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?
HOOK: Tile placement/area control game for 2-4 with a retro videogame flair, all in a super-portable package.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Enclosure
Surround spaces or pieces to claim territory, capture, or score.
Modular Board
Build the play area from interchangeable sections that vary between games.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Pattern Recognition
Identify recurring visual, spatial, or logical arrangements.
Read the full game description
HOOK: Tile placement/area control game for 2-4 with a retro videogame flair, all in a super-portable package. DESCRIPTION: In every classic JRPG, the heroes encountered a mysterious stranger, who gave them a map to a dungeon, and stocked them with potions, keys, and other provisions. But how was the map drawn? How did the wise stranger learn of all these dire warnings? In Overworld, you are the hero's mysterious mentor. All those years before you sent the hero to the underworld, you mapped the Overworld! By laying tiles, you will seek to claim regions of Forests or Mountains with your Bird meeples, and regions of Reefs or Whirlpools with your Ship meeples. When the tiles form a hole in the world, the player who explored the most tiles there will place a Dungeon Door meeple into the hole. Can you foresee uncertain spots in the geography, indeterminate in the distance? Will you uncover a dungeon... or wander the repeating pixel textures forever? GAMEPLAY: Players in Overworld will take turns placing L-shaped tiles, one at a time, drawn from a bag. Place it land-side up or water-side up, but water and land may not be adjacent. Or instead, play a Coast tile that connects land to water. When an empty gap is enclosed with tiles, the birds and ships which can enter the gap, without leaving their terrain type, will compete to let their player place a Dungeon Door there. The player whose Dungeon Door meeples are the farthest apart has discovered the largest and most valuable dungeon!