Harmonies on Marta's BG Corner

February 2026 Plays

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

February was a short month, but I managed to make some room to do what I really love — playing board games!

Let’s take a look at how it went.

February 2026 by the Numbers

13 plays (compared to 11 in January 🎉)
7 different games
3 new-to-me games
Most played: Proving Grounds and Harmonies (3 plays each)

February 2026 plays

Proving Grounds

Designed by Kane Klenko, published by Renegade Game Studios.

In this game, we play as Maia Strongheart, daughter of the Sun Queen, who has been accused of murdering her. To prove her innocence and reclaim her birthright, Maia must fight in the arena against waves of enemies.

This is a fully solo game where dice are at the heart of everything. It also comes with a companion app that provides both the soundtrack and a timer, and trust me, that combination does things to your nerves! Each round, you face 6 enemies, each associated with a face of the dice, and your goal is to defeat 8 enemies to win. Every round lasts exactly one minute, during which you roll and reroll your dice to find the best combination to injure your opponents.

It’s a really fun game, but genuinely tense. The ticking clock paired with the soundtrack will make your anxiety spike, in the best possible way. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves rolling dice (you’ll be doing a lot of that!) and can handle the pressure of the clock. 😅

Proving Grounds

Imperial Miners

Designed by Tim Armstrong, published by Portal Games.

Imperial Miners was a pleasant surprise, a quick and satisfying puzzle game where you build your mines to gather resources and diamonds, with the goal of collecting the most diamonds by the end. I played it solo, and it works really well in that format.

What keeps it from feeling repetitive are the events that appear each round, adding a little twist every time. The puzzling aspect is genuinely interesting, and the whole thing is easy to learn. If you’re looking for something light and quick with a satisfying brain-teaser feel, this one is well worth a try.

Imperial Miners

Sparks

Published by Surfin’ Meeple.

I only got one play of Sparks in February, and I still need one or two more before I can give a proper verdict, but my first impression is very positive!

In Sparks, you work in a robot factory with the goal of assembling robots. The components you use to build them are dice, and each robot has specific requirements, whether a number or a colour. It’s a clever little puzzle, and although the game supports multiple players, I played it solo this time.

The art is beautiful and the game is a pleasure to play. I’m looking forward to exploring it more.

Sparks

Merchants Cove

Published by Final Frontier Games.

Two more plays this month with two new merchants, the Oracle and the Innkeeper, bringing my total to 5 plays across different merchants and modules from the Secret Stash expansion. And after all that, I can say with confidence: I love this game.

It’s simple and quick once set up, though the setup itself is a bit involved. But when it’s all laid out on the table, it looks really great. The asymmetry between merchants is one of its biggest strengths, just be aware that some merchants are harder than others, and that’s very much part of the fun.

A full review is coming soon!

Merchants Cove

Other Notable Games

February also gave me some welcome time with games already in my collection, a mix of comfort plays and a couple of games I’m still figuring out!

Harmonies had a strong month with 3 plays, and I’m still not tired of it. This beautiful game puts you in the role of a nature architect, you draft tokens to build landscapes and attract animals to your map. The more you play, the more strategic you become, and the more you want to play again. Almost addictive in the best way. A full review is already up on the blog if you want to know more!

Harmonies

Conservas got one play this month. You play as a fisherman heading out to sea to fish and sell your catch, but you also have to be careful not to deplete the ocean’s species. The theme is really well executed, and there’s a fun mix of bag building and push-your-luck that keeps things exciting.

Conservas

Sylvion also got one play. In this one, your mission is to save a forest from a devastating fire, using only cards, it’s all about hand management and puzzle solving. It’s part of the Oniverse, and honestly? It’s the one in that family I struggle with the most. I’m not very good at it, and I suspect that’s part of why I haven’t fully warmed to it yet. I need to give it more chances, it deserves a fair shot!

Sylvion

What About You?

Did you discover any new games in February? And has anyone tried Proving Grounds, how did you handle the timer pressure? Come share your thoughts on Mastodon 😊.

Harmonies – Building Beauty, One Token at a Time

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Today I want to talk about a game I don’t own, but have already played three times in a row. That says a lot, doesn’t it? The game is Harmonies, a beautifully illustrated tile-placement game where you build landscapes and create habitats to attract animals.

