Naishi

Two players are each building a Japanese province from a hand of cards and a tableau in front of them, and the trick is that position matters. Cards come from a shared central river, and when you take one you must swap it into a specific spot in your hand or tableau, replacing what was there, rather than arranging freely. Your province scores for the patterns you form, so every swap is a small trade-off between the card you gain and the one you give up. Emissary cards break the rhythm. Send one to reorganise a province, open a new opportunity in the river, or force your opponent into a trade they did not want. Twenty minutes, medium-light weight, and a real feel of head-to-head positioning. It is for couples who have outgrown Lost Cities and want more spatial thinking in a game that still fits a short evening.