KOI

About this board game

KOI is a pond-themed game for 1–4 players that takes about 60 minutes to play. As a koi fish, you swim through a changing pond over seven days, seeking food while competing with other fish for the best meals.

Each turn, play movement cards containing two to four programmed moves. Cards can direct your koi straight ahead, around a turn, through a rotation, or over a space with a leap. Some movements are mandatory, while others are optional, creating meaningful choices as you navigate the pond.

Your pond begins with decorative stones and a few lily pads, while natural beauty cards let you add more features. These additions make the pond more beautiful, but they also disturb the water and affect every koi’s hunt.

• Lily pads spawn dragonflies each turn, and each dragonfly is worth 3 victory points when eaten.
• Frogs are worth 1 victory point, but they also eat dragonflies in adjacent spaces.
• Cherry blossoms scatter living things in the opposite direction when they land.
• Ornamental stones block fish from entering spaces and can obstruct an opponent’s route.

At the start of each day, a new event card reflects changing weather and forces you to adapt your plans. Decide when to pursue a meal, when to place obstacles, and how to use the pond’s features to disrupt competing koi.

After seven days, the best-fed fish wins. KOI also includes a solo mode in which you must outscore a programmed AI opponent, with adjustable difficulty settings.