Game Overview

Harmonies is a 2024 release for 1 to 4 players, ages 10+, with a playtime of 30 to 45 minutes. It was designed by Johan Benvenuto and illustrated by Maëva da Silva and published by Libellud. The Portuguese version is published by Nebo.

The game received a Spiel des Jahres recommendation in 2024 and won the Golden Geek Award for Medium Game of the Year in 2024.

Harmonies box cover

Theme

In Harmonies, you are an architect of nature. Your goal is to build beautiful landscapes and create the right habitats to attract animals to your world. Each player works on their own personal board, quietly shaping their own little ecosystem, there is something almost meditative about it.

How to Win

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Points come from two sources: your animal cards, and the landscape itself, certain landscapes only score if they are together, like mountains.

Components

The components are lovely. The landscape tokens are made of wood, satisfying to handle and stack, yes, some of them stack to create 3D mountains and trees! The animal cards are tarot-sized with beautiful, detailed illustrations. Overall the production quality is high and everything feels intuitive just by looking at it.

Components and Start of the game

Animal Cards

Gameplay

On your turn, you draft coloured wooden tokens from a shared central supply and place them on your personal map board. The tokens represent different landscape elements, mountains, forests, rivers, and more. The combinations you create will determine which animal cards can settle in your habitat.

Animal cards are available in a shared river of five cards throughout the game. Each turn you may take one, but you can only hold four at a time. Each card shows a specific landscape pattern that must be fulfilled on your board. Once the pattern is met, the animal joins your map. If you manage to complete all the animals on a card, you free up a space to claim a new one.

The game is easy to learn and quick to teach, around 10 minutes to learn, 5 to explain, which makes it a great option to bring to the table with almost anyone.

Center board with tokens selection

Solo Mode

Harmonies includes a solo mode, which I have not yet had the chance to try, but it is definitely on my list!

My Experience

I played Harmonies three times in a row at two players, and enjoyed every single game.

What I love most is the strategy that quietly builds underneath the accessible surface. The more you play, the more careful you become when drafting tokens and positioning them on your board. You need to anticipate what might come out of the bag, plan ahead, and stay flexible when things don’t go your way. No two games feel the same because the animal cards that appear first will naturally pull your strategy in a different direction each time.

One thing worth mentioning: the landscape is quite abstract. If you are into it, you will happily imagine the mountains, the forests, and the river coming to life on your board. If that kind of imaginative immersion is not your thing, it might just feel like coloured tokens on a grid, and that is a fair observation.

End of game

My Rating

Rate: 8 out of 10

Harmonies is an easy, familiar, and quick game that delivers a genuinely enjoyable experience. The production is beautiful, the gameplay is smooth, and the strategic depth sneaks up on you. It is not the most complex game I have played, but it does not need to be, it earns its score through consistency and charm.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for something accessible, beautiful, and with just enough puzzle to keep things interesting, Harmonies is an easy recommendation. It is the kind of game I would happily play again and again, and one I would not hesitate to teach to new players.

A couple of things to keep in mind before bringing it to the table: the interaction between players is quite low, you can influence others slightly by taking tokens they need, but mostly everyone is focused on their own board. If your group enjoys direct competition, this might feel too peaceful. There is also the card river limitation, with only five animal cards available and no way to refresh them actively, you can sometimes find yourself stuck with cards that don’t fit your strategy at all. It forces you to adapt, which can be a good thing, but a dedicated refresh action would be a welcome addition. Finally, players prone to analysis paralysis can slow the game down noticeably.

Animal River Cards

Your Turn

Have you played Harmonies? Are you a fan of this kind of peaceful, puzzle-like experience, or do you prefer something with more player interaction? Come share your thoughts on Mastodon 😊.

Videos

How to Play - Excellent how to play from Watch It Played

Harmonies on Marta's BG Corner

February 2026 Plays

February 2026 by the Numbers

Proving Grounds

Imperial Miners

Sparks

Merchants Cove

Other Notable Games

What About You?

Harmonies – Building Beauty, One Token at a Time

Game Overview

Theme

How to Win

Components

Gameplay

Solo Mode

My Experience

My Rating

Final Thoughts

Your Turn

Related Links

Videos