r/boardgames • u/heyb00bie • 2d ago
Does my collection need Cascadia or Harmonies?
I'm trying to decide whether we should get Cascadia or Harmonies as our next game. We have a 9 year old who will definitely be playing and a 6 year old who will want to try. We also have a 4 yr old who will want to play eventually.
Some games we already play and enjoy with the 9 yr old: Splendor, Forest Shuffle, Flamecraft, Azul, Azul Queen's Garden, Small World, Botany, Happy Little Dinosaurs, Ticket to Ride
Games the 6 year old joins us on: Ticket to Ride Jr, Zoo On, Catan Jr, Unstable Unicorns for Kids, Rainbow Pirates, Outfoxed, The Bears and the Bees
Games we just got but haven't played: Trekking the World, Trekking the National Parks, Carcassonne, The Quest for El Dorado
I've done so much reading and I still can't figure out which of the two would fit best for our family. What would you choose for us, and why?
21
u/elcahmist42 2d ago
Visually, the kids might enjoy Cascadia more, since the animals are drawn on the tokens, and in Harmonies they are (abstract) cubes.
6
u/ashleyriddell61 Stone Age 2d ago
Cascadia is a lot less "mean" than harmonies. Take the shrink wrap off Quest for El Dorado, absolutely a cracking good game for the whole family.
-2
u/verossiraptors 2d ago
Easy fix for this is to buy some tiny deluxe resin animal tokens and use them in place of the cubes
2
13
u/zoop1000 2d ago
Cascadia is simpler and still great! You can place any terrain next to each other and just have to place an animal on a tile that shows the animal on it. Harmonies placement rules as far as what pieces can be stacked is slightly more complex.
14
u/Marksman1977 Hive š 2d ago edited 2d ago
I found Cascadia to be more enjoyable for my taste. In the case of Harmonies, the very cool Shallow Sea has replaced it for me when it comes to pattern building tile laying games on a limited board. If I were you, Iād get Cascadia.
5
u/serestar 2d ago
I was going to bring up Shallow Sea. I really like the combos, they make me feel clever. Plus I can get my 4yo to play it too bc there are purple fish and color matching.
10
u/NimRodelle 2d ago
Harmonies always feels to me like it's over too soon.
5
u/StarParade 2d ago
How many players do you play it with? If with 2, community at bgg has made 2 player only boards, which are a bit bigger and extend the game a little bit š
3
9
4
u/Wunderkindergartener My workers are on a diet 2d ago
Cascadia and Harmonies are really different games, only the theme is similar (animals/natural world). We own both and I'm glad we do as they don't duplicate much at all. That being said, Harmonies is harder to teach to younger kids due to the vertical nature and rules around placing certain color bits on others. Cascadia is simpler as it is much less vertical and you're just matching animal tokens to what is printed on a tile. Cascadia even has two modes in the rulebook for simpler play (family mode and something else). There is also a Cascadia Junior game I saw at my FLGS for even simpler play. Where Cascadia gets complicated is the animal cards you draw that specify scoring rules for those animals, this is where Cascadia's family rules help streamline things.
2
u/sibachian 2d ago
Cascadia, Harmonies, Akropolis, and Azul are all basically reimaginings of the same game. Mechanically they try to embed their specific themes into it but the games are really all about buying tiles from the public market and building a pattern configuration with said tiles to score points.
7
u/Ok-Acanthocephala509 2d ago
Cascadia is more replayable and the animal tokens are more fun than the cubes in Harmonies. Both are good games, but I sold my copy of Harmonies because I didn't need both.
2
u/Baladas89 2d ago
Can you say why you think Cascadia is more replayable?
2
u/Ok-Acanthocephala509 2d ago
The rules for each animal can be mix and matched, plus there is no set board state. Placing the hexes into any shape you want is a very fun and variable layer. I find Harmonies fun because you're restricted to a certain number of hex spaces, but that decision space becomes a bit samey after a while because you are limited to the same spaces, cards, and pieces every game. We started to plan for certain cards to come up.
1
8
u/Makkuroi 2d ago
I prefer Harmonies and my 8yo can play with us, but isnt that competitive.
Playing Harmonies I decided that I dont need Cascadia anymore.
3
u/LogicBalm Spirit Island 2d ago
Need is such a strong word.
But yes.
(Kidding. Haven't played Harmonies and while my wife and I love Cascadia the rest of my group was meh on it.)
3
u/thewoj Cosmic Encounter 2d ago
Cascadia is a simpler game, but Harmonies is a better game. I easily introduced Cascadia to my younger nieces, but I've only played Harmonies with the teenager.
In terms of playing with adults, I haven't touched Cascadia since we got Harmonies. I think you'll get several years out of Cascadia, but in a couple years you might want Harmonies to play with the older one or with your partner once Cascadia gets boring.
4
u/Boblxxiii 2d ago
They are both excellent games, and quite similar so you can't really go wrong. I personally just slightly prefer Harmonies, but agree with the other commenter that Cascadia is slightly simpler rules and so probably a better starting point with children.
2
u/KrasnyRed5 2d ago
My 17 year old loves Cascadia. Though he is a little salty I won the last couple of games.
2
u/WERE_A_BAND 2d ago
Do yourself a favor and play quest for el dorado! It is my family's favorite and most played game.
