If your group has a soft spot for games that look like a museum piece, Inkwell is worth a look. It is a drafting game about monks illuminating medieval manuscripts, and it is out this spring from DVC Games for one to five players. Every page you complete ends up looking like something pulled from a centuries-old codex, all gold leaf and jewel-toned ink.
Run game nights? Backseat Gamer handles RSVPs, waitlists, date polling, and game voting so you can focus on playing.
Start organising for freeHere is how it plays. On your turn you either take supplies from a shared mat (coloured ink cubes, precious gold leaf, and technique cards with special powers) or you cash in what you have, score a finished page, and start a fresh one in your own codex. The squeeze is the Abbot: when the shared supplies run low he refills the mat, which can nudge slower players into scoring a page before they are quite ready. Most decisions are about timing rather than confrontation, and finishing a page quickly earns you a bonus. A typical game runs about 35 minutes, and there is a solo mode if you fancy painting in peace.
Inkwell comes from the design collective Jasper Beatrix, with Lewis Graye and Joey Palluconi among the credited designers. In his review, Space-Biff's Dan Thurot called it a "lovely and gentle visit", closer in spirit to Azul than to a brain-burning euro. That is the pitch in a nutshell: this is a calm, pretty, low-conflict game rather than a cutthroat one, which makes it an easy sell for mixed tables and a nice palate cleanser between heavier nights.
Looking for board gamers near you? Browse local communities and find your next game night.
Find events near youIf a cosy, good-looking drafter sounds like your group's speed, it might be time to rally a game night and put a few illuminated pages on the table.
Sources: DVC Games | Space-Biff!
