There's always time: 5 Games for Your Lunch Break

We know. It’s frustrating that you can’t game all the time. We have the same problem. But luckily enough, we’ve found a way to fit more gaming into our week. Lunchbreaks. That’s right. There’s an hour for lunch each day that you can spend on gaming too. So here’s 5 games to get you through your lunch break.

Sushi Go!

We’ve spoken before about Sushi Go! but that’s because this game is a perfect fit for anywhere. This modern classic about building sushi platters is super easy to teach, really fun to play, and sits in that sweet spot of half-luck and half-strategy. With a playtime of around 30 minutes if you have to teach it, and 10 minutes if you’re playing with experienced players, Sushi Go! is a must-have for your at-work gaming shelf.

Lost Legacy

This is one of the games that we wish more people knew about. The aim of the game, find the Lost Legacy relic by the end. That’s it. Just like its predecessor Love Letter, Lost Legacy has a simple Draw-One, Play-One mechanic. It takes a just a few minutes of explanation and a quick playthrough before everyone’s on the same page. With an incredibly short playtime, Lost Legacy is an easy game to pull out when you have time on your lunch break.

Splendor

Splendor is the game you play at lunch if you want it to be nice and quiet... or you don't want to everyone else to hear how much fun you're having while they're still working. Pick up gems, buy card, pick up gems, buy card, claim noble, repeat, it’s almost mind-numbing in its simplicity, except, the strategy is extremely engaging. Are you going to get enough Red gems before someone takes that card? Can you sacrifice your claim to a noble for a better one? Should you buy now or hold off for another turn to see what happens? There’s so much to think about but in such a simple form, that Splendor can send you into a silent, almost-meditative state for the entirety of your lunch-break.

Tokaido

Tokaido is a surprisingly easy game to play and it one of the few big-box games that can hit the table over lunch. If you haven’t heard about it before, players each travel along a journey, stopping at various locations along the way to either paint some scenery, woo a follower, donate to the shrine, take a dip in the hot springs and do some shopping. With a simple “last in line goes first” mechanic, this game can resolve itself very quickly. Be prepared to cut it close though as Tokaido can take around 45 minutes if you’re playing with new gamers.

7 Wonders

What?! 7 Wonders as a lunchtime game?!  Yes. Admittedly, this is for the experienced gamers amongst us, but a game of 7 Wonders can take around 20 minutes with an experienced crew and as little as 30 minutes with the Cities and Leaders expansions. The only catch? Everyone needs to commit. Analysis paralysis can easily blow out the play-time for this game so don’t be afraid to select a card incorrectly, you can still discard it for three coins.