Lava Flows
Overview
Lava Flows is a game of...
Materials
| materials needed: 12 pyramids and a 3×3 grid | |||
Setup
- Each player chooses a color and takes all the large pyramids of that color.
- Each player secretly places a medium black pyramid under one of his larges, a medium white pyramid under another of his larges, and nothing at all under the last large.
- Each player places these large pyramids on the three spaces closest to her.
- With the white and black medium pyramids remaining, shuffle them to randomly determine who will go first.
- Stack the two medium pyramids with the first player's piece on the bottom, in the center square.
Initial Setup. The black pyramid is on top of the stack in the center square, so white will move first.
Play
Each turn, take one action from the below options.
- Move a Piece: Lift a piece in your own color, either a single piece or the top piece in a stack, and move it one space orthogonally. It may enter an occupied space; if so, place your piece on top of whatever is there.
- Slide a Stack: Slide an entire stack (or a single piece) one space orthogonally. It may not enter an empty space.
- Bubble Up: Move the lowest piece in a stack to the top of that stack. If the lowest piece is visible, simple do it; if the lowest piece cannot be seen, you have to say what color it is, then reveal the piece. If you were correct, proceed to place that piece on top of the stack. If incorrect, the bottom-most piece stays where it is and your turn is over. Bubbling Up is not allowed on a stack where your opponent Bubbled Up on his previous turn.
- Lava Tube Ejection: If a stack contains an Oreo-like structure (white-black-white or black-white-black), you may remove this middle piece and move it one space orthogonally. You may even do this if the pattern is not currently visible: just correctly announce the existence and color of such a situation, then reveal your statement to be correct before proceeding to move the middle piece.
- Pass: Do nothing.
Solidification
When you have pieces in this configuration in your goal row (the row closest to your opponent), the two pieces form a Cinder Cone. A Cinder Cone behaves as though glued in place: its constituent parts may never be separated, and it may never move from that spot. If it is part of a stack when this happens, the Cinder Cone sinks to the bottom of that stack, with the other pyramids maintaining their relative order. Pieces on top of a Cinder Cone may move as normal, and new pieces may jump on top of it. However, a second Cinder Cone is never allowed to form in the same space.
| Two cindercones | |
History
Lava Flows was the 2017 Looney Labs gift to fans, published in December 2017. An extended Pyramid Arcade card was included with online orders.