Last Will

This thematic cousin to Prodigal's Club, and one of Vlaada's earlier designs, still gets a smile from me because its central ambition is so wonderfully improper: you win by going broke. Beneath that joke sits a light, agreeable game that makes sense as soon as it reaches the table.

At its core, Last Will combines worker placement with hand management. You decide where to commit your people, keep control of the cards in your hand, and try to point every choice at the one proper goal: getting rid of your money.

The interaction comes from the pressure on shared options and from everyone chasing the same gloriously backwards finish line. It does not ask to be studied like a second job; its systems sit together neatly, and a game lasts just long enough for a Tuesday after work, when you want something substantial without disappearing into it.

There are dozens of games in this lane, but Last Will has one very practical virtue: it works well with five. Add its sensible length and the chance of finding it for a rather silly price now, and it is the sort of box that deserves a quiet place on the shelf. Quietly excellent, especially when you need a game for five.