Azul

Michael Kiesling's tile-drafting game won the 2018 Spiel des Jahres and is the most aesthetically beautiful game on this list. You draft Portuguese azulejo tiles from factory displays and place them on your player board to score points — simple to learn, but the drafting creates agonizing decisions: take the tiles you need, or the ones that force your opponent to eat negative points? The resin tiles are so satisfying to handle that people play Azul partly for the tactile experience. 2-4 players, 30-45 minutes.