Throw the greatest street party ever in colourful tile-layer Arraial

The designer duo behind Nippon, Panamax and Madeira have unveiled their next game, a vibrant tile-laying title called Arraial.

Nuno Sentieiro and Paulo Soledade’s latest is named after the traditional street parties held in Portugal during the summer, and tasks players with putting together the celebrations by laying down polyominoes with all the things needed to draw a crowd.

The right combinations of balloons, music, food, decorations, performers and more will draw meeple visitors, with the most popular neightbourhood party the winner.

There’s a literal twist on the Rosenbergian grid-filling, though, as the central board rotates, changing the orientation of the tiles that players can add to their individual boards depending on where they’re sat at the table.

Described as a ‘family-friendly’ complexity, a match takes around half an hour to play with up to four people – and it can be played solo, too.

Portuguese label Mebo is launching Arraial at Essen later this month, with a full release following next spring from Dinosaur Island publisher Pandasaurus.