Caldera
| Caldera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kristin Looney | ||
| ||
| The Volcano variant with the hole in the middle, tree collection, and power plays | ||
| Players: | 2 - 3 | |
| Length: | Fast | |
| Complexity: | Medium | |
| Trios per color: | 6 | |
| Number of colors: | 5 | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Volcano board | ||
| Setup time: | 3 min | |
| Playing time: | 15 min | |
| Random chance: | none after setup | |
| Game mechanics: | Stacking, Set collection | |
| Theme: | Volcanism | |
| BGG Link: | Caldera | |
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2011 | ||
Caldera is a variation on Volcano that uses 6 Treehouse sets worth of pieces and adds a few new twists...
Caldera was originally developed to be a 3HOUSE friendly version of Volcano. In the Pyramid Arcade rulebook, Volcano became a Pyramid Arcade-friendly variant of Caldera (known as Fiesta Caldera—see Variants below).
Rules[edit | edit source]
Follow the Rules to Volcano except for the following:
1) EQUIPMENT & SETUP - Instead of 5 monochrome stashes (5 nests of 5 colors which fills up the 25 spaces on a 5x5 board) you have 6 rainbow stashes (6 nests of 4 colors (minus black) which fills 24 spaces on the 5x5 board) - leave the center square empty; you also use 6 caps instead of 5 (see picture)
2) END CONDITION - instead of the game ending when someone takes all 5 colors, and counting points for the winner - the end condition in Caldera is to collect 3 monochrome trees (and it's okay if 2 or even all 3 are the same color)
3) POWER PLAY MOVE - while you are moving the caps around (at any time before your eruption) you have the option to place one piece from your captured pieces back on the board
Variants[edit | edit source]
Fiesta Caldera[edit | edit source]
Once a mere variant, Fiesta Caldera is the current meaning of the term Volcano. Instead of four translucent colors with six trios of each, use eight colors with three trios of each. Put the six caps on two different colors. The victory condition remains 3 monochrome trees. This variant plays fine with two, and may be superior to standard Caldera with three or four players.
Mega-Fiesta Caldera[edit | edit source]
Use 9 colors with four trios of each, plus 4 caps, on a 6x6 board. The victory condition is changed to four monochrome trees.
| Featured in Pyramid Primer |
|---|
| IceDice · Treehouse · Pharaoh · Pikemen |
| Launchpad 23 · Black ICE · Zark City · Caldera |
| Martian Chess · Martian Coasters · World War 5 |
| IceTowers · Homeworlds |