
- BGG rank
- BGG #23,320
- BGG rating
- 5.8
CITY Alarm
- 2–4 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.2/5
- 2012

2011
Rules assistance for Sunblock
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Sunblock is a board game released in 2011 for 2–4 players, 5 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. It was designed by Nicolas Assenbrunner and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Area Majority / Influence.
Time to hit the beach! But rather than just finding a toasty spot in the sun and enjoying it, you're worried about everyone else horning in on your patch of paradise. Time to apply Sunblock to see whether you can force other aspiring sunbathers off the sand with their heads hanging in shame. To start the game, players set up the beach, complete with a large umbrella for shade, four beach chairs and four rubbish bins. On a turn, the player rolls the die, then takes one of the following actions: • Add a yellow, red or blue umbrella to the beach. • Move the big umbrella, which takes up four pips on the board, to a new location. • Move your beach chair to a new location, but not adjacent to a rubbish bin. • Move a rubbish bin to a new location; anyone who now has a chair adjacent to this bin must move the chair to a new location. If you knock something off the beach or can't move or place an item on the board as directed, you lose the game and must head home. The last player left on the beach wins. Variants include a crab that blocks off additional spaces as it moves around the beach and more moving umbrellas.
Sunblock supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Sunblock is 5 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 Sunblock for ages 6 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.
Sunblock has a complexity rating of 1.1 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.
Sunblock belongs to these categories: Children's Game, Dice, and Action / Dexterity. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling 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 Sunblock are: Nicolas Assenbrunner. 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 Sunblock 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.