What Are We Playing? [July 2025]

Periodically on this blog we highlight a handful of tabletop and digital games to spread the word about interesting experiences and support other creators. Here's our July edition, which includes a mix of tabletop games and video games.

Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector by Jump Over the Age

I was immediately captured by the writing of this sci-fi, dice-driven RPG video game. It reminded me of my first RPG love, Disco Elysium and the highlight throughout this game continued to be the narrative. I liked the points where you had to make choices about which characters to trust and continue the journey with, as well as the moments of philosophical, resonant writing. Additionally, I appreciated the option to play on “safe mode” so that I could enjoy the story without worrying about dying and having to start over.

For a game that is driven by dice rolls, I was hoping the dice mechanics would be pushed further. I expected a little more evolution of the dice placement as the game progressed and was left wanting to use the dice for upgrades or special boosts. This did not detract from my experience per se, but it seemed like a missed opportunity to enhance the gameplay.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Citizen Sleeper 2 and would have happily continued my journey as Sleeper, had the narrative arc not come naturally to an end.

Difficulty: 2/5

Time: ~15 hours

Diatoms

Diatoms is a gorgeously constructed abstract strategy game where players make mosaics out of algae by laying down tokens of different colors and shapes. With components that handle nicely, it will certainly appeal to fans of games like Azul and Sagrada.

There are many paths towards scoring points and, while that could lead to feeling overwhelmed by options, I enjoyed how much player agency it allowed for. Despite the breadth of possibility, actions themselves are simple, so it does not take long to teach the game to new players. Mastering it, however, would be a more ambitious task. I also found the scoring sheet very helpful, with its clear organization and visual breakdown of the scoring mechanics.

While it may take a few more playthroughs for me to decipher the ideal strategy for this game, I’m always ready for a rematch because it’s just a pleasure to get out on the table.

Difficulty: 2/5

Time: ~45 mins

Stonehenge’s Legacy by Inscape

Stonehenge’s Legacy, a laser cut wooden puzzle box, was great for solo play. There were fun, well thought-out mechanisms and novel interactions hidden within the box. Though some could have used better signposting, the puzzles overall felt fair and enjoyable to solve. There was a sense of excitement throughout, as I uncovered more “artifacts” and new tools that would allow me to progress further through the experience.

Despite the interesting mechanics, the box suffered slightly when it came to quality of graphics. The majority of the pieces had a cloudy purple background that did not feel relevant to the theme nor added to the aesthetics.

While I hope that future iterations refine the graphics, I had fun with this box and enjoyed the moments of discovery I had while playing.

Difficulty: 2/5

Time: ~45 mins

Image via Allplay

A Message from the Stars

A Message from the Stars is a cooperative, communication board game where one player acts as the “alien” who sends words back and forth with the team of “humans” to help them determine a certain collection of letters. The catch? Both parties also have a set of three words that they are trying to get the other team to guess.

Since each team only gets to send 4 words per game, there is a really interesting balance of sending clue words that provide information about the collection of letters while also helping to identify the listed words. Guessing letters and listed words correctly are both worth a point at the end of the game, so finding the balance is key in order to maximize the number of points you earn.

I really enjoyed the challenge of communicating information through single words, as well as the logic-puzzle nature of this game. Being an alien and a human are very different experiences, so I would definitely recommend trying both. There is also a competitive mode of the game for larger groups.

This is a great choice for couples and small groups who like decoding and breaking down problems, as well as communication games like Decrypto and Codenames.

Difficulty: 2/5

Time: ~30-45 mins

What have you been playing lately?