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Icehouse pieces are pyramid-shaped gaming pieces invented by Andrew Looney and John Cooper in 1987, originally for use in the game of Icehouse.

Description

Each stash or set of Icehouse pieces consists of fifteen pyramids (variously called pieces, pyramids, or minions) of the same color in three different point (or pip) values: five large 3-point pyramids, five medium 2-point pyramids, and five small 1-point pyramids. The commercially produced plastic sets are hollow and can be stacked and nested; this feature isn't used in the original Icehouse game, but is taken advantage of in some of the other Icehouse-based games listed below.

Icehouse pieces are usually sold as tubes containing one stash of durable crystal-look plastic pieces in one of nine available colors. Looney Labs has also sold boxed sets for Zendo and IceTowers, the latter of which contained a tenth color. There is also a less expensive starter set called Paper Icehouse (actually cardstock), in four colors, which one punches out and folds into the pyramid shapes. The Icehouse website also has instructions for making your own pieces. Looney Labs has licenced Crystal Caste LLC to make regulation-sized Icehouse pieces out of semiprecious stone .

In 2001, Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set won the Origins Award for Best Abstract Board Game of 2000. In 2004, the Zendo boxed set won Best Abstract Board Game of 2003.

Icehouse pieces can be used to play many different abstract strategy games. Most games need at least two colors, and some require other readily-available equipment such as glass stones or a checkerboard. Rules for these games can be found on the Icehouse website. Some are also available in Playing with Pyramids, published by Looney Labs.

Games that use Icehouse pieces include:

DNA
Focus
Gridlock
Homeworlds
Icehouse
IceTowers
IceTraders
Igloo
Martian Backgammon
Martian Chess
Martian Go
Pantopia
Pikemen
RAMbots
Rotationary
Thin Ice
Treehouse
Trice
Volcano
Zagami
Zarcana (and a popular variant, Gnostica)
Zendo

Score-keeping

Icehouse pieces can also be used as a score-keeping device for non-icehouse games. For example, when scoring a Cosmic Wimpout game, a small pyramid would be worth five points, a medium pyramid worth twenty-five points, and a large pyramid one-hundred; the goal being to collect five of the large pieces (for the 500 point standard game).

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Icehouse pieces ]

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