing Sagrada to relax... but the best are memory games like ‘Arctic Animals from Cape Dorset Memory Game’ just matching beautiful images.

I'm with you Mike, I really like Bob Ross: The Art of Chill and also found it relaxing :D

I would say the least relaxing game I have ever played was sushi go party with 8 people. Some people flipped their cards to early and people got confused where we were up to, we had to recount our cards and figure out what happened so many times, at the end we all just looked at each other like 'never again!'.

We play Concept where the the clue giver gets points according to the number on the card they pick and the correct guesser gets 2 points. Everyone goes twice. Count points. Not relaxing, but very fun.

The moment Tom said his list was very personal, I knew Dominion would be top. And totally agreed oh Silver & Gold. Never a stressful moment in that game.

Love how much stress they all have in their disagreements talking about what makes a relaxing game and what should not.

I agree with Dominion as a relaxing game. There is also the feedback loop that Animal Crossing / Stardew Valley has. And even when people have attacks or draw what you want it really is just part of a flow. Another element i a game that i find relaxing is just the exciting escape. It might be tense, but it distracts me from real life things. Mage Knight gives me this. Tense and big disitions that doesn’t matter trains my mind to handle IRL choices better.

7 wonders stresses me out since I never feel like I have a good idea of what I should be drafting. I'd much rather play a lighter drafting game like Sushi Go if I were trying to relax.

Dominion is a great pick, that is a very relaxing game. My top pick would be Luxor, simple turns, but enough going on your still engaged

Photosynthesis and Planets are relaxing games to play. One you grow a forest and harvest it, the other you design a land base for a planet and attract lots of different animals to your world.

It looks like Drive/Call to Glory/Crazy Chicken is being reimplemented later this year as Lyttle Wood

About Parks: I think there's too much going on to make it relaxing. I agree with Zee - too much turn angst. Fun game, though.

Tom: Feeling Mike: Theme Zee: Mechanic

Hahaha Zee as stalker Bob Ross had me rolling.

As long as there is no pressure I relax with most games. Jungle speed not so much. But yeah doing a Sudoku is relaxing and most heavy Euros are just like puzzles for me. So yeah I relax playing On mars. Maybe because I don't mind losing as long as I had the idea I did the best I could.

In no particular order: Tsuro, Lotus, Kanagawa, 51st State, Oh My Goods! (base game), Telestrations, Snake Oil, When I Dream, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Galaxy Trucker (as long as you accept the fact that s**t WILL happen).

KanaGawa is amaizing. So chill and nice. I love this game

tokaido is much more cut throat or at least can be with competitive players. and it does really matter what stuff you get you can have widely varying scores

what's the game on Zee's shelves in die background? the one with pink shapes on it and that looks huge?

Zee, where is the HATE box?!

I think Herbaceous is the only game I've ever played that has felt relaxing. I think I'm too competitive haha. And it's ok if I don't win, but because I always try to I never not feel stressed. Herbaceous felt really weird to me, it was a completely different experience the first time I played it.

I find netrunner to be extremely relaxing especially against a jinteki

Dominion is also my #1! Part of the reason is the clear rule set.

I find Tokaido very cut throat when we play. For me, brewcrafter card game and picnic blitz are relaxing. Also Canvas, surprised it didn’t pop up.

It always feels weird seeing hatless Tom.

I agree with Mike about The Bob Ross The Art Of Chill Game. Mike is right. It's a good relaxing game. 🙂👍

Relaxing games for me are games that you don't have to keep track of allot of things, or worry about being blocked, etc. But then I also have found complex games that I can lose myself in and "math" it out as well.

Enjoying this list so far! Lots of agreement! I’m hoping that Barenpark, Takenoko or Tokaido make an appearance...........also it’s HERBS! Pronounce the H! 😋

I found the banter of this list anything but relaxing. I need to go play Indian Summer to calm down.

Loved this list! Lists?

I think a lot of what makes games relaxing are games where you do not care one bit if you win. You just enjoy the experience. And that happens most commonly in random games. That's why Uno is relaxing. I'd say my #1 pick for relaxing is Talisman. You could find a bag of gold. You could find a dragon that whups you. It doesn't matter and its just a time waster and an enjoyable night with friends.

Brains, Gift of enlightenment, Dixit / Imaginarium (Russian Dixit), Before there were stars, Chess, Kingdomino, The Mind, Nmbr9, Funghi, Patchwork, Scrawl, Herd mentalitym, Keltis, Hive, Indian summer, Tsuro

Dominion with Guards, Witches and Jesters. The most relaxing game ever!

Palm island and potion explosion do it for me.

#1 Blood Rage. My favorite game and I don’t care if I lose!