Ley of the Land

A tile-laying game for 2 players

Components Link to heading

  • 81 Land Tiles
    • 18 tiles with one green triangle
    • 18 with one orange triangle
    • 24 split in half down the middle
    • 24 “cross tiles”
    • plus one extra as the start tile (so, 25)
    • and 2 Crop Circle (all yellow)
    • two Faerie Ring (all green).
    • 18 + 18 + 24 + 25 + 2 + 2 = 89.
    • One tile is the start tile, brings it down to 88. then each player divides the remaining 44 tiles evenly.
  • 1 9 x 9 grid board
  • 1 bag.

Object Link to heading

Score the most points by building territories using land tiles.

Setup Link to heading

Place the board in the center of the table. There are two ways to play Ley of the Land – either with or without using the bag. Decide which way to play.

If playing the bag version, put all of the land tiles into the bag, except for the Fairie Ring and Crop Circle tiles, which are the land tiles of only a single color, and a single “cross tile” – that is, a land tile with four triangular sections, and with the two sections of the same color across from each other.

If playing the non-bag version, instead place the cross tile and Fairie Ring/Crop Circle tiles to the side, and then sort and distribute the remaining land tiles among the two players, making sure each player receives the same number of each of the remaining tiles.

No matter the version, each player also receives a single Fairie Ring and a single Crop Circle tile.

Once all land tiles are either distributed or in the bag, place the cross tile previously set aside in the center space of the board’s grid.

Decide who goes first.

Gameplay Link to heading

Without the Bag Link to heading

On each player’s turn, they may play a tile from their supply to the grid, or pass. Once both players pass in succession, the game ends and the score is counted.

With the Bag Link to heading

On each player’s turn, they first decide whether to play one of the Fairie Ring/Crop Circle tiles to the grid, or draw a land tile from the bag. If they draw a land tile from the bag, they must then play it. If there is no legal move to make with the tile drawn, it is returned to the bag, and the player passes. Once both players pass in succession, the game ends and the score is counted.

When playing a land tile, a player must ensure that at least one of the tile’s sides connect to another tile, and that all of the tile’s colors match up with the land tiles already played. If all of the colors don’t match, then the play is illegal.

Territories Link to heading

A completed territory is a completely enclosed area made of diamonds, with no free edges, which include tiles touching the edge of the board.

Scoring Link to heading

All incomplete territories score zero points. All complete territories score one point per diamond that they are comprised of. If the territory contains a Fairie Ring or Crop Circle, it scores an extra four points.

At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player who went second wins.

Credits Link to heading