{ "id": "ept6nj86s0", "slug": "mondo", "title": "Mondo", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play" }, { "id": "play.tabletop", "label": "Board, card, and puzzle games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.tabletop" }, { "id": "play.tabletop.tt-board-games", "label": "Board games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.tabletop.tt-board-games" }, { "id": "play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games", "label": "Modern designer board games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games" }, { "id": "play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games", "label": "Modern abstract and tile-laying games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games" }, { "id": "play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games.tile-laying-and-pattern-building-games", "label": "Tile-laying and pattern-building games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games.tile-laying-and-pattern-building-games" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Modern abstract and tile-laying games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop", "label": "Board, card, and puzzle games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.tt-board-games", "label": "Board games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.tt-board-games" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games", "label": "Modern designer board games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games", "label": "Modern abstract and tile-laying games", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Mondo is a 2011 real-time tile-laying board game by Michael Schacht, published by Pegasus Spiele for 1-4 players aged 8+, in which players simultaneously build landscape worlds against a timer; Spiel des Jahres recommended list 2011.", "snippet": "Mondo is a 2011 real-time tile-laying board game by Michael Schacht, published by Pegasus Spiele for 1-4 players aged 8+, in which players simultaneously build landscape worlds against a timer; Spiel des Jahres recommended list 2011.", "node": "play.tabletop.modern-designer-board-games.modern-abstract-games.tile-laying-and-pattern-building-games", "markdown": "# Mondo\n\n**Mondo** is a real-time tile-laying board game by Michael Schacht in which each player simultaneously builds a small world of landscapes, animals, and volcanoes on a personal board, racing against a timer and the other players. It was published in 2011 by Pegasus Spiele, plays 1 to 4 players aged 8 and up in roughly 30 minutes, and was recommended on the [Spiel des Jahres](https://www.edgepedia.org/spiel-des-jahres) list in its release year.[1](https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/spiele/mondo/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Players / age / length | 1 to 4 players, ages 8 and up, about 20 to 30 minutes[1](https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/spiele/mondo/) |\n| Components | 4 two-sided world boards, 136 two-sided landscape tiles, 5 scoring modifiers, 12 additional tasks, 1 volcano chip, 4 bonus chips, 1 timer, score sheets[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) |\n| Structure | 3 turns per game; 7-minute timer in the beginner game, 6 minutes in the advanced game, 5 minutes in the expert game[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) • [3](https://www.meoplesmagazine.com/2011/05/29/mondo/) |\n| Core scoring | 1 point per animal, 2 points per enclosed mistake-free landscape (water scores nothing), minus 1 per misconnection, empty space, and active volcano for the player with the most[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) |\n| Second edition | Published 2015 by Lautapelit.fi with 48 tiles and smaller 3×3 islands[4](https://www.lautapeliopas.fi/peliarvostelut/mondo/) |\n\n## Gameplay\n\nEach player has an empty grid board, and a large unsorted pile of landscape tiles sits in the middle of the table. After a countdown, all players search the pile at the same time and place tiles on their boards while a timer runs.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) The tiles show terrains such as water, desert, forest, and plains, along with animals and active or inactive volcanoes; each tile is two-sided, with one side showing a single terrain and the other showing two or three, and players may choose either side.[3](https://www.meoplesmagazine.com/2011/05/29/mondo/)\n\n**Placement rules.** The first tile may go anywhere on the board; every later tile must border at least one edge of a tile already placed. Orientation is free, including flipping the tile, but a placed tile may not be removed, rotated, or moved. Each player may use only one hand, may hold no more than one tile at a time, and may shift the central pile but not dig into it.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) Edges do not have to match, but every pair of neighboring edges that disagree counts as one misconnection, as does each edge that fails to match the board's edge.