2025Alex Cutler, Peter C. Hayward
- Videos
- 61
- Creators
- 45
1 - 5 players60 minMedium weight

2026Alex Cutler
Mainly reviews. Sandcastles is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 7 reviews, 3 how-to-play guides, 1 recorded sessions, and 1 unboxings.
From BoardGameGeek
It's a perfect day at the beach, and the only thing left to settle is whose sandcastle reigns supreme! Sandcastles is a drafting and tile-laying game for 2-6 players in which everyone building their own sandcastle, tile by tile, over 15 rounds. Each round, one player reveals tiles one at a time and passes them around the table. Every player must decide in the moment whether to claim the current tile or hold out for something better later in the round - but once you take a tile, you're done for that round, whatever comes next. The tile you claim gets added to your sandcastle, a 5x5 grid anchored by your Starter Tile at the bottom center. Sand tiles build up from the ground following the rules of gravity, while sky tiles float at the top and drop down to rest on your highest sand tiles at game end. Scoring rewards players for building strategically: • Windows score based on how many appear in each horizontal row, with points jumping at specific thresholds. •Starfish score when placed adjacent to others of the same color, and collecting all five colors earns a bonus. • Shells, shovels, and buckets each carry flat point values, with end-game bonuses for whoever collects the most of each. • Filling your top row with five sky tiles earns a bonus as well. The player whose sandcastle totals the most points wins the title of Best Sandcastle at the Beach! -description from publisher
Sandcastles has 12 videos from 11 creators: 7 reviews, 3 how-to-play guides, 1 playthrough and 1 unboxing. They date from July to September 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "All the Games with Steph: Sandcastles - Teach" by Steph Hodge, which runs 11 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Sandcastles Review: Quick Take with Tom Vasel" by The Dice Tower. 7 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Sand Castles Board Game Playthrough From @PandasaurusGames" by Panik Games.
If you like it, try Critter Kitchen, A Place for All My Books, Mountain Goats: Legacy and Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House, also by Alex Cutler.
8 of 11
2025Alex Cutler, Peter C. Hayward
1 - 5 players60 minMedium weight
2025Alex Cutler, Michael Mihealsick
1 - 4 players40 - 60 minMedium weight
2026Alex Cutler, Michael Mihealsick, Stefan Risthaus
2 - 5 players20 - 45 minLight weight
2024Zachary Connelly, Alex Cutler
1 - 4 players15 - 30 minLight weight
From BoardGameGeek:
It's a perfect day at the beach, and the only thing left to settle is whose sandcastle reigns supreme! Sandcastles is a drafting and tile-laying game for 2-6 players in which everyone building their own sandcastle, tile by tile, over 15 rounds. Each round, one player reveals tiles one at a time and passes them around the table. Every player must decide in the moment whether to claim the current tile or hold out for something better later in the round - but once you take a tile, you're done for that round, whatever comes next. The tile you claim gets added to your sandcastle, a 5x5 grid anchored by your Starter Tile at the bottom center. Sand tiles build up from the ground following the rules of gravity, while sky tiles float at the top and drop down to rest on your highest sand tiles at game end. Scoring rewards players for building strategically: • Windows score based on how many appear in each horizontal row, with points jumping at specific thresholds. •Starfish score when placed adjacent to others of the same color, and collecting all five colors earns a bonus. • Shells, shovels, and buckets each carry flat point values, with end-game bonuses for whoever collects the most of each. • Filling your top row with five sky tiles earns a bonus as well. The player whose sandcastle totals the most points wins the title of Best Sandcastle at the Beach! -description from publisher
Designer
Alex Cutler
Artist
Gica Tam
Publisher
Pandasaurus Games
Categories
Mechanics