These Board Games Perfectly Capture All That is Autumn

Oh lordy lord, it’s my favourite time of year! Falling leaves, earthy smells, light sweaters, hot drinks and slimey, nasty slugs abound! As the weather cools, we start spending more time indoors which is a great way to turn interest towards….BOARD GAMES!!!

What better way to ring in this more wonderful of seasons than by taking a look at some of the best Autumn/Fall themed board games around. So read on and prepare yourself for games involving cute animals, lots of resource farming and more reds and oranges than I dredged out of my ear on the end of a Qtip this morning. Seriously though, I have this weird drainage issue in my left ear. It’s not serious or anything. Ok, Let’s begin!

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Heartland

We’re starting our list off with a game that’s incredibly hard to find and also incredibly fun to play. Is it a coincidence? Methinks not! This is a straight-up farming game. Players take on the role of settlers, developing plots of land in what is destined to become the great American….wait for it….Heartland!

Heartland is a three-dimensional game where players take turns laying tiles. Each tile contains a couple different types of crops which are planted. Additionally, each tile offers a certain number of victory points and herein lies the struggle. Players must choose between planting crops to grow their farm or taking the victory points. The former will pay out victory points more slowly but for a longer period of time and the latter, well the latter gets your points immediately but it’s a single-use payout.

Players can do more than just farm though. Generally, there’s a points race that help players grab animals which give game advantages. Players can also use their tiles to “rotate” another players crops, thereby blocking them from getting points from the rotated tile.

All in all, this game offers just enough complexity to keep gamers coming back without being so rulesy that your brain just peaces the eff out as your eyes roll back into your head and you fall out of your chair. If you can get your hands on a copy of this bad boy, make sure to treat it right because they’re hard to come by!

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Dominion: Cornucopia

Ok so next on our list is an expansion offering from a respected franchise of games stemming from the original hit, Dominion. Just to be super clear, this is not a standalone game. You will need one of either Dominion or Dominion: Intrigue to play this expansion.

The core of this game revolves around players building decks out of cards that offer a variety of benefits with the final goal being to purchase victory point cards. The player with the most points at the end of the game winds up having the largest dominion and claims righteous victory!

Dominion: Cornucopia adds 13 new kingdom cards as well as 5 unique cards that enhance and build upon the core board game. These cards have an Autumn theme to them for sure and will help ring in the season of raked leaves, unraked leaves and wet leaves in the gutter on the side of the road outside my house.

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Key Harvest

Key Harvest is another great game where farming is the core theme. Just look at all the oranges, reds and yellows on the cover art. Could a game capture Fall weather any better? I’m also a fan of the dudes just hanging out on some random castle wall that is apparently butted up against a steep cliff face with a far drop. The guy sitting on the wall…sweaty palms much?

Back to the game, Key Harvest uses a point system where players are rewarded for growing their farm fields by connecting tiles, adding workers to the fields and for having the greatest variety of crops. The game isn’t hard from a rules standpoint to grasp but is heavy on decision making. Players bid on farm tiles by using crop counters so weighing the importance of certain tiles becomes a key part of the game.

Using a popular grid system that many people will recognize from Settlers of Catan, what sets Key Harvest apart is the focus on farming and bidding. The competition is far more political as there is no dice rolling which keeps the luck factor to a minimum. If you’re looking to jam out with some friends on a cool Autumn day, Key Harvest is definitely worth a couple of playthroughs.

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New Haven

Set in colonial New England, this game pits players against each other as they compete to nourish robust, thriving settlements and reap the riches of the land. New Haven is heavy on strategy as tiles are used to create a shared game board of wheat, timber stone and livestock. As the game progresses, players erect buildings and attempt to win colonization points. The winner is decided by who has the biggest, most prosperous and populous town!

A cool mechanic to this game is resource overflow. Basically, if a player uses resources to create a building, anything left over once that build is completed is fair game for other players to use. Planning ahead and making sure you generate just enough for what’s needed creates a huge advantage. Like I said earlier, there’s lots of strategy to be found in New Haven.

New Haven runs about 30 minutes for two players and offers a B side board game with some rule variants and twists for those who’ve mastered the initial game. It’s basically two games is one! What’s not to love?

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Squarrels

Squarrels is a lighter affair than the rest of this list and a departure from the human farming/resource gathering theme. Instead, we have warring squirrels who are…..farming and resource gathering…..by stuffing nuts in their cheeks. A major bonus is that this game is seriously compact: no game board. Just a couple of decks of cards.

Players are competing to collect the most acorns before winter descends upon the land. Ambushing, quarreling, natural disasters such as whirlwinds and, of course, hoarding acorns are all a big part of this game. Be on the lookout for the coveted golden acorn and beware the equally un-coveted rotten acorn.

Squarrels has an age demographic of 7+ but I can tell you it’s equally fun for adults and kids alike. Fast play-throughs keeps the game fun and upbeat while the Ambush and Quarrel cards offer a good amount of player interaction. So then, what are you waiting for? Grab your friends, pick up a copy of Squarrels and get to that cheek stuffin!