A GENTLE RAIN (2021)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	PUBLISHER
1	15 mins	Kevin Wilson	Mondo Games

The manual for this game opens by telling you to “take a deep breath, and relax”. It then proceeds to advise the player to wear something comfortable and put on some relaxing music, or make a cup of tea.

A GENTLE RAIN is a nice little tile laying game, where the player(s) must place all eight Blossom tokens before the pile runs out.

This is done simply by matching the two halves of a flower, and then placing the matching Blossom token in the enclosed corners.

I’ll confess now, that although this is designed primarily as a solo game, I’ve only ever played it at 2-player.

It’s short play time, and small play area, make it the perfect filler, or perhaps just a game when you’ve got a few minutes to kill.

Playing 2-player does take a little off the chilled vibe as you might feel a little frustrated by your teammates decisions. On your own you are in full control.

But it works for us. We work as a team to try and beat our high score (which is currently 14). We revel in the success and luck of the draw, and of course we curse when the tiles just don’t work for us.

The only downside to the game is that what you see is what you get. There isn’t much to the tactics. It’s mostly luck based on how your pile was shuffled.

But this isn’t about tactics, strategy, and competitiveness. Like the manual says, relax. This is a ‘switch off your brain’ game. A ‘make something beautiful on your table’ game.

A GENTLE RAIN is a perfect little game that needs a rainy afternoon, a hot drink, and some distance from the outside world. It’s almost . . . therapeutic.