🐟 KOI – The Italian board game that lets you build a real Zen pond
From the creators of Bonsai and published by DV Games – a family strategy and zen solitaire game among carp, water lilies and meditation.
You clear the table, open the box, and there's only air in front of you. Then you turn over the first water tile and place it. At that moment your pond comes into existence . In KOI you don't control heroes, armies, or spaceships: you are a koi carp breeder designing a 3D Japanese pond, piece by piece, in a constant balance between beauty and score.
It is a strategic family board game for 1–4 players , with games lasting about 45 minutes and rules accessible to those aged 10 and up . And if the evening is all yours? There's a dedicated solo mode that turns KOI into a personal ritual of calm and optimization.
🎍 What kind of game is KOI?
KOI is a multi-level tile placement with variable objectives, light resource management and a very strong aesthetic component. It's designed as family+ : easy to teach, but with decisions that make more experienced players shine.
No gratuitous nastiness, no low blows: the competition is all about who can create the most harmonious and intelligent pond , by better understanding the objectives and making the most of your Sensei's actions.
📌 Quick Card
- Players: 1–4
- Duration: ~45 minutes
- Age: 10+
- Type: strategic family, abstract zen
- Mode: Competitive + Full Solo
- Publisher: DV Games
- Authors: Rosaria Battiato, Massimo Borzì, Martino Chiacchiera
- Illustrator: Emiliano Castellano
💧 How KOI Works – Without Making a Manual
Each turn you choose between two paths: Meditate or Work . It sounds simple, but this is where KOI hooks you: you decide when to prepare and when to act.
1️⃣ Meditate – fill your mind (and your storehouse)
If you meditate, you don't touch the pond. Fish cards , earn coins , buy new koi from the market. This is the phase where you prepare the big shot, study the objectives and imagine your next perfect turn.
2️⃣ Work – Sensei takes action
When you Work, you use the skills on your Sensei board to place Tile ponds , carp, 3D structures and improve your pond. The actions are few, but powerful: each choice is almost a little puzzle.
3️⃣ Multi-level tile placement
The 170 Pond tiles create waterways, islets, and inlets. Some elements overlap, others modify what was there before: It's layered tile placement, not just flat on the board.
4️⃣ Shared goals, personal style
Objective cards and tiles define patterns, areas to monitor, koi and landscape combinations. They are common to everyone, but everyone interprets them in their own way: There are those who play "like engineers" and those who play "like artists".
📦 Inside the box: an entire pond to design
KOI is one of those games that as soon as you open the box gives you a feeling of abundance : many components, but used with clear logic. Inside you will find:
- • 1 scoreboard
- • 4 Sensei boards
- • 4 Source tiles
- • 170 Pond tiles
- • 21 Carp tiles
- • 30 Coins
- • 12 Luck tokens
- • 48 playing cards
- • 4 Summary cards
- • 10 Objective cards
- • 26 Objective tiles
- • 6 Warehouse expansion tiles
- • 1 scorepad
- • Complete regulation in Italian
🧘 Solitaire mode and table feeling
Solitary: you, the pond and the right silence
Solo mode is not a “little extra”: it is designed to offer you a real challenge of zen optimization . You have goals to pursue, precise constraints, and very few turns to build the pond you want. It's perfect if you want a solitaire board game that isn't a dry puzzle, but a relaxing visual experience.
Multi-player: polite, but true competition
At a 2–4 player table, KOI is a contest of elegance . You don't steal things from your face, but you control the pace of others, you anticipate the moment when They will meditate, exploit shared goals before they do. It's the classic game where at the end everyone looks at the ponds and says: “Okay, yours is objectively better looking, but let’s see who really won.”
✨ The KOI tidbits that few people tell you
- 🐟 In Japanese, koi refers to the multicolored carp , often also called the “swimming flower”: In many cultures it is a symbol of perseverance, luck and beauty that resists the current.
- 🌿 The team of authors is the same as Bonsai : the basic idea was to create a “ Water Bonsai ”, where the calm of the gesture counts as much as the final result.
- 🎨 Emiliano Castellano 's illustrations are designed to work both up close (details of koi and water lilies), be “one meter away”: KOI is one of those games that makes you stop and look at the table even if you are not playing.
- 🧩 The Meditate/Work structure was created to have slow rhythms but intense decisions : KOI doesn't want you to rush, it wants you to choose well.
- 🧘 DV Games openly presents it as a cozy game : a title that doesn't squeeze your brain, but makes you feel good while playing it.
Ready to design your first KOI pond?
If you are looking for a modern board game that combines strategy, calm, solitaire mode and a showcase aesthetic , KOI is one of those titles that is worth having in your collection. After every game you will remember not only who won, but how your pond was breathing .
🐟 Discover KOI on FroGames
https://frogames.it
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