Oh, how good this one looks.
Paintscape, designed by Michael Amundsen, has been around since its original release in 2022. In 2025, however, it’s receiving renewed attention thanks to a small-box edition from Kanare_Abstracts (kanare-abstract.com). Regular readers will know we’ve reviewed many titles from this publisher—most featuring a cloth board, wooden pieces, and compact packaging that makes them easy to take anywhere.
Paintscape follows that familiar Kanare formula, but here the board—already on the small side—begins completely covered in wooden tiles. With 60 tiles in play (12 each of five colors), the setup feels crowded from the outset. This becomes more noticeable as the game progresses and tiles are removed, especially for players with larger fingers, where lifting pieces can lead to the occasional chain reaction of bumped and shifted tiles.
Gameplay revolves around expanding your groups of pieces. The first player to place a piece onto six tiles of the same color claims all tiles of that color, removing them from the board. The first player to collect three different colors wins.
Amundsen explained the origins of the design:
“The idea that sparked this game is very mundane and unassuming. It’s inspired by how typical trick-taking card games are played with 52 cards, but grouped into 13 tricks. This makes it impossible to evenly distribute the tricks, even though there is an even number of cards.
My interest in designing decisive games in particular is above average, so I wanted to use the same simple idea to make a tie-less game played on an even board. It so happens that 5 × 12 = 60, so one could make a game played on a chess board where two players start out with two discs each and compete to collect a majority of five sets of colored tiles. The rest of the game fell naturally out of that.
The result is a novel but simple game where both positioning and timing are important.”
As players move and claim tiles, they also create barriers that opponents cannot cross. This introduces a trapping element to Paintscape.
In our game, just seven turns in, Trevor had constructed a wall that isolated me from accessing the tiles I needed. The game effectively ended there, with Trevor claiming the win. While removing tiles can eventually reopen pathways, by that point it’s often too late to recover.
Of course, I should have anticipated the wall and blocked it—there’s strategy here, without question. Still, Paintscape felt more like an area-control game than a set-collection one, and that disconnect caused it to fall a bit flat for us.
Amundsen, however, sees this dynamic as a central strength of the design:
“I think my favourite feature is the fact that you will lose pieces, and thereby weaken your influence on the board when you score a point.
In addition to being strikingly colourful for a minimalistic abstract game, this negative feedback is probably the most unique feature of the game. It is also key in that it makes reversals possible.”
Paintscape is one of four games released by Kanare at the same time, alongside Residuel, Shape Chess, and Flower Shop. We found ourselves liking some of the others more—though none are quite as visually striking.
In the end, Paintscape earns a positive nod for its aesthetics and ideas, but just barely.
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Looks Fabulous, but Play Eluded Us a Bit
Paintscape, designed by Michael Amundsen, has been around since its original release in 2022. In 2025, however, it’s receiving renewed attention thanks to a small-box edition from Kanare_Abstracts (kanare-abstract.com). Regular readers will know we’ve reviewed many titles from this publisher—most featuring a cloth board, wooden pieces, and compact packaging that makes them easy to take anywhere.
Paintscape follows that familiar Kanare formula, but here the board—already on the small side—begins completely covered in wooden tiles. With 60 tiles in play (12 each of five colors), the setup feels crowded from the outset. This becomes more noticeable as the game progresses and tiles are removed, especially for players with larger fingers, where lifting pieces can lead to the occasional chain reaction of bumped and shifted tiles.
Gameplay revolves around expanding your groups of pieces. The first player to place a piece onto six tiles of the same color claims all tiles of that color, removing them from the board. The first player to collect three different colors wins.
Amundsen explained the origins of the design:
As players move and claim tiles, they also create barriers that opponents cannot cross. This introduces a trapping element to Paintscape.
In our game, just seven turns in, Trevor had constructed a wall that isolated me from accessing the tiles I needed. The game effectively ended there, with Trevor claiming the win. While removing tiles can eventually reopen pathways, by that point it’s often too late to recover.
Of course, I should have anticipated the wall and blocked it—there’s strategy here, without question. Still, Paintscape felt more like an area-control game than a set-collection one, and that disconnect caused it to fall a bit flat for us.
Amundsen, however, sees this dynamic as a central strength of the design:
Paintscape is one of four games released by Kanare at the same time, alongside Residuel, Shape Chess, and Flower Shop. We found ourselves liking some of the others more—though none are quite as visually striking.
In the end, Paintscape earns a positive nod for its aesthetics and ideas, but just barely.
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
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