Create a magnificent microscopic mosaic!
All around us, in the water, hide tiny life forms called “diatoms”. These microscopic algal cells come in a variety of exquisite shapes and geometric patterns. Their outer layer is composed of silica, giving them the appearance of glass.
Here at the Microscopic Arts Society, we collect these diatoms and delicately arrange them on slides to form beautiful, tiny mosaics. As part of your integration into the Society, you'll each create your own work for today's microscopic mosaics exhibition.
In Diatoms, you compete with other players to collect and place mosaic diatom shapes. You take it in turns to place tiles representing algae colonies.
This placement allows you to earn diatoms of different colors and shapes. You then place these diatoms strategically on your personal board, taking care to consider how your arrangement will be rated at the end of the game. In basic scoring, you'll want to achieve matching colors, a variety of shapes and symmetry along the central lines of your mosaic. Each time you play, you can also have a “guest” judge card that brings a unique scoring criterion to the game.
Diatoms also includes a single-player variant in which you collect diatom tiles as in the main game while trying to create a mosaic that meets specific requirements based on prompts from the mosaic commission.
