What Can I Play?

Interested in exploring the wider world of Pyramid games? With 563 games currently recorded on this wiki, it can sometimes be difficult and overwhelming to figure out what to try next. This page is intended to serve as a navigational chart to help players, new and old alike, find quality games. It has been carefully compiled and curated by experienced Starship Captains over the last 17 years. Not all of the games may be a good fit for your particular group, but each is notable in its own way. So, regardless of whether you have the opulent Pyramid Arcade, an older IceDice bag, or even some of the venerable Treehouse tubes, hopefully you will find something below that can give you hours (or at least minutes) of enjoyment.

Further Resources

Ready to dive a little deeper? Visit the Browse games page to find up-to-date lists of all games based on a variety of search criteria such as complexity, number of players, or equipment required.

Interested in seeing the most recent games? Check out these Games Released in the Past Five Years

Feeling bold and adventurous? Want to try something wild and weird? There are many games in development that could use comments or playtesting.

Looking for more detailed reviews and comments? Have a read through our links to reviews found on the web.

Using These Lists

The most useful unit for counting pyramids is the "Trio" (one pyramid of each size, all of the same color). Most of the lists below are organized by how many trios are required per color. Most of the time, you can expand the number of games you can play with your collection by grouping trios from two similar colors and treating them as if they were a single color. This works particularly well for abstract games in which color does not have any meaning beyond player ownership.

Recommended color pairs
Red - Orange Yellow - Clear Green - Cyan Blue - Purple Black - White

Many of the older game rules still refer to "Icehouse stashes", "Treehouse sets", or "Rainbow/Xeno stashes". These are all remnants of how the pyramids were packaged for sale by Looney Labs at the time the rules were written. In all cases, a "stash" means 5 trios in either a single color (Icehouse or monochrome) or five different colors (Treehouse, Rainbow, or Xeno).

Only representative games are listed in each section. Please see the additional links in each section for more related games.

Legend

• ^A = Winner of a Pyramid community or boardgame industry design award.
• ^F = (TO BE ADDED SOON) Fan favorites. These games rank consistently high on Starship Captain lists.
• ^P = Published Games
• ^SDG = Playable at SuperDuperGames

Any Color of Trios

Color does not actually matter in these games. As long as you have the right number of trios, you can play them.

ArmadaP: 2p, 5 trios, Miniature wargame Cardinal Connections: 2-4p, 4 trios, Orientation control Epicycle: 2p, 5 trios, Shared pieces IceSickleP: 2p, 5 trios, Jumping & capturing Martian ChessA, P, SDG: 2-4p, 3 trios per player, Abstract strategy

HijinksP: 2p, 3 trios, Quick pattern forming RotationaryP: 1p, 5 trios, Solitaire puzzle Thin IceP: 2-10p, 5 trios per player, Light dexterity Tic Tac Doh!P: 2p, 5 trios, Shared n-in-a-row TreehouseA, P: 2-4p, 1 trio per player + 1 extra, Pattern matching

• Full list of games requiring One color

Variable Number of Trios per Color

These games require a variable number of trios, usually based on the number of players.

Homeworlds (Non-Binary)P, SDG: 3-6p, 1 trio per player + 1, 4 colors, Space chess chaos IceDiceP: 2-3p, 1 trio per player in 5 colors, Push-your-luck set collection Plutonian Poker: 2-6p, 1 trio per player + 1 in 5 colors, Stack building PikemenP, SDG:, 2-4p, 5, 4, or 3 trios (for 2, 3, or 4 players), 1 color per player, Abstract strategy

Quintazone: 2-5p, 1 color per player with 5, 3, or 2 trios (for 2, 3, or 4-5 players), Card laying with hidden goals RAMbotsP: 2-4p, 1 trio per player + 1 in 4 colors, Simultaneous programming Virus Fight: 2-5p, 1 trio per player in 5 colors, Strategy programs

• Full list of games requiring Trios per color per player

One Trio per Color

3-High: 1-4p, 5 colors, Cooperative ApophisA: 1-4p, 5 colors, Real-time cooperative Crosswalk: 2p, 5 colors, Abstract race Gleebs and Grues: 2p, 5 colors, Quick abstract Looney LudoP: 2-6p, 1 color per player, Dynamic race

