Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
As a koi fish, you spend your days (turns) swimming to and fro by playing a number of movement cards, with the goal of gobbling up as many dragonflies and frogs as you can every day.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Events
Triggered events alter the shared state, rules, or available choices.
Take That
Direct negative effects at selected opponents.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Read the full game description
As a koi fish, you spend your days (turns) swimming to and fro by playing a number of movement cards, with the goal of gobbling up as many dragonflies and frogs as you can every day. Each movement card has from two to four programmed moves — straight, turn, rotate any direction and leap over a space — with some moves being mandatory when played and others being optional. Your tranquil koi pond begins with some decorative stone and a few lily pads, but you will also receive natural beauty cards in your hand that allow a player to add more lily pads, cherry blossoms, ornamental stone and frogs — which both enhances the beauty of the pond and causes turmoil beneath the still waters for the other koi. Lily pads are great as they spawn dragonflies every turn, each of which is worth 3 victory points when eaten. Cherry blossoms ripple the surface of the water as they land, causing all living things to scatter in the opposite direction — and if you play the blossoms wisely, right into your mouth! Stones prevent fish from entering a space and are best placed to block an opponent's path to a meal. Frogs are delicious 1 VP meals all their own, but they also eat dragonflies in adjacent spaces, so often they are placed to deprive opponents of their dinner. As the weather changes and a new event card is revealed for the day in KOI, so must your strategy change. At the end of seven days, the game comes to an end, with the best-fed fish being declared the winner. Be wise, be quick, or go hungry. Persevere and you shall succeed. Also features a solo play mode, where you must outscore a programmed AI opponent, with adjustable difficulty settings.