Overview

IceTowers is a fast-paced real-time game of pyramid stacking played without turns on any flat surface. Players simultaneously place and move colored pyramids, building towers and competing for control. If your piece is the top piece on a tower at game’s end, you control that tower and score points for all pieces it contains. Highest score wins.

Components

• 1 Monochrome Stash per player (each stash contains pyramids of one color in 3 sizes: small/1-pip, medium/2-pip, large/3-pip)
• Requires 1 Rainbow Stash or Xeno Stash set (5 colors)

Setup

1. Each player chooses a color. Set aside unused colors.
2. Randomly scatter all pieces across the tabletop.
3. Stand all pieces upright in place.
4. Players indicate readiness by touching (not picking up) a pyramid of their color.
5. As soon as all players show ready, the game begins.

Turn Structure

There are no turns. All players play simultaneously in real time. You may take any legal action at any time. You may only perform one action at a time and only use one hand at a time (except when mining requires both).

Actions

Capping

• Stack one of your free-standing pieces on top of another player’s piece/tower to take control.
• You may only pick up and move free-standing pieces of your own color.
• Your piece must be the same size or smaller than the topmost piece in the tower.
• Your piece must be a different color than the topmost piece.
• You cannot cap a tower where your piece is already on top.
• Towers must always grow taller when capping.

Mining

• If you do NOT control a tower (your color is not on top) but have 2 or more of your pieces inside it, you may remove one of your pieces.
• Open the stack, remove your chosen piece, reassemble the tower.
• No Minebacks: You must immediately use the mined piece to cap a different tower. If no legal plays exist, set the piece down as a free-stander.
• No stalling – play the mined piece promptly.

Splitting

• Whenever two pieces of another player’s color are adjacent to each other in a tower, you may split the tower between those two same-colored pieces.
• You cannot split your own color; only other players can split your pieces.
• Splitting is never mandatory.
• You cannot split a tower while holding a piece; you must play the held piece first.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game End

The game ends when all players agree that no more plays will be made. Often this happens automatically when no more moves are possible.

Scoring

• For each tower where your piece is on top, your score equals the total pip-value of every piece in that tower.
• Free-standing pieces you own count as short towers (worth their own pip-value).
• Highest total score wins.
• Anything over 30 is a good score.

Final Piece Showdown

If two players each have an unplayed piece with nowhere to play and neither wants to set it down, both set pieces down simultaneously and the game ends.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• No Double Plays: Only use one hand at a time (mining may require both briefly).
• Post-Mining Etiquette: Take a moment to consider options after mining, but do not stall.
• Tower Wars: Mine-and-recapture exchanges usually resolve quickly. Keep playing until you can split or flee.
• Fleeing: Deliberately mining a large piece when no capping is possible, then setting it down as a free-stander.
• Timed Endings: For tournaments, add a timer. When it rings, anyone holding a piece sets it down. Score towers as they are.

Ghost Player (2-Player Variant)

• Name an imaginary friend and select a color for the ghost.
• Either player may move ghost pieces at any time.
• Ghost restrictions: never caps a free-standing piece, never splits a tower.
• If the ghost scores the most, the ghost wins.

Player Reference

Strategy Tips

• Start Big: Play 3-pointers first, then 2-pointers. Save smalls (which can cap anything) for last.
• Invest in the Future: Get at least 2 pieces into every tower you join (enables mining).
• Limit Opponents: Look for towers where the top piece is the only one of its color.
• Triple-Cap Split: Get 3 of your pieces stacked together, then split to create a big capturable tower.
• Think Before You Split: Just because you can split doesn’t mean you should.

Piece Size	Pip Value	Can Cap
Large (3-pip)	3	Only free-standing or other larges
Medium (2-pip)	2	Larges, mediums, and free-standing
Small (1-pip)	1	Anything (most versatile)