Codinca

About this board game

Codinca is a strategic tile-manipulation game for 2–4 players, played in about 30 minutes. Deep in the rain forests of the Yucatan, rival treasure hunters compete to unlock a lost temple by recreating the key patterns hidden on its altar.

Each player controls four matching symbol tiles: Air, Water, Earth, or Fire. The sixteen carved tiles can be switched with adjacent tiles and turned over, revealing either a stone side or a gold side. Players must maneuver their own tiles into four required patterns, drawn at the beginning of the game.

• A block of four
• A line of four
• Four corners of a group of nine tiles, including the outside corners
• A diagonal line of four

On a turn, you may switch and flip one of your tiles with an adjacent tile, or make an additional switch involving one of your tiles. You may also flip two tiles, provided one belongs to you. These choices create opportunities to advance your own patterns while disrupting the developing arrangement.

Each player also receives three Spirit Cards. Their bonus move options, Line Push and Rotate Four, can help disguise your intentions. The reverse side of a Spirit Card shows a Trap Pattern, which can be used to change a matching display from gold to stone or from stone to gold.

Required patterns may be completed in any order. In Codinca, careful positioning, well-timed flips, and deceptive special moves all matter as players race to complete their four patterns first and unlock the secrets of the temple.