Calming, pretty pictures, matching, and light competition–yes, please! This is Latice, and my family really enjoys it! Lattice can be played by two to four players and has no reading, so can be enjoyed by your whole family.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click on it and make a purchase I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, please check our Privacy Policy and Disclaimers and Disclosures.
Latice consists of a board, tiles, tile racks, and stones. Each player begins with the same number of tiles in their “tile pool” as their opponents and one tile rack. Tile pools are face-down. Place five tiles from your pool onto your rack so only you can see them.
Latice is a Matching and Tile-Placing Game
Regular tiles have one of six colors and one of six shapes on them. There are also 12 wind tiles. The first player places any regular tile (from their rack) on the center square and draws a new tile from their pool to place on their rack.
On all other turns, players place one tile touching at least one other tile (not diagonally; sides must touch). All touching sides must match either color or shape. If the new tile touches (and therefore matches) more than one tile on the board, that player earns a stone. Players also earn stones for playing a piece on a sun square.
Using Stones
Players may spend stones to exchange tiles for others in their pool (if they are unable to match any of their tiles to any on the board), play a wind tile, or pay for extra moves. Wind tiles allow you to slide a tile already on the board to a new (adjacent) location and then go again.
If you cannot place any tiles and you have no stones to spend to exchange your tiles, you have to pass. If all players are forced to pass, the player with the fewest remaining tiles wins. You can also win by being the first player with no tiles left in your pool or rack.
Our game started very friendly and with low competition, but ended very cutthroat. Your mileage may vary. Still, we had fun with this low-stress, low-pressure logic game.
No Reading is Required to Play Latice!
As there is no reading involved, even very young kids can play, only focusing on matching the color or shape. You could even play in teams or cooperatively. At the same time, older or more advanced players can work to maximize their plays.
Unfortunately, Latice appears to be out-of-print. However, there is a new game (Latice Hawaii) that looks very similar and the original game is readily available used on eBay and other sites. Whoever your players are, give Latice a try. You just might discover a new favorite game!
Placing Tiles and Earning Stones