Nothing Beats a LargeP: 2-5p, 5 colors, RPS with hidden goals Penguin SoccerSDG: 2p, 3 colors, Abstract strategy PharaohP: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Area control Twin WinP: 2-3p, 5 colors, Hidden goals Zamboni Wars: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Maze battle

• Full list of games requiring One trio per color

Two Trios per Color

Folio: 2p, 4 colors, N-in-a-row restriction Freeze TagA: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Racing Ice Dao: 2p, 2 colors, Shifting n-in-a-row Landing Zone: 2-5p, 1 color per player, Simple dexterity

Martian 12sA: 2-5p, 5 colors, Gambling MundialitoA: 2p, 5 colors, Abstract soccer Timelock: 1-2p, 5 colors, Pattern matching

• Full list of games requiring Two trios per color

Three Trios per Color

Black ICEP: 2p, 5 colors, Hidden information Dectana: 2-5p, 1 color per player, Territory control Homeworlds (Binary)P, SDG: 2p, 4 colors, Space chess Homeworlds Settlers: 2p, 4 colors, Territorial and chess-like IceTowersP: 2-6p, 1 color per player, Real-time strategy

PyrinoesA: 2p, 5 colors, Hybrid dominoes Skurðir: 2-5p, 5 colors, Route building Volcano (Pyramid Arcade)P: 2-3p, 10 colors, Competitive puzzle World War 5P: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Area control Zark CityP: 2-5p, 1 color per player, Area control

• Full list of games requiring Three trios per color

Four Trios per Color

Infiltrate: 2p, 2 colors, Abstract strategy

Moscow Ice: 2-4p, 1 per player, Similar to Chinese Checkers

• Full list of games requiring Four trios per color

Five Trios per Color

Alien CityA, SDG: 2p, 3 colors, City building AmbushA: 2p, 2 colors, Capturing Blam!SDG: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Quick abstract BlockadeP: 2p, 6 colors, 2D race Branches & Twigs & ThornsP, SDG: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Go-like abstract CrackeD IceP: 3-5p, 1 color per player, Dexterity Edges: 2p, 2 colors, Abstract placement Extinction: 2p, 2 colors, Abstract strategy GnosticaP: 3-6p, 1 color per player, Territory control Hextris: 2-3p, 1 color per player, Pattern building IcehouseP: 3-5p, 1 color per player, Real-time strategy Kotra: 2 or 4p, 1 color per player, Inspired by Backgammon Krump: 2p, 1 color per player, Abstract strategy Logger: 2-4p, 5 colors + 2 opaque trios, Growing & chopping Mandala: 2-5p, 5 colors, Set collection

Martian BackgammonP: 2p, 2 colors, Inspired by Backgammon Mega VolcanoP, SDG: 1-4p, 9 colors, Competitive puzzle Nile: 2p, 5 colors, Worker placement PylonA: 2p, 2 colors, Placement & stacking QuicksandA: 2p, 2 colors, Capture & rotation SprawlA: 3-8p, 1 color per player, Building & blocking Stack Control: 2-5p, 5 colors, Stacking & elimination Subdivision: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Restricted placement Synapse-Ice: 2p, 2 colors, Placement restriction TorpedoA: 2-5p, 1 per player, Real-time strategy UndercutA, 3-5p, 5 colors, Reverse auction Volcano (Classic)P, SDG: 1-4p, 5 colors (plus caps) ZagamiP: 4p, 4 colors, Engine building ZarcanaP: 2-4p, 1 color per player, Territory control ZendoA, P, SDG: 3-7p, 4 colors, Inductive reasoning

• Full list of games requiring Five trios per color

Six Trios per Color or More

CalderaP: 2-3p, 5 colors, Competitive puzzle

• Full list of games requiring Six trios per color or more

Number of Players

Choose the number of players you have on hand to play:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
games for play groups that can be any size

Other Languages

Czech

Esperanto

French (Francaise)

German (Deutsch)

Polish (Polski)

Slovak

Spanish (Español)

Online Play

Online implementations of various games at:

• Abstract Play - turn based PbW
• Board Game Arena
• BoardSpace