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Pondscape

Lay tiles, build ponds and paths

People on this device

Computer players

Take turns adding a tile to the countryside so its edges match. Put your ducks on ponds, paths and nests, and score when they’re finished. Highest score after the last tile wins.

Not in the same room? Play online while you talk on a call, each on your own phone.

More info

How to play

  • On your turn you get one tile. Put it next to the tiles already down so every edge matches its neighbour: pond to pond, path to path and meadow to meadow. Tap a lit square to try it there, and Turn to rotate it.
  • Then you may put one of your seven ducks on that tile: on a pond, a path or a nest. You can only claim a pond or path nobody holds yet, but two separate ones can grow together later.
  • When a pond is closed all round, a path has two ends, or a nest has tiles on all eight sides, whoever has the most ducks on it scores (a tie scores for everyone tied) and those ducks come back.

Scoring

  • A finished path: 1 point a tile.
  • A finished pond: 2 points a tile, and 2 more for each lily pad.
  • A full nest: 9 points.
  • After the last tile, anything unfinished still scores for whoever holds it: 1 a tile (and a lily pad), and a nest 1 plus each tile around it.

Tips

Ponds are worth the most, but a pond with lots of open edges may never close. Nests are a steady 9 if the middle of the map fills in around them. Sharing a big pond is often better than letting someone else take it alone: add a duck nearby and join up later.