Pencil First GamesThe Whatnot Cabinet Board Game – A Nature-Themed Game of Collecting Intriguing Objects by Pencil First Games for 1-4 Players

The Whatnot Cabinet is a gem of a game that’s beautifully designed and endlessly enjoyable. We love playing it so much that we’ve bought it multiple times as gifts for friends who have also enjoyed it immensely. It’s the perfect "filler" game—easy to learn and quick to set up, yet with enough depth to keep it engaging every time.The gameplay is wonderfully strategic without being overwhelming, making it accessible to both casual and seasoned players. Each game feels fresh as you work to arrange your cabinet with unique collections and find the best combinations of items to score points. The art and components are also top-notch, adding to the overall charm and immersion.Whether you’re squeezing in a quick game between longer sessions or looking for a go-to favorite for game night, The Whatnot Cabinet delivers every time. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys light strategy games that still offer rewarding decision-making and replayability.

This game is a delight to my pattern-loving brain. It's a fun challenge that scratches an itch in my brain and is immensely satisfying when a plan comes together. If collecting shiny things and arranging them by color or type is your jam (if you know, you know), you will probably love this game. It's a quick play (15-20 mins in our experience) and didn't take us too long to figure out. It has a variety of scoring mechanisms so even if one plan falls through, there's more than one way to salvage your score and still come out on top. This game rewards you for picking your own strategy and focusing on that, rather than sabotaging your opponents. Although you can do that, you risk losing your chance to get your own points if you focus on keeping them from earning theirs, making it a low stakes, low angst game in our house. The solo mode is nice, too. Although not quite as charming as another game by this company (Floriferous) in which you play against a crow, this still manages to make solo play a good challenge that is different each time you play it. If you want a quick and cozy game or you have a brain that delights in making and finding patterns, this could be a great game for you.

I love this beautiful game for solo play. It is such a pleasure to play with the beautiful art and the pieces are comfortable and well made. Treat yourself. I agree with a review I read before I bought it: " If you’ve ever gone for a walk in the woods, taken a stroll along the strand, or rambled near the riverbank, then you might have come across a “whatnot”. Perhaps you might hear them called an oddment, knickknack, curio, or any number of other words all meaning the same thing: a small “found object or treasure”. These whatnots can be leaves, uniquely shaped rocks, crystals, or any object that serves to remind you of a specific time and place. Many people bring these items home and display them on shelves, tables, or desks where they become centerpieces of conversations for years to come."

This is a fairly simple game suitable for both adults and kids. It is not complicated and can be picked up quite easily. It is a matching set type game. Colorful and interesting. Good for up to four people.

This little game is great. It's beautiful and clever. It plays really quick, only about 20 mins. We took it to play while out to dinner with friends as it has a small table footprint.

Very fun and easy to learn.

It's a nice-looking game with a great nature theme, clear symbols, plays fast, easy to learn, easy to play.

I was drawn to this game because of the theme ....I'm a collector of oddities. The play dynamics are good, but we found this game lacks depth ... it's really very simple and once we played it a couple of times there's not much pulling us back to play again. This might be more suitable for kids. We are serious gamers and prefer something a bit more involved.