Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx
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Build the wrong tower and the group loses a piece. Lose the last piece and the puzzle restarts from the beginning. Every move counts, every tower is a choice you make together.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
When Santorini stops being a race and becomes an adventure
Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx is a cooperative expansion designed by James Van Niekerk and Paul Saxberg that transforms the renowned abstract game into a scenario-based campaign. Santorini's white towers remain, but now you build them together to solve tactical puzzles instead of competing.
Each puzzle is a scenario with specific objectives: you must place pawns, complete patterns, and position precise towers. If you run out of pieces before solving the puzzle, you restart. Each solved puzzle unlocks new Greek deities with unique powers to incorporate into subsequent puzzles. It's Santorini telling a story.
What they say abroad
"Santorini: The Riddle of the Sphinx is a co-operative expansion for Santorini that adapts the competitive experience into an ongoing adventure that players navigate together."
— Roxley
Riddle of the Sphinx is the answer for those who wanted Santorini with less competition and more shared adventure
— FroGames
Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx
The game includes an official solo mode with dedicated puzzles. The experience is complete: solve scenarios, unlock deities, manage resources on your own. It only loses the cooperative debate but gains in pace and pure puzzle concentration.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat's in the box
The elements that build the adventure
Puzzle book
Dozens of scenarios of increasing difficulty, each with specific objectives to complete. Each solved puzzle opens the next page and unlocks new deities.
Santorini towers and pawns
The iconic white towers from the base game. Here you don't use them to win, but to solve: every placed tower is a spent resource, every built level counts.
Cooperative deity cards
Special Greek powers unlockable during the campaign. They don't give you competitive advantages: they help you overcome more complex puzzles with unique tactical abilities.
Adventure map
Track your progress through the puzzles. See which deities you've unlocked, which scenarios remain, where you've reached in the Sphinx's story.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of each turn
Each turn is a simple sequence: move, build, check. But each move consumes limited resources.
Choose one of your workers and move them to an adjacent square. You can move up one level, down as many as you want, but not jump two floors. The final position determines where you can build.
Build a tower level in a square adjacent to the worker you just moved. Take a piece from the common supply: each piece used is one less for the rest of the puzzle.
Check if you have completed the scenario's objective: specific tower patterns, worker positions, required heights. If yes, puzzle solved. If not, next turn.
If you have unlocked deities, you can use their powers: extra moves, special constructions, broken rules. Each power has usage limits: using it now means not having it later.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Open the puzzle and read the objective
The book shows a grid, an objective to complete, a limit of pieces. Look at the empty board and start thinking: what towers are needed, in what order, where to place your workers. The first move seems easy. It never is.
Each turn removes a piece from the supply
Build, move, execute. The tower supply dwindles. Someone suggests one path, someone sees another. You realize that a misplaced tower three turns ago is now blocking you. You can't go back.
Pieces are scarce, the solution is still not there
Five towers remain. The objective is far away. Review the plan, look for more efficient moves, optimize every single action. Someone suggests an unlocked divine power: use it now or save it for later?
The last tower decides everything
Two pieces left. A worker must move to a precise position, build exactly there. If it works, the puzzle is solved. If you make a mistake, you start all over again. No one talks. Place the tower.
Puzzle solved: unlock the next deity
The objective is complete. Turn the page: the book shows you the newly unlocked deity and the next puzzle. Look at the adventure map: one step closer to the Sphinx. Ready for the next one?
🐸What to know beforehandThree honest things, from friends▼
What to know beforehand
Three things a friend would tell you
Base game required
This is an expansion: it is not standalone. You need Santorini to play. Towers, worker pawns, board: everything comes from the original game. If you don't have it, this box is not enough.
The first puzzles are tutorials
The initial scenarios are simple, almost trivial if you already know Santorini. They serve to get you into the cooperative logic. The difficulty increases later, but the first games might bore experienced players.
With 4 players, there's a lot of discussion
More players mean more ideas, more debate, more time per turn. The risk of quarterbacking exists: someone might dominate the decisions. With 2 players or solo, the pace is faster.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Each puzzle has precise conditions. Complete the objective with the available pieces, or start over.
Puzzle solved
- Complete the scenario objective (tower patterns, specific positions, required heights)
- Unlock the indicated deity and proceed to the next page of the book
- Update the adventure map: you are one step closer to the end of the campaign
Puzzle failed
- Run out of all tower pieces in the supply before completing the objective
- The puzzle remains unsolved: you must restart it from the beginning (same difficulty, same scenario)
- No permanent penalty: you can try again as many times as needed, but progression is blocked
Riddle of the Sphinx is Santorini that stops being a duel and becomes a journey. Each puzzle is an evening, each unlocked deity a milestone. If you're looking for cooperation with white towers, it's here.
💬Frequently Asked QuestionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx
Do I really need the base game or can I play with just this box?
The base game is needed. This expansion includes only the puzzle book, deity cards, and map. Towers, workers, board come from the original Santorini. Without it, you cannot play.
How many puzzles are there and how long does the complete campaign last?
The book contains dozens of scenarios of increasing difficulty, plus various variants and optional modes. The main campaign requires several sessions (estimated 10-15 hours total), but you can play individual puzzles without following the narrative order.
Are the deities the same as in the base game or are they new?
Some deities return adapted for cooperative play, others are completely new and designed to solve puzzles instead of beating opponents. The powers work differently: they don't give competitive advantages, they help the group overcome complex objectives.
What mechanics does Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx use?
Grid movement, vertical building, cooperative objective puzzles, limited resource management, variable powers. It's a game of spatial optimization: move workers, build towers, complete tactical patterns. Each puzzle is a puzzle to solve together with limited pieces.
Is it available in Italian?
This edition is in English. The text is limited: puzzle objectives and power descriptions. If you already know the base Santorini, the language is not an obstacle: the mechanics are identical, only the objectives change.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx is a cooperative expansion for 1-4 players, ages 8+, lasting 20 minutes per puzzle. Designed by James Van Niekerk and Paul Saxberg, it transforms the renowned abstract game into a scenario-based campaign: solve tactical puzzles by building towers and placing workers, unlock Greek deities with unique powers, and advance on the adventure map. Each puzzle is a cooperative spatial puzzle with limited resources. It requires the Santorini base game (not standalone). Published by Roxley, it combines grid movement, vertical building, and resource management in a progressive narrative structure. Available on FroGames.it.
Santorini: Riddle of the Sphinx
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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