Cyanotype

In Cyanotype, two rival photographers compete to create the finest collection of cyanotype sun prints—the oldest form of photography, developed in the 1840s. Using sunlight, special paper, and carefully arranged artifacts like feathers, flowers, and keys, you'll race to complete three matching prints before your opponent. Each round, new resources appear: artifacts to expose, paper to print on, and time cards representing exposure duration. Players simultaneously bid cards from their hand to win these resources—but there's a twist. When you win a bid, you take the resource but discard your bid. When you lose, you discard your bid but gain your opponent's cards. This creates a constant psychological puzzle: Is my opponent trying to win this auction, or lose it? Should I bid high to secure what I need, or bid strategically to steal their valuable cards? To create a print, you must play one Paper card, one Artifact card, and Time cards that sum exactly to the print's value (4-12). The first player to complete a set of three prints wins—either three of the same artifact type, or three prints of adjacent values. With only 54 cards in the deck and every resource scarce, each decision matters. Should you make an easy low-value print now, or hold out for a harder high-value print? Do you race for your own collection, or deny your opponent the artifacts they desperately need? Can you turn a terrible hand into an advantage by forcing your opponent to give you better cards? Sun Prints combines elegant hand management, simultaneous bidding, and set collection into a tight 20-minute experience. Simple enough to teach in minutes, deep enough to reward repeated play, and wrapped in authentic cyanotype artwork that honors the Victorian-era pioneers of photography.

—description from the designer