
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,416
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Knights of the Pond Table
- 2–4 players
- 20–40 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2026

2013
Rules assistance for Serpent Stones
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Serpent Stones is a board game released in 2013 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Robert Harrington and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Point to Point Movement, and Area Majority / Influence.
Serpent Stones is a card game which claims to be based on a lost Aztec abstract game called Itzcoatl, a game which is not recorded anywhere else. As head priest of an Aztec warrior house, you must command a specialized team of Aztec warriors in ritual combat on the battlefield to satisfy the gods. Drawing on the power of teotl from your temple stone, your warriors can wield specialized nahualli animal attacks to strike or capture opposing warriors standing in your team's way of capturing your opponent's temple stone. The gods may show you favor by giving you an advantage during battle, but will it be you or your opponent that quenches their insatiable blood thirst today? Players of Serpent Stones sit on opposite sides of a game board featuring seven staggered rows of Serpent Stones and take turns drawing a card and playing/discarding a card from an initial hand of five cards. Serpent Stones features three types of cards: Warrior cards, which are played on the Serpent Stones to build your Aztec warrior team Nahualli cards, which strike or capture opposing warrior cards Teotl cards, which are "god" cards that can give a player some tactical advantage during gameplay A player wins when either he captures his opponent's temple stone by placing a warrior card on it or he forces his opponent to suffer the "Wrath of Tezcatlipoca", a fancy Aztecian way of saying the opponent ran out of cards.
Serpent Stones supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Serpent Stones is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Serpent Stones for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Serpent Stones has a complexity rating of 1.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Serpent Stones belongs to these categories: Card Game and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Point to Point Movement, and Area Majority / Influence. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Serpent Stones are: Robert Harrington. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Serpent Stones as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.