Latice Hawai'i
Latice Hawai'i Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Shuffle the color tiles and deal them out evenly to all players, so that each player has a personal stock of 42 tiles. Each player draws from their own stock to keep a hand of tiles, refilling their hand from their stock whenever they finish playing the tiles they were holding.
Place the Moon Square — the star tile at the center of the board — to begin the game. Every game opens on the Moon Square.
Set the Wind tiles and the stone supply (sunstones and halfstones) within reach of all players.
The Goal
The first player to play all of their tiles wins. If neither player can finish, the player with the fewest tiles remaining wins.
Matching Rules
A tile may be placed next to an existing tile when it matches by color or shape. Every adjacent tile must match: if your placement touches two neighbors, both need a color or shape match.
Combos: Doubles, Trefoils, and Latices
Double — match a tile on two sides at once and earn a halfstone. Collect two halfstones and you can play a second tile in one turn.
Trefoil — match on three sides and earn a sunstone, the game's most valuable currency.
Latice — the namesake move: match on all four sides for two sunstones (three if it lands on a Sun Square).
Stones and Extra Moves
A sunstone buys one extra move, or save three to buy a Wind tile.
You can hold at most three sunstones — extras are discarded at the end of your turn.
Two halfstones are spent automatically when you play a second tile in a turn.
Wind Tiles and Sun Squares
Wind tiles let you shift any tile on the board one square — and you get a free move after using one. Shifting a tile can open up a Trefoil or Latice that wasn't there before.
Sun Squares are the decorated squares near the corners. Land a tile on one for a bonus sunstone.
Exchanging Tiles
Stuck with an unplayable rack? You can exchange a tile instead of placing one — sometimes a fresh draw plays far better than forcing a weak move.
An Example Turn
- First move: play a color tile to make a Trefoil.
- Buy a move to play a Wind tile, then use the extra move to make a Latice on a Sun Square.
- Buy an Exchange to try for better tiles.
- Buy a move to play a color tile and make a Double.
- Buy a move to play a color tile on the Sun Square.
All five tiles played! Draw new tiles and continue with the next player.
More Ways to Play
Fast Start
Draw nine color tiles and place them in an X formation with the Moon Square at center, as shown. Distribute all remaining tiles starting with the first player. Each player starts with one sunstone. Play proceeds as usual.
Spike
Draw 21 color tiles and place them in a star formation with the Moon Square at center, as shown. Distribute all remaining tiles starting with the first player. Each player starts with one sunstone and one halfstone. Play proceeds as usual.
Endgame
Draw 33 color tiles and place them in a large star formation with the Moon Square at center, as shown. Distribute all remaining tiles starting with the first player. Each player starts with two sunstones. Play proceeds as usual.
Kiddie Mode
For younger kids, set the Wind tiles aside so they can practice matching colors and shapes. Play one move per turn and award a halfstone for matching on one side and a sunstone when matches are made on more than one side.
Match Play
Normal match: the first player to win 2 games wins the match (ties don't count).
Championship match: same as normal match, but 3 games are needed to win.
More Than Four Players?
You can play in teams, or you can combine two Latice sets and place the boards side by side. Distribute the tiles evenly and use Fast Start, Spike, or Endgame (above) on both boards to get things started. Play proceeds as usual, with players free to play on either of the two boards.
Timed Matches
Use the timer to limit each player's turn to no more than one minute. If the player hasn't completed their turn when the timer runs out, they should stop and draw tiles.
Or you can play two-player timed matches with a chess timer.
- Regulation play: 5 minutes per player plus 6 seconds bonus time per turn.
- Blitz: 3 minutes per player plus 5 seconds bonus time per turn.
- Bullet: 90 seconds per player plus 4 seconds bonus time per turn.
Strategy Tips
Build toward multi-side matches. A tile that only ever matches one neighbor earns nothing; shape your placements so future tiles can touch two or three sides.
Bank halfstones early. Double-tile turns are how you outpace an even game.
Save Wind tiles for Latice setups. One shift often converts a Trefoil spot into a four-side Latice.
Deny Sun Squares. If you can't take a Sun Square this turn, avoid opening a match that hands it to your opponent.
Watch both racks' pace. The win is tiles played, not stones held — spend stones before the endgame.