For many of us, this year's festive season is a chance to reunite with friends and family. To complement the good food and company, here are five tabletop games that would make for great conversation at our long-awaited face-to-face meetups.

These educational games are suitable for the whole family, with many featuring a Singaporean flavour.

Kopi King

Singapore’s hawker culture is globally recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Card game Kopi King showcases this uniquely Singaporean hawker spirit.

Players take on the role of a kopitiam stall owner, producing Singapore's favourite drinks for customers. Kids as young as six can learn their Kopi Os from their Milo Dinosaurs as they put together the correct ingredients to make these local classics.

The aim is to fulfil as many drink orders as quickly as possible, and each raucous game speeds by in 10 to 20 minutes. As easy as this game may seem, it can be surprisingly addictive – just like our local kopi and teh – and you’ll want to keep playing.

Critical Care

Borne from the imagination of a medical professional following the COVID-19 pandemic, Critical Care is a cooperative card game where up to four players have to work together to save each of their patients.

The fast-paced and critical scenarios in the game draw from actual medical treatments and procedures. Players can expect to be taken on a thrilling and meaningful trek marred by emergencies and new complications they will have to resolve together.

This busy but fulfilling experience was inspired by the countless hectic days intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare workers had to power through during the pandemic. Critical Care garnered over 1,600 backers on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

Mandai Monopoly

For a local spin on a tabletop classic, Mandai Monopoly features animals from the Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park — two of the Mandai Wildlife Reserve attractions.

Rather than pondering the purchase of unfamiliar foreign streets, players of all ages invest in more wholesome and inviting prospects: nature and the animal kingdom. The action cards have been updated to describe common conservation efforts, such as launching a breeding programme for endangered species.

In addition to being an amusing reimagination of Monopoly, this game supports a good cause – purchases of Mandai Monopoly go towards conservation efforts in Singapore and across Southeast Asia to preserve the habitats of some of the animals featured.

Fly-A-Way

A perk of being in a City in Nature is having many birds live here or pass by our humble island along their annual migration from North to South. These feathered friends remind us to turn away from everyday stresses, and occasionally indulge in flights of fancy.

In Fly-A-Way, players guide the migratory birds in the game as they journey across continents through the East Asian-Australasian Flyaway (EAAF). It is up to the players to help them navigate man-made and natural challenges from poachers to pollution. This way, players explore what it is like to be a bird conservationist.

With room for two to four players, the game shows the threats migratory birds have to contend with, and what conservationists do to help. The game's content was developed in consultation with BirdLife International Asia.

Photosynthesis

In this game, kids as young as eight years old can grow their knowledge of the sun's energy and its impact on plant life.

Each player must help their trees grow big and strong as they jostle for prime spots in the sun. This experience teaches young players about the sun's movement, along with the interplay of light and shadow, which affects the greenery around us.

Players will notice right away the design of the game’s eco-friendly cardboard parts, with beautiful game pieces reflecting the tranquillity and vibrancy of nature.

Ordering this game also supports a green cause materially. For each tree piece produced based on games ordered, the creators of Photosynthesis will plant two in China. Support for this game thus far has enabled the creators to plant over 125,000 trees!

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