There is something soothing about casting lanterns across the water, and Lanterns Dice captures that peaceful magic with the gentle clatter of dice and the satisfying scratch of pencil on paper. This one’s for those evenings when you want something thoughtful but not too heavy, something pretty but not just a decoration piece. This is where Lanterns Dice shines.

The box opens to reveal a tranquil lake, but beneath the surface is a clever little game of timing and planning. Each round begins with four colorful dice rolled and placed in a square. You and your fellow players are each sitting on a side of the table and receive the color of the die facing you. These colors determine which lantern shapes you will draw into your grid. The lake slowly fills with floating lanterns as players sketch them in, trying to form complete shapes and clever clusters.

There’s a lovely puzzle here. You’re always trying to balance your own goals with the patterns emerging across the lake. Should you go for that symmetrical firework burst for big points, or chase the Emperor Cards before someone else snatches it up? Here are a few of the Emperor Cards..

It’s quiet but competitive. Gentle, but with real choices to make. Everyone’s working on their own board, yet there’s a shared experience as the fireworks build up and the round ends with a satisfying spark.

At the beginning of the game, each player receives a lake board and a pencil to track their lantern placements. Below you can see the reference cards cards, that I always depend on.
To start a round, four colorful dice are rolled and arranged into a square at the center of the table.

Each player then looks at the die and writes down the corresponding shape and color of the lantern tile on their board. As the game progresses, players continue filling in their lake boards with lanterns, aiming to complete fireworks patterns and earn Gifts. Players can also spend these strategically to rotate dice or take extra actions during their turn. The game continues for a set number of rounds, and when it ends, the player with the highest score is declared the winner.

It’s a smooth 30-minute game, and the rules are easy enough for middle schoolers, but strategic enough to keep older players interested too. Lanterns Dice rewards both short-term tactics and long-term vision. It scratches that Tetris-like itch of fitting shapes together, but with a calming theme and gorgeous components. The artwork is bright but never loud. The dice are cheerful. The boards are satisfying to fill in.

Even after a long day, this one hits the spot. It plays well with two, three, or four players, and there’s very little downtime. You’re always engaged, always planning your next move. This game is ideal for players who enjoy cartographers, roll-and-writes, or any game where beauty and brains meet on the table.

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