Àiyé

About the game

What is Àiyé?

The collective is stronger than the individual. In the civilization of Àiyé (pronounced ah-ee-EH), these words hold true. They prioritize harmony amongst their people, resulting in a strong and powerful society. With the help of the natural elements, their leaders will harness the power of the sun and moon to lead the Àiyé civilization to fulfill their destiny. Àiyé brings a fresh look at one of the first board game mechanisms, the mancala. On each turn, players sow seeds on a mancala of card columns, activating abilities of the last sowed column. During the game, players will expand and improve their columns, building a unique mancala full of possibilities and combinations. Each player's turn is divided in 3 steps: Sow, Column Activation and Village. Sowing is the mancala motor that allows players to choose which column is activated. To Sow, players pick up all energy seeds from one space below a column and adds one seed to each space below the following columns. In the Village, energy seeds may be spent to summon up characters and gain masks. Cards grant columns different abilities like gaining energy seeds, moving cards or seeds, and blocking other players' columns. Mask cards also reward points at the end of the game based on different scoring conditions. The game ends when a player gains the fourth Mask card or if a player has 18 cards in their play area at the end of the round. Whoever manages their cards and sowings best is the winner who will lead the community to a bright future.

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Àiyé?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?