Mariposas

About this board game

Mariposas is a board game for 2–5 players that takes about 75 minutes, inviting players to experience the remarkable migration of monarch butterflies through movement and set collection.

Every spring, millions of monarchs leave Mexico and spread across eastern North America. In the fall, millions make the journey back to Mexico—but no single butterfly completes the round trip. This natural cycle provides the setting for a game about movement, generations, and successful butterfly families.

The game unfolds over three seasons, with the general direction of travel changing as the year progresses:

• Spring: Butterflies try to head north.
• Summer: Butterflies spread out.
• Fall: Butterflies return south.

Players move their butterflies across the game and work toward set collection goals during this changing journey. Each season ends with a scoring round, giving the migration a clear rhythm as butterflies travel north, disperse, and begin the return south.

At the end of fall, the final scoring determines which player has built the most successful family of butterflies. Victory points decide the winner, rewarding the player whose family has achieved the greatest success over the full three-season journey.

Released in 2020, Mariposas turns the monarch migration into an accessible thematic experience. Its combination of seasonal movement, set collection, and changing travel direction makes the journey itself central to every game, while the final score reflects the success of each player’s butterfly family.