a Nice Cuppa

A Nice Cuppa is designed by Scott Almes and published by Button Shy. It launched on Kickstarter on January 7, 2025, advertising as a solo only game for ages 8+ with a play time of 15 minutes.

In a Nice Cuppa, you will try to manage worries to brew the perfect cup of tea by flipping over a new card (and corresponding action) each turn and rearranging the steps necessary to brew your tea, with the goal of ending the final round with each step in order and minimal worries remaining. The expansions titled A Good Book and Seasonal Stresses add more steps/worries and stressors that you can work to clear throughout the game.

Let's step into the review.

Quality - 8/10 - As always, the quality of Button Shy's 18-card games is great. The cards are a good quality, and the wallet size carrier is perfect for on-the-go gaming, or even for throwing down on the table or couch for a quick pick up game.

Artwork - 7/10 - The art by Andrea Ivetic Vicai is gorgeous. I love the cozy feel to this game that is promoted through its cute illustrations and easy-to-understand icons. If anything, I would have liked to see more of the beautiful art make its way on to the worry cards, which themselves held cute little sketches of each worry. The art in this game definitely added to the playability though, and I enjoyed the overall feel.

Theme - 8/10 - The theme of a Nice Cuppa worked very well with the gameplay. The mechanics of organizing cards numerically aligned well with the steps it takes to brew a cup of tea. The concept of worries distracting a person from being focused on their brew also aligned well with the rearrangement of those steps. How many times have we all been working on something and other missed a step or did things out of order because we were multitasking? The game capture that concept well, and is enjoyable to play because of it.

Learnability - 9/10 - I appreciate how straightforward this game is to learn. The instruction manual even says, "Light on rules, big on replayability", which I found to be accurate. It took me maybe one minute to learn, but I found that the game was still complex enough to be engaging. The manual was well written, easy to understand, and organized well.

Weight - 8/10 - There is a puzzle-like quality to this game that allows you to invest as much thought into your moves as you would like. For the category of game that it is (light weight, quick play), I found the weight of the game to be very pleasing. I could see myself throwing this game on the table for a few minutes while waiting for a meal to arrive at a restaurant, or laying it out on the coffee table in the evening. It is requires just enough thought to be both accessible and interesting.

Engagement - 7/10 - I think a Nice Cuppa does a great job at engaging its player without having rules that are too burdensome or require frequent referencing of the manual. The gameplay allowed for planning, but didn't require it. Overall, a game that held my interest throughout the entire play.

Decisions - 8/10 - There is a delightful and playful level of decision making in this game that allows you to puzzle your way through trying to align cards using specific moves. These available moves change throughout the game, which means that you can't rely on them being available for too long. However, there's always the option to leave the moves available, risking not being able to clear them out before the end of the game. A Nice Cuppa does a wonderful job of incorporating numerous decision points without introducing any mental burden or confusion on its player in doing so.

Mechanics - 8/10 - The mechanics in a Nice Cuppa work really well, not just thematically, but in a way that makes the game both engaging and enjoyable. It is a wonderful surprise to see the level of complexity that Scott Almes was able to introduce using just 18 cards in a game. I love how the worries (actions) change throughout the game, and I love that their use is required. I found a few times when playing a game that I accomplished my goals, but that I still had to make several moves. I love this in a game, that you need to plan and interact with mechanics to see them through, not just being able to stop at any point when goal conditions are met. It adds another layer of play that make the game even more engaging and interesting.

Solo Play - 9/10 - This is a great solo quick pick up! I really enjoyed the puzzle like quality of this game. It was easy to set up and engaging as a solo experience. I think this was very well put together for a solo option.

Shared Play - N/A - A Nice Cuppa is a solo only game.

Replay Value - 7/10 - There is a good amount of variability in gameplay from one game to the next, especially with the two expansions I played with for part of my play throughs (A Good Book and Seasonal Stresses). Because of this, I did find myself curious about what the next game would look like, about how the available actions (worry cards) would influence my ability to align the tea cards in numerical order. I was not disappointed by coming back to play the game again, and found it to be just as enjoyable as previous plays.

I was very pleased with a Nice Cuppa. This is another small footprint game that I could see in my go to collection. It is a cozy puzzle with enough decision points to be engaging, with a level of complexity that is intriguing without being mentally tiring, and with a low level of commitment for getting it to the table. I would recommend this game to anyone looking for an easy-to-learn, engaging, simple puzzler.

Overall Rating 4.0/5.0

Keep playing, friends.

(Disclosure: Button Shy provided me with a copy of A Nice Cuppa in exchange for an unbiased review.)