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n\n**Jumping out.** A player may stop at any time before the timer runs out, even with empty spaces remaining, by taking the topmost bonus chip. The first player to stop receives 4 bonus points, the next 3, then 2, then 1; a player still playing when the timer expires receives no bonus.[5](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/722348/mondo-review) • [2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) A turn ends when all players have jumped out or the timer runs out.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n\n## Scoring\n\nAfter each turn, players score on a sheet with three columns, one per turn. Every animal is worth 1 point. Every enclosed, mistake-free landscape is worth 2 points regardless of size, with water landscapes scoring nothing. Each misconnection and each empty space costs 1 point. The player with the most active volcanoes loses 1 point per active volcano, with ties sharing the penalty.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n\nThe round's highest scorer takes the volcano chip, which makes that player's inactive volcanoes count as active in the next turn, a handicap that restrains the leader.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php) • [5](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/722348/mondo-review) After three turns, the highest total wins.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n\n## Game levels\n\nMondo ships with three rule levels that share the same placement rules and differ in scoring and time.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n\n- **Beginner game.** A 7-minute timer and the basic scoring above.[2](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n- **Advanced game.** Before each round, one of five scoring modifiers is drawn, rewarding the best result on a common goal such as the biggest completed forest, the biggest inland lake, the most water animals, the most completed lakes, or the most completed landscapes, with 4 points for the best and minus 4 for the worst. The timer drops to 6 minutes.[3](https://www.meoplesmagazine.com/2011/05/29/mondo/)\n- **Expert game.** Player-specific additional tasks, such as having at least three animals of one species in a landscape or a completely mistake-free board, are placed in the tile pool; each player may claim up to two during a turn, scoring points for success and losing them for failure. The timer drops to 5 minutes.[3](https://www.meoplesmagazine.com/2011/05/29/mondo/)\n\nA solo variant asks the player to fill a primed board with as few penalty points as possible; on the hard difficulty, filling the board within five minutes with at most 1 minus point counts as a win.[4](https://www.lautapeliopas.fi/peliarvostelut/mondo/)\n\n## Reception and editions\n\nReviewers compared its simultaneous one-handed tile-grabbing to Galaxy Trucker, describing Mondo as a simpler take on the same real-time building idea.[4](https://www.lautapeliopas.fi/peliarvostelut/mondo/) • [6](https://www.reich-der-spiele.de/kritiken/mondo)\n\nA second edition appeared in 2015, published in Finland by Lautapelit.fi, much smaller than the original: 48 tiles instead of 136, used to build 3×3 islands. A slimmed 2016 mini version also introduced the main mechanics on a smaller scale.[4](https://www.lautapeliopas.fi/peliarvostelut/mondo/) • [7](https://opinionatedgamers.com/2016/09/11/dale-yu-two-small-card-games-from-pegasus-stadt-land-anders-mondo/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Mondo, Spiel des Jahres e.V.](https://www.spiel-des-jahres.de/spiele/mondo/)\n2. [Mondo Game Rules, UltraBoardGames](https://cdn.ultraboardgames.com/mondo/game-rules.php)\n3. [Mondo, Meople's Magazine (29 May 2011)](https://www.meoplesmagazine.com/2011/05/29/mondo/)\n4. [Mondo -lautapelin arvostelu, Lautapeliopas](https://www.lautapeliopas.fi/peliarvostelut/mondo/)\n5. [Mondo review, BoardGameGeek](https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/722348/mondo-review)\n6. [Mondo, Reich der Spiele](https://www.reich-der-spiele.de/kritiken/mondo)\n7. [Dale Yu: Two small card games from Pegasus, The Opinionated Gamers](https://opinionatedgamers.com/2016/09/11/dale-yu-two-small-card-games-from-pegasus-stadt-land-anders-mondo/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Board games › Modern designer board games › Modern abstract and tile-laying games › Tile-laying and pattern-building games*\n\n*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Mondo\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Mondo](https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo](https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Mondo\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/mondo. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Mondo is a 2011 real-time tile-laying board game by Michael Schacht, published by Pegasus Spiele for 1-4 players aged 8+, in which players simultaneously build landscape worlds against a timer; Spiel des Jahres recommended list 2011." }