Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Stack wooden ocean tiles ever higher, cover your opponent’s colors, and preserve the most visible territory when the tide can move no farther.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Area Majority
Compete to have the strongest presence in areas that award control or points.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Pattern Movement
Pieces move according to defined geometric patterns.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Read the full game description
High Tide is a compact abstract strategy game played without a board. Nineteen wooden hexagons form a randomized ocean floor: seven tiles for each player and five neutral tiles. On a turn, a player moves one tile of their color or a neutral color onto another stack, but the moved tile must finish higher than it began. That simple restriction steadily transforms the shared landscape. Every move can bury an opposing tile, rescue one of your own, or create a height that controls what remains possible. When no legal move exists, the player with the most uncovered tiles wins the round; the first to win three rounds wins the game.
