☀ Siesta — Rules
By Guido Hoffman, Goldsieber Spiele 1999 · 2–4 players · ~30 min
Goal
Score points by forming Siestas — sequences of Sun → Roof → Shadow — on the 12×12 board. The player with the most points when the game ends wins.
Pieces
| Piece | Supply | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| ☀ Sun | 25 | Shared |
| ■ Shadow | 75 | Shared |
| ▲ Roof | 15 per player | Each player (by color) |
Turn structure
First turn only
Place exactly 1 Sun + 1 Roof (your color) + 1 Shadow, all three touching each other (contiguous), forming a complete Siesta immediately.
All subsequent turns
Place exactly 3 pieces in any combination and any order. The pieces do not need to touch each other, but each must be adjacent (orthogonally) to at least one piece already on the board.
You must score at least 1 point for yourself on every turn. If you cannot, the game ends immediately.
Placement rules
- ☀ Sun — may never be placed adjacent to a Shadow.
- ■ Shadow — may never be placed adjacent to a Sun. Must immediately form part of at least one Siesta.
- ▲ Roof — may be adjacent to any piece. You may only place your own color.
Scoring: Siesta
A Siesta is a contiguous orthogonal line reading Sun(s) → Roof(s) → Shadow(s) in one direction (left→right or top→bottom). There is no upper limit on the number of each piece type in a sequence.
When a Shadow is placed that completes or extends a Siesta:
- Each Shadow in the Siesta = +1 point for every player who has at least one Roof in that Siesta.
- Having multiple Roofs of the same color does not multiply the score.
Scoring: Double Siesta
A Double Siesta occurs when the same Shadow cells form a valid Siesta at both opposite ends of the line, and only one player has Roofs in both Siestas. That player earns a flat +2 bonus (regardless of how many Shadows are involved).
End conditions
The game ends immediately after scoring when any of these occur:
- The last Sun is placed.
- The last Shadow is placed.
- Any player places their last Roof.
- The active player cannot make a legal move that scores at least 1 point for themselves.
Game modes
Free-for-all (FFA)
Each player scores individually. ELO rating is updated after each game when two or more humans play.
Teams (2 vs 2, 4 players only)
Teams are assigned randomly at the start. Team scores are the sum of both teammates' individual scores. The team with the higher combined score wins. Ties count as a draw (no win or loss recorded).
Board coordinates
Columns are labelled A–L (left to right) and rows are labelled 1–12 (top to bottom), matching the labels shown around the board. Error messages use this notation, e.g. F5.