As much as I love playing to win and the cut-throat tactics of sabotage and bluffing, there are also times when I just want to curl up in the corner with a cup of tea and a gentle game. This list contains some of the games I reach for when I need a nice, warm hug!

Cat Lady

This is one of the first games I can remember buying from a games shop. The girls and I played it at a friend's house and we had so much fun that we just had to own it so we could play it again and again. This was back in the days when we only had one elderly cat who spent most of his timing hiding from noisy children and sleeping in any sunny patches he could find.

Cat Lady is a card drafting game where you collect stray cats. You then have to feed and entertain them with food, toys, catnip and costumes. It comes with a cute little cat meeple and coloured wooden cubes to represent food.

Calico

We are huge fans of cats in this house. Our two tonks, Roxy and Missy, delight us with their antics and funny little meows. So when I came across Calico on Kickstarter during the pandemic, I just had to back it.

In Calico you place tiles onto your player board to create a cosy rug that will entice a cat to come along and curl up on it for a nap. When that happens, you get a cute little cat token to decorate your rug. Each of the cats is based on a sea cat and even has a description of its traits and personality in the rule book. You can also collect buttons for your rug. If it was a real rug, our cat Missy would try and eat the buttons! For some reason, she has a thing for them.

Elevenses

This game is sweet and easy to play. It has cards and cute little sugar cubes to make your tea sweeter. When my girls were little they used to play it with their Nana. It's a perfect game to bridge the generation gap and bring families together. And it was created by an Australian designer!

Gnome Hollow

I adore this tile placement game with its trinket collecting gnomes who build fairy rings and collect mushroom to sell in the pinwheel market. As part of the game, before you place a tile in someone else's fairy ring, you have to politely ask for permission first! Now how cosy is that?

Verdant

We can't have indoor plants because those cats I mentioned earlier nibble on the the leaves until there's nothing left! So the next best thing is to play Verdant which is all about collecting and placing indoor plants so that they have the best light possible. Each plant card has fun facts and information about the plant that you have just selected. Along the way you get to water and fertilise them to make them super verdant. And you also got to collect tokens to decorate your rooms with furniture and pets. I guess you can play any game to win but this one feels like it doesn't matter who wins as the focus is on keeping your plants healthy and creating a beautiful room.

What games do you reach for when you need a sweet afternoon  game?