Get ready for Diatoms - A Game of Microscopic Proportions

Welcome, aspiring aquabotanists, to the secretive hidden world of the diatom!
Did you know in every drop of water around us there are tiny organisms of exquisite geometric beauty? They are the only creatures on our planet with cell walls made from silica, giving them a twinkling, jewel-like quality. Here at the Society for the Microscopic Arts, we collect these fascinating diatoms and delicately arrange them on slides into beautiful mosaics. These miniature works of art are so small they can only be truly seen and appreciated with a microscope. As part of your induction into the Society, you will each create your own entry for today’s Exhibition of Microscopic Mosaics.

In Diatoms the board game, you vie with your fellow players to collect and place diatom tiles to create mosaics. Take turns placing tiles representing algae colonies, earning diatoms of different colors and shapes. Then strategically place these diatoms on your own mosaic, taking care to consider how your arrangement will be scored by the judges at the end of the game. Everyone will create a unique, shimmery mosaic, but only one player will win the first place ribbon for their microscopic art!

Diatoms supports 2-4 players and plays in 30-40 minutes.

Diatom mosaics are a real thing, though this artform has only ever been practiced by a vanishingly small number of people. Diatoms themselves are also a pretty big deal as they produce up to 50% of the oxygen we breathe.

Celebrate both obscure art and the ubiquitous wonder of science with this beautiful, cozy, thinky game!