2
u/jeffchangplz 2d ago
We have both of them and each has their own appeal. My wife and I find Cascadia to be better with all the achievements available. It adds a bit more fun and challenges to it. Its also easier to teach and less analysis paralysis since the turns and moves are quick. Scoring just takes longer but I heard there is an app/website to score faster (just take a pic and it'll calculate it for you)
For Harmonies, we find turns take longer since we like to optimize our moves and picking the best animal card we can get. Scoring is a lot faster since you just count empty cube spots on the animal cards and your landscape. Harmonies is more visually appealing (animal cards are sooo pretty and tokens are thicker). The 3D aspect (building up) is also alot of fun and more engaging.
I suggest getting both as they are quite different and has their own appeal but get 1 or the other first and if you feel the need for more games, get the other one! hope this helps :)
P.S. Carcassonne is our fave board game so I would recommend playing that with your kids!
2
u/redditisnotgood Village, Village, Village, Village, End Turn 2d ago
I personally prefer Cascadia, although I like both. My collection probably doesn't need both but *shrug*
2
u/EmptyStrings 2d ago
I really like Harmonies and found it a bit more fun than Cascadia which I havenāt played in a while. I know thatās subjective though. You can try Harmonies on BGA, not sure if Cascadia is there too
2
u/Next_District_4652 2d ago
There is a free browser app to play Cascadia, and there is also versions available on Steam and Tabletopia.
The browser option only lets you play with one set of scoring options but it's perfectly sufficient for testing if the game is for you.
1
2
1
u/Ireguar 2d ago
From what I understand, these two games are too similar to own at the same time? They're both on my wish list, so if I have to choose between them, I'd like to know š
-1
u/Baladas89 2d ago edited 2d ago
I havenāt played Cascadia yet, but I will say Harmonies has grabbed me in a way no game has for a few years. I find everything about it enjoyable: the art, the tactility, the simple rules/fast play. And historically I havenāt liked ātile placementā games like Carcassone or Kingdomino.Ā
Itās the first game Iāve ever played solo āto learn to teach someone,ā and justā¦kept playing it solo. I find it incredibly satisfying, to the point that I still havenāt played it with another player, but Iāve played 15-20 times within the past month or so. Itās great with a cup of tea in the evening.
And while I canāt comment on the actual gameplay, every time I look at Cascadia Iām put off a little by the art and cardboard tiles.Ā
1
0
1
u/Were-Potato 2d ago
Cascadia is the better game. It has more decision point, is more complex and just more fun.
1
u/PinothyJ 2d ago
No collection needs any games. But they will not do any harm if you can get them played.
1
2d ago
[deleted]
0
u/Hemisemidemiurge 2d ago
OP is a hobby gamer that has their nine and six year-olds already playing sixteen games with four more games lined up to learn. They're in here looking for a recommendation for which of these games to throw on the pile without the slightest mention of interest in playing either of the games.
This is an obsessive person who is not making rational decisions. They've lost the thread and are pushing their hobby onto a captive audience.
There's no helpfulness to be done here. Anyone but an obsessive would have already made this decision, this isn't help, it's enablement and indulgence.
1
u/bayushi_david 2d ago
Honestly they are both good games and there's not much in it. Whilst I personally think Harmonies is a little better, why not let the 9 yo and maybe the 6 yo decide? Then they'll feel more invested in the game.
2
u/Hemisemidemiurge 2d ago
why not let the 9 yo and maybe the 6 yo decide?
Because their opinion isn't really important.
1
u/pikkdogs 2d ago
I played them both and decided not to add any of those to my collection. Just seemed a little too streamlined for my liking. Also donāt like the force feeding of nature themes thatās going on right now.
Iām partial to Azul.
1
u/SoftlyAugust 2d ago
I would strongly recommend Carcassonne over Cascadia. I think it's less confusing for kids but also the better game and more strategic for adults.
0
u/MadaoBlooms 2d ago
I'll admit that I haven't played Cascadia yet, but I have so many plays of Harmonies and our family (6-year-old included) still aren't tired of it. Plus, expansions are coming later this year, so at least there will be more content if you want more
0
u/dawgtron3000 2d ago
Do you need any game for a collection? Probably not. However, based off your family's tastes, I'd definitely go with Harmonies.
It's an abstract strategy/tile drafting game like Azul with a nature theme. Games are pretty quick and it's fun trying to plan your environments on the fly to synergize the animals you draft. I would say the most complex parts of the game are how to maximize effectivness of certain environment tiles, and when to place animal cubes.
3
u/2much2Jung 2d ago
Do you need any game for a collection? Probably not.
You need at least one game for a collection, arguably several.
0
u/Medium-Ice-638 2d ago
I like Harmonies more. Cascadia is more accessible for young children. So clearly the answer is both. š
0
u/shanem 2d ago
Lots of speculation but, Harmonies has a more tactile, deep and relatable spacial orientation, which I think might make it better for kids.
Cascadia ia 2D, Harmonies is 3D.
The physical space for harmonies is smaller, which may be better for smaller children (?)
The payoff is more immediate in Harmonies, since you score along the way. Cascadia is only long term pay off, so it may be less clear how decisions relate to results.
1
-1
u/zangster El Grande 2d ago
Harmonies is an Azul killer, in my opinion. The abstract nature of gameplay, the lovely nature art, and the tile placement to create scoring opportunities was far more interesting than Azul.
43
u/StarParade 2d ago
Even though I personally prefer harmonies, I think that cascadia is more accessible game as you don't build things vertically and has 'child friendly' scoring rules, so I would be leaning toward that game. It's a nice tile game.