Laniakea

About this board game

Laniakea is a two-player strategy game with a 40-minute playing time, in which players race five tokens across a Hawaiian beach while avoiding turtles and adapting to a changing board.

Each player begins with eight colored tokens in their starting zone. The board uses six rows of four domino-style wooden tiles, selected from a supply of 28; each tile shows two sandy spaces, two turtles, or a combination of sand and a turtle.

On your turn, move two tokens one space each or move one token two spaces. Movement is orthogonal, and tokens may land on other tokens, whether friendly or opposing. However, a token can never land on a turtle.

After moving, slide the remaining tile into either side of the row where your last-moved token landed. This action ejects another tile from the board, and any tokens on that tile return to their respective starting zone. The shifting rows can therefore disrupt positions just as you are preparing to advance.

• Stacking: Tokens can form stacks up to three high.
• Stack movement: A token moving from the top of a stack travels two or three spaces, depending on the stack’s height, and can jump over turtles.
• Victory: A token that reaches the opponent’s starting zone remains there.

Careful movement and timing are essential as you decide where to place tokens and when to shift a row. The first player to cross the board with five of their tokens wins.

With its wooden tokens, shifting domino-style tiles, and persistent turtle obstacles, Laniakea creates a compact race where every move can reshape the route ahead.