Cascadia Review

Intro

Cascadia brings the lush wilderness of the Pacific Northwest right to your table through a surprisingly elegant blend of tile-laying and token-drafting. You're essentially building your own slice of this beautiful ecosystem, placing hexagonal habitat tiles while populating them with the region's iconic wildlife—from soaring hawks to lumbering bears.

The game works beautifully with 1-4 players and typically wraps up in about 45 minutes, making it a perfect choice for families or casual game nights. With a stellar 7.91 rating and a Spiel des Jahres win under its belt, it's clearly struck a chord with players. The rules are straightforward enough for newcomers to grasp quickly, but there's plenty of strategic depth lurking beneath that accessible surface.

How It Plays

Each turn in Cascadia revolves around a simple but meaningful choice. Four habitat tiles sit in the center of the table, each randomly paired with a wildlife token. You pick one pair, add the habitat tile to your growing landscape, and place the wildlife token on a suitable habitat.

The habitat tiles show different terrain types—forests, wetlands, prairies, mountains, and rivers—and you're trying to create large, connected areas of each type. Bigger is better when it comes to scoring, and you get bonus points if your largest area of each habitat beats everyone else's.

Meanwhile, those wildlife tokens have their own scoring quirks determined by randomly drawn cards at the start of each game. Maybe the salmon want to form long, flowing lines this game, or perhaps the elk prefer to cluster in tight groups. The foxes might want to mingle with as many different animal types as possible. These variable scoring conditions keep every game feeling fresh.

If the available tile-token combinations don't suit your plans, you can spend precious nature tokens to mix and match as you please. These tokens are limited though, so you'll need to pick your moments wisely.

Highlights

What really sets Cascadia apart is how it makes every decision feel meaningful without overwhelming you with complexity. The pairing system creates this lovely tension where you're rarely getting exactly what you want, forcing you to adapt and find creative solutions. It's puzzle-solving at its finest.

The variable wildlife scoring is genuinely brilliant. With four different scoring cards for each of the five animal types, you're looking at countless combinations that completely change how you approach each game. One session might have you spreading bears across your entire landscape, while the next demands you pair them up like they're heading to animal prom.

Let's talk about those components for a second. The habitat tiles are thick and satisfying, while the wooden animal tokens have this chunky, tactile quality that just feels good in your hands. The artwork perfectly captures that Pacific Northwest vibe without being overly busy or distracting from gameplay.

The solo mode deserves special mention too. It's not just a multiplayer game with a dummy player tacked on—it's a thoughtfully designed puzzle that scales the decision space perfectly for one player. The fact that it won multiple solo gaming awards speaks volumes about how well it works.

Perhaps most importantly, Cascadia hits that sweet spot where it's immediately accessible to newcomers but offers enough depth to keep experienced players engaged. It's the rare game that works equally well as a family activity or a more serious gaming session.

Criticisms

The biggest knock against Cascadia is probably that it can feel a bit samey after many plays. While the variable scoring helps, you're still fundamentally doing the same tile-laying and token-placing actions every game. Some players find this repetitive, especially if they're looking for games with more dramatic swings or surprise moments.

The randomness factor can occasionally feel frustrating. Sometimes the tile-token pairings just don't cooperate with your plans, and while the nature tokens provide some mitigation, they're limited enough that you can't always fix bad luck. Players who prefer more control over their destiny might find this annoying.

There's also the matter of player interaction—or rather, the lack of it. Beyond competing for the same tiles and trying to build bigger habitat areas than your opponents, you're largely playing in your own sandbox. If you're someone who loves games with direct confrontation or heavy negotiation, Cascadia might feel too polite for your tastes.

Conclusion

Cascadia is going to absolutely delight anyone who enjoys spatial puzzles, nature themes, or games that are easy to learn but tricky to master. It's particularly perfect for families looking for something more engaging than typical gateway games, or for groups who want a relaxing but thoughtful experience without heavy competition or complex rules.

If you're drawn to games like Azul or Splendor—titles that offer meaningful decisions wrapped in elegant simplicity—then Cascadia should be right up your alley. The gorgeous theme and top-notch components are just icing on the cake. It's earned its reputation as one of the best light-to-medium games of recent years, and honestly, I can't argue with that assessment.