Tokaido

Played this with three friends who usually hate slow games and everyone was hooked by the second round. The crossroads mechanic where you choose to move further ahead or linger for encounters is such a clever twist on turn order. We ended up replaying it twice in one night.

The art on every card is gorgeous, and the mechanic of stopping to collect encounters instead of racing ahead makes it feel more like a journey than a competition. My wife and I played three rounds back to back the first night.

I picked this up for game nights with my wife, and the pacing is so relaxed that we actually chat between turns instead of rushing. The art on the travel cards is gorgeous, and the whole thing plays in under an hour, which is rare for something this pretty.