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It is said that Wiraqocha created the sun and the pre-Columbian tribes of the Andes. Under his leadership, those who will train the mighty Inca people came out of their caves to discover new horizons in order to subsist and grow in harmony with nature. They venerated Pachamama, Mother Earth, the basis of all living things, plants and minerals, on earth and under the earth.
In Tiwanaku, first announced as Pachamama, you lead your tribe into unknown territory in search of new lands to cultivate. Your goal: To explore regions and draw outlines to develop cultures according to the customs and legacies of Pachamama. If you honor Her by respecting the great principles of diversity and complementarity, Nature will reward you; otherwise, you will suffer his wrath. In this race, risk-taking, deduction, intuition, and a good sense of timing should allow you to get through.
Each scenario disc indicates a unique arrangement of terrain tiles and crop tiles. Terrain tiles are in regions of 1-5 spaces, and a region of one color does not touch a region of the same color, even diagonally. Crop tokens have a value of 1-5, and each value has a different size/color (level 1 is brown, level 2 is green, etc.). A size 1 region will contain a value 1 crop token, a size 2 region will contain crop tokens of value 1 and 2, and only a size 5 region will contain crop tokens of each value. Two identical crop values can never be adjacent, even diagonally.
On a turn, take either an explore action or a divine action: At the end of an explore or divine action, you can hand in 1-5 offering cubes for 0-10 points. You can hold at most one offering of each color.
When the final terrain tile is placed on the game board, the end of the game is triggered. Starting with this player, each player in turn can take a single divine action or pass. If you pass, you take no further actions. If you divine, you gain points and an offering cube like normal, or you lose points and must pass. Keep taking turns around the table until everyone has passed, then make a final offering, then see who has the most points.
- delightful deduction mechanic
- highly replayable puzzle
- cooperative mode option
- cooperative mode not tried by the speaker
- deduction and color discovery with a sudoku-like structure
- pre-Columbian Andes tribes; territorial discovery
- heavy deduction, puzzle-driven
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- color discovery and scoring — discover colors while respecting adjacency and layout rules
- deduction — colored discs placed in territories with non-adjacency rules
- logic puzzle / deduction — colored discs placed in territories with non-adjacency rules
- penalty for wrong guess — incorrect deductions incur penalties; no explicit written hints
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Pondscape is a game about laying frogs into a pond.
- There's just too many symbols in this game.
- A Hoy has a very fun theme.
- Tiwanaku, just an absolutely fantastic deduction game.
- I adore deduction games.
References (from this video)
- Engaging and brain-teasing deduction gameplay that rewards careful reasoning
- Vibrant and attractive component design; the doodad for discovery is particularly appealing
- Solid solo mode with a clear rule-set for automating the AI and keeping the puzzle challenging
- Learning curve can be steep for new players; rules are intricate and require careful reading
- Divination and terrain discovery may feel opaque until several plays; potential for initial confusion
- deduction and discovery of terrain and crop types through a puzzle-like mechanism with a central dial and discovery windows.
- Ancient Tiwanaku region and Andes civilization-inspired setting with terrain and crop themes.
- abstract puzzle with tangible components and live commentary that guides the viewer through deduction.
- Hadara
- Crypted
- Hookie
- Lost Species and the Search for Planet X
- Crypted
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Players deduce which terrain and crop types occupy each tile by using divination (revealing tiny information) and cross-referencing surrounding tiles. Incorrect guesses impact scoring.
- divination — A key action where a player reveals the possible types for their tiles; in solo play, it guides AI behavior by revealing information that informs AI moves.
- exploration — On a player's turn, meeples are moved to empty spaces to reveal terrain/crop information and to advance along tracks that determine points.
- grid_and_adjacency_rules — Certain terrain and crop types cannot be adjacent orthogonally or diagonally, creating spatial constraints that drive deduction.
- logic_deduction — Players deduce which terrain and crop types occupy each tile by using divination (revealing tiny information) and cross-referencing surrounding tiles. Incorrect guesses impact scoring.
- offering_tokens — Offering tokens can be earned through successful deductions and later exchanged for victory points, with strategic decisions about when to cash in.
- tile_discovery — Tiles flip to show terrain and crop data, which then influences scoring tracks and future deductions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a logic deduction puzzle game that I've been really wanting to try
- this kind of deduction Style game is like some of my favorites
- the fun you have is infectious
- I love deduction games
- this is going to be brain burny
- I love this little doodad
- the AI is going to skip their turn
- I am very excited to start
- this is like mind sweeper in a way
- I freaking love deduction games
- I could have just watched a video
- the top-down camera looks great
- level up is coming next week and I’m so excited
- I am very happy with the image quality, it looks crispy
- this is my first live stream of 2025
- the board looks bright and gorgeous
- I might end up playing another game of this tonight or tomorrow
- the community Discord will have a solo focus channel
- the audience is making the stream come alive with chat
References (from this video)
- Addictive deduction mechanics
- Online implementation is excellent
- Deep strategic space for two players
- Complex for new players
- Heavy to describe without visuals
- agriculture and discovery in a mind-sweeper style
- Memory deduction and field uncovering around five crops
- puzzle-dense, exploration-driven
- Feast for Odin
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- memory deduction — you uncover fields and crops, deducing where values lie
- set collection / field discovery — you reveal and claim fields to score based on uncovered counts
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we're going to be talking about 10 games we will have some runners up as usual
- it's a memory game through and through
- this is a card game that we were sponsored to play on the watch it play live stream
- Rome in 20 minutes and that's about it
- it's the first time we've ever done a three game video
- Anacron with the fractures of time expansion really changes the game