Lacuna turns a pond scattered with flowers into a contest over small distances. You share an open cloth playing area, with no grid to divide it into spaces. Collecting a pair of flowers leaves your pawn behind, so even a small difference in where you put it can change what you collect later.
How it plays
Each player has six pawns. The first player chooses one flower to keep, and the remaining flowers are scattered across the pond. You then take turns placing a pawn and collecting a pair of flowers. Choose two flowers of the same color with a straight line between their centers that no other flower or pawn blocks. Place the center of your pawn anywhere along that line, without moving other pieces, and take the two flowers.
After both players have placed all six pawns, each flower still in the pond goes to the player whose pawn is closest to it. Use the ruler when distances are hard to judge. An exact tie is broken by comparing each player’s next closest pawn. A placement therefore matters twice: it collects a pair now and puts your pawn near flowers you might receive at the end. Pawns also block lines that could otherwise connect future pairs.
There are seven flowers in each of seven colors. Collect at least four flowers of a color to win that color, then win at least four colors to win the game. Collecting many flowers in just a few colors will not be enough. The challenge is spreading your collection across enough colors while competing for position in the same pond.
Learning the game
The turn is short: place one pawn and collect two matching flowers. For a first teaching, show a legal line between flower centers and explain how the closest pawns collect the remaining flowers. Demonstrate the color-majority goal before anyone chooses a pair.