The quiet joy of games that ask nothing of you

Not every game needs to test you. Some of my favourite hours on a phone lately have gone to cosy titles like Tiny Orchard Co., where the stakes are low and the worst outcome is a slightly smaller harvest.

There's real craft in this. A cosy game has to stay interesting without tension, which means the loop itself has to be pleasant — planting, tending, watching things grow. Get the feel wrong and it's just chores.

I've started treating these as the opposite of my adventure and strategy games. After a tense session of Harbor Command, half an hour in a sunny orchard resets my brain completely.

If you've never tried the genre, start with something that has a clear seasonal rhythm. Having natural chapters keeps a cosy game from blurring into one endless, aimless afternoon.