Fireside Games

What games are best played in front of a fireplace?

chamomile tea big comfy chair cat is asleep

(sidenote: I was going to call this "Fireplace Games" but I thought that might elicit more fishtank/screensaver experience type answers/leaning more into the watching an event unfold and getting lost in the spectacle. That said, feel free to toss those in here anyways.)

I was going to say Odin Sphere is canonically this, but Alice and Socrates are in an attic (with no visible fireplace). Close enough!!

RPGs are good fireside games for me. Maybe it‘s because, at least in my opinion, RPGs are the video game equivalent of reading a book and who doesn’t love reading a book by the fireside?

To dig a bit deeper, specifically tactics games. I have fond memories of playing Fire Emblem on the GBA literally next to a fireplace during winter so all tactics games give me a nice cozy vibe like that.

For me, I‘d go with games I’m familiar with/comfort games. In my case that would be classics like Doom 93, SotN, Ridge Racers. Not exactly relaxing games but they are games I've played so much that I can sit back, zone out and enjoy the warm vibes of fire.

Hearthstone though that's better played on the floor of a fireplace.

I definitely have memories of playing Pokemon Blue fireside, portable RPGs definitely have those cozy feelings. Same with reading strategy guides.

Also personally Otomes/Visual Novels have a wintery feel to them. It's the time of year I'm most interested in them.

Shenmue‘s got the lonely winter vibes

SimCity's cozy

Peniment’s another one of those books by the fireplace games

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@“Tradegood”#p143803 I definitely have memories of playing Pokemon Blue fireside, portable RPGs definitely have those cozy feelings.

If only the 1997-98 El Niño Event had come in 1998-99 instead I could have spent the ice storm inside by the fire playing Pokémon Blue instead of probably Tetris and SML.

I just played Venba in bed with the covers on. I ain‘t got a fireplace. Venba was precious. Maybe the second best game in this genre of “mom games”. My favorite is still My Child Lebensborn, but Venba’s art and music made my jaw drop. Hour and a half! On game pass! Made me hungry!