Do you ever get tired of all the stress from fireballs, space lasers, and orc armies, endlessly descending on your party at all times? Then perhaps it’s time to slow down, relax, and cuddle up with a different kind of TTRPG, one of the cozy variety. These games turn slices of life into full TTRPG adventures in their own right; not political intrigue, but neighborhood gossip—not grand territorial conquests, but small property disputes.
From embodying the owners of a local tavern, to critters in a club investigating spooky mysteries, the games on this list make miracles out of the mundane, creating mechanics for everyday moments, emphasizing connection with community, and keeping the stakes relatively low. Don’t be fooled by their humble appearances, though; a cozy game can often be just as challenging as a traditional TTRPG, and baking just the right pie might be more difficult than slaying a dragon.
Stewpot
As the cliche goes, your adventure starts in a tavern… As any TTRPG veteran knows, this is the beginning of many a classic fantasy adventure, with the party meeting for the first time in a town tavern, typically finding some shady character to give them a quest. However, Stewpot’s system shifts focus behind the bar, to the owner of the legendary hero-forming taverns. In this game, you and your friends take up the roles of retired adventurers who have hung up their swords and staffs in favor of starting up a business, a new tavern. This system is relatively rules-light, being scene-based and rooted in ‘minigames.’ Utilizing dice, cards, and coins, players can cook for each other, prepare for the arrival of a celebrity, and upgrade the venue, all between other slice-of-life scenes like checking in with a neighbor or asking a crush on a date. Influenced by their past lives as adventurers, but shaped by the town they’ve decided to settle in, the lives of Stewpot characters have certainly become tamer, but certainly no less exciting and fulfilling.
Under Hill, By Water
For lovers of Lord of the Rings, this game is set before a trek to the dragon-guarded Lonely Mountain or a journey to devilish Mordor, in a place inspired by the Shire, home of the hobbits. This is an idyllic landscape, vast fields of farmland, crystal clear brooks, rolling green hills, and built beneath the hills are small cozy cottages, where you and your friends live as peaceful halflings. The troubles you’ll overcome in Under Hill, by Water are not perilous quests undertaken by powerful heroes, but rather neighborhood issues with the stakes of a poor dinner or a lost sheep. The system is built from an old-school TTRPG framework, likely familiar to players of OSR D&D, but designed specifically to be easy to learn and keep the halflings’ lives interesting. Together, your halflings will live their lovely, often silly, lives through the seasons, hosting festivals, celebrating birthday parties, and reading books in the countryside of their quiet corner of the world.
Cottage Core Critters
Need we say more? Indeed, this game brings players to a town of anthropomorphic animals who lead peaceful lives, running bakeries, going on picnics, and picking flowers for each other. Inspired by Zootopia, Stardew Valley, and the works of Beatrix Potter (author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit), roleplay and community are at the center of gameplay, with the light mechanics built around fostering connection between players and NPCs alike. Each character’s stats are drawn from their ‘Cottage,’ or learned knowledge/skills, ‘Core,’ empathetic/feeling skills, and ‘Critter,’ physical capabilities granted from their species. However, the world is not entirely free of danger and mystery, as alongside the critters, monsters and spirits lurk in the wilds beyond town. Although not necessarily dangerous, Cottage Core Critters explores supernatural aspects of nature, leading to more fantasy-driven elements weaving into the typical day-to-day slice-of-life stories. This game is perfect for Animal Crossing addicts, those with cottagecore Pinterest boards, or anyone looking for a cute game to play as an animal living their picturesque life in the country.
Wanderhome
The beautiful world of Hæth and its many magnificent wonders are yours to explore. In the Wanderhome, players are animal nomads, traveling from one rustic setting (called ‘Natures’) to the next, on paths of self-discovery and fellowship with their fellow journeymen. Unlike many TTRPGs, this game requires the Belonging Outside Belonging system, which means no dice, and a gamemaster is completely optional, making it easy to pick up and play whenever you’d like for however long. The story is collaboratively built, vast and unending, but equipped with strong comfort and safety mechanics that keep the game moving while ensuring players feel safe and respected at the table. There’s explicitly little to no violence in Wanderhome, prioritizing the peace of playing characters like a travelling salesman rabbit or a soul-searching turtle, who are encouraged to talk through their disagreements and feelings. Winning awards for Best Family-Friendly game and Best Art (Cover & Interior), this beautiful game is a great option for players looking to dive deep into a stunning hand-crafted world and tell a heartfelt story with their friends.
Iron Valley
Heavily inspired by the quintessential cozy games Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and Harvest Moon, Iron Valley is a solo TTRPG that adapts the mechanics of Ironsworn and Starforged to see your character starting a farm and integrating into a new community. As a game played by yourself, it is highly customizable; the Valley may be a rural town, miles away from traditional civilization, or a quaint village beside the capital of a kingdom, or inhabited entirely by animals instead of humans! Throughout the game, the player comes to forge strong relationships with the ‘Townies’ around them, perhaps becoming friends, enemies, frenemies, lovers, and more. The primary challenge is time management, as each move advances the clock, and it’s up to the player to make the most of the day before retiring to their comfy abode. At the core of the game are Promises, linking you with the Townies through your word, and fulfilling these commitments enables you to progress and enhance your skills. If you’re looking for a cozy game to enjoy in the comfort of your ‘me-time,’ then Iron Valley is made for you.
Ryuutama
Originally released in Japan with the goal of bringing new fans into the world of TTRPGs, Ryuutama is an easy-to-learn game that depicts regular townfolk taking up the call to adventure and exploring out into the wild and fantastical world. These characters are not lich-slaying, ultra-superpowered heroes, but explorers, and the mechanics reflect this by players receiving the bulk of their XP from traversing difficult regions. While magic, combat, and intrigue are all present in Ryuutama, its focus is far more on resource management and comfort while on the road; do the players have enough food and water? Is the food tasty? Are their tents in good condition? Do they have an animal to carry heavy cargo? All of these questions are critical to the gameplay of Ryuutama, lovingly earning it the title ‘Hayao Miyazaki’s Oregon Trail.’ The word ‘Ryuutama’ translates to ‘Dragon Egg,’ so, in other words, the story told at the table is the slowly hatching egg of the Gamemaster, or ‘Ryuujin’ (Dragon-Person). The Ryuujin is both the GM and a character in the narrative, taking the form of a dragon that may assist the party in its role of maintaining a cosmic order. Known best for its ‘honobono’ or ‘feelgood’ storytelling style, Ryuutama is a one-of-a-kind cozy game made for new players and veterans alike.
Bringing Home the Hygge
Each of these games invents something enjoyable and distinctive to the concept of a ‘cozy’ game, transforming mundane vignettes into intricate, welcoming homes of community and connection, and illustrating sprawling scenic worlds for players to range over. In the busy world of today, games that celebrate making time for things like baking, running a tavern, farming, and other pastoral pastimes can offer a warm respite from real-life pressures. Playable by yourself or a group of your friends, comfortable, low-stakes games like these can provide a great break from the pressure and scale of a traditional TTRPG. So find your comfiest blanket, make your favorite tea, and light some sweet-smelling candles, because you’re ready to play the best games to make you feel as snug as a bug.
Finn Halpern is a Chicago-based writer, passionate about TTRPGs, nerd culture, and the art of storytelling.
