Icehouse: The Martian Chess Set 1999

This was the first appearance of the transparent plastic pyramids that would become known as Icehouse Pyramids or Looney Pyramids. The clear plastic box contains four stashes (blue, green, yellow, red) and rules for Martian Chess, Zarcana, IceTowers, and IceTraders (an early version of Homeworlds). The three booklets (Ice Towers and Ice Traders share one) all end with suggestions for "other games to try" (referring readers to Looney Lab's website for the actual rules).

Also included are two Zarcana reference cards, an imprint-and-credits card, and a card with "cover art" and (on the reverse) an explanation why this product called Icehouse doesn't come with the rules for playing the game Icehouse.

"Perhaps you're wondering why we call this an Icehouse set, when the rules for the game called Icehouse aren't included with the pieces. The short answer is, it's kind of like duct tape: Few people who use duct tape actually use it on their ducts... yet everyone still calls it duct tape."

The final item in the package is a sticker featuring Tirade the Broccoli, with the peel-off sheet on the reverse advertising other Looney games as well as their Wunderland "webzine".