Overview

Alaska is a board game published by Ravensburger in 1979 where players compete to retrieve their colored container blocks from a central island and transport them across an ice sheet back to their camp before the spring thaw breaks up the ice. The game plays in two phases: in Winter, players lay hex ice tiles to build paths across the board; in Spring, the ice begins to break and players race to move their containers to safety.

Components

• Hex game board
• Hexagonal ice tiles
• Colored container blocks (one set per player)
• Player camp markers
• Spring thaw tokens or mechanism

Setup

1. Place the game board centrally with the island in the middle.
2. Each player places their container blocks on the central island.
3. Each player sets up their camp on their assigned edge of the board.
4. Shuffle the ice tiles and prepare them for drafting.

Turn Structure

The game consists of two phases:

Phase 1: Winter

Players take turns placing hexagonal ice tiles on the board, building a network of ice paths from the central island toward their camps. Tile placement is strategic — players try to create paths favorable to their own containers while blocking opponents.

Phase 2: Spring / Thaw

Players take turns moving their containers across the ice tiles toward their camps. As the thaw progresses, ice tiles are removed from the board, eliminating paths and potentially stranding containers. Players must balance speed with route security.

Actions

Place Ice Tile (Winter)

On your turn during Winter, draw and place an ice tile on the board adjacent to existing tiles, extending the ice sheet.

Move Container (Spring)

On your turn during Spring, move one of your containers along connected ice tiles toward your camp. Movement distance may be limited per turn.

Thaw (Spring)

After movement, ice tiles may be removed according to thaw rules, breaking connections and creating gaps in the ice sheet.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The first player to move all of their containers from the central island back to their camp wins. If the ice breaks apart and no player can retrieve all containers, the player who has retrieved the most containers (or who has containers closest to their camp) wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Ice tiles removed during thaw destroy any containers still on them or strand containers on isolated ice floes.
• Players may intentionally place ice to block opponents during Winter.
• The thaw mechanic creates increasing urgency as the game progresses.
• Some variants use dice or cards to determine which tiles are removed during thaw.

Player Reference

Game Phases: Winter (lay ice tiles) → Spring (move containers + thaw)

Objective: Retrieve all your containers from the island to your camp before the ice melts.

Key Tension: Build good paths in Winter, race before they disappear in Spring.