Board Game 101: Cascadia

You don't need to know a single rule to walk in the door — that's the whole point of Board Games 101. This week, we're teaching Cascadia, the tile-laying game where you're building the Pacific Northwest one habitat at a time.

Here's the deal: you're placing hexagonal landscape tiles — forests, rivers, mountains, wetlands, prairies — and tucking wildlife tokens into the terrain that suits them. Bears want mountains next to forests. Salmon want winding rivers. Foxes just want to be near other animals doing their own thing. Every tile you place shapes the board in front of you, and every animal you place scores you points in its own particular way.

No combat, no player elimination, no waiting around while someone else takes a 10-minute turn. Just you, your growing landscape, and the satisfying click of tiles locking into place.