
D: Sabrina Culyba
P: Ludoliminal , 25th Century A: Nim Ben Reuven
1-4 pl | 30 min | ages 8+ | MSRP $50 | BGG Entry
Time to teach & learn: 4-5 minutes
Game Synopsis
A diatom is a single cell micro algae, a type of plankton, found in Earth’s waterways. They make up over half the biomass in all oceans and produce a massive portion of the oxygen in our atmosphere. Diatoms have iridescent silica shells which produce colorful displays, thus earning them the moniker “jewels of the sea.” Their shells form simple symmetrical geometric shapes.
In the 19th century, as microscopes opened our eyes to this magnificent unseen world, creative naturalists began arranging diatoms into artful mosaics on glass slides. This was an incredibly painstaking process, washing and placing each tiny delicate diatom into patterns.
In this game, each player is a dedicated naturalist, creating microscopic mosiacs from diatoms you collect from a nearby pond. There are many factors to balance when deciding what tiny shapes to collect and where to place them on your board. Create the most pleasing arrangement to score well and win the day.

Why We Love Diatoms
Diatoms is a tile laying game in two stages – first public, then personal. Each offers a cozy and engaging puzzle.
The public puzzle is the pond. Choosing from your hand of hexagonal tiles, you will add a new piece to the pond, a shared game board players will build as they play. When you connect a group of three pond tiles, you collect diatom samples based on how many color slices you have connected. The lens, a cardboard monocle of sorts, is an ingenious tool to help you identify each sample point and determine which diatom tiles you will take. Connect five slices? Collect a five pointed star. Four slices? a square. Three? a triangle… and so on. In many cases, you’ll collect a variety of diatoms from each sample point. The public puzzle is this: how to collect the best assortment of diatoms without leaving the next player an even better selection.

Once you collect diatoms, you move to stage two: how best to arrange these tiles on your “microscopic” mosaic board. Three concentric rings form a bullseye pattern and along each ring are recessed spaces matching one or more diatom shape. This is no free-for-all. Each shape will only fit on certain spaces on the board. You’ll score for arranging symmetrical pairs of diatoms across each ring. You’ll score for how many different diatom shapes you can collect on each ring. And you’ll score for collecting lots of diatoms of a color. These three scoring rules combine to create a devilishly fun puzzle as your mosaic takes shape.

Even in the world of modern board games where nerdy themes reign supreme, it is hard to imagine a more esoteric subject than creating art from algae. The danger in engaging such a geeky subject is becoming mired in the minutiae of the theme. Often this results in a long, involved, and overly complicated experience, enjoyable by only a select few. Diatoms deftly avoids tumbling down this rabbit hole. It embraces its fascinating theme and opens it up to the widest array of players possible. the concepts and skills needed to learn diatoms are approachable – create patterns of colors in the pond to collect and make patterns of tiles in your mosaic. One puzzle feeds the other in a relaxed and organic way. Some may play for blood, but in our experience, there is fun in helping each other puzzle out the best placements especially as the game winds to a close.
Diatoms never overstays its welcome. And, as you gain more confidence, you can add persnickety or easygoing judge cards who add bonus or penalty scoring rules. There are also commissions and a solo career mode for those wanting to explore the game from new angles.
Diatoms is a beautifully appointed game that leans into this unlikely marriage of science and art, from its Petri dishes to the iridescent diatom tiles. It is a triumph that celebrates and elevates a beautiful nerdy and accessible species of Major Fun.
Congratulations designer Sabrina Culyba!
More information on Diatoms at publisher sites:
Ludoliminal | 25th Century Games
