XOTOXO GAMES | ATHANGUDI: Artisans of Chettinad

Publisher: XOTOXO Games

No.of Players: 2-4

Ages: 14+

Playing time: 40 mins

Story:

Athangudi (pronounced Aa-thun-gu-dee) is a tiny South Indian village located in the Chettinad region, in Tamil Nadu. It is famous for hand-made floor tiles made by artisans of the village. Using a limited colour palette and geometric motifs, these tiles create intricate patterns with symmetry and repetitiveness and are coveted by architects and homeowners alike.

In this game, you play the role of a master artisan who has to lay the floor of a Chettinad Mansion using Athangudi tiles. You compete with other players to lay the most impressive floor & to score the highest to win.

All players progressively lay their own floor of 16 tiles in a 4x4 grid in front of them. The floor is built over four rounds. Each round involves each player picking four tiles from a central supply, keeping one they want & passing the remainder clockwise around the table. By drafting one tile from a progressively depleting pile that's passed by each player around the table, you collect four tiles each round. You can temporarily store these tiles while you wait for a better one, or place them on your floor to score points. Tiles placed on the floor are "set in cement" & cannot be changed for the rest of the game.

You can score points by completing motifs, sequences or goals. Scoring is done at the end of each round, so completing motifs, sequences or goals earlier in the game can help you score higher. At the end of the game, you also score for the neatness of the floor, so make sure you're tidy while playing!

The final score is the sum of the scores of the four rounds, plus the end-game scoring. The highest score wins.