
2015 · Fantasy
Above and Below
Players found and expand a frontier village on the surface while organizing expeditions into a vast cavern below. On a personal village board, players assign unique villagers to jobs such as constructing buildings, harvesting resources, training apprentices, or joining cave ventures. Explorations trigger passages from a storybook that present encounters and choices influenced by which villagers and items accompany the party. Resources and discoveries feed village growth; at game end the most developed village scores the win.
- Players
- 2–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 90 min
- Age
- 13+
- Complexity
- 2.5 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Art
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Above and Below: Desert Labyrinth and Underforest Encounter Book2015
Above and Below: Groves2016
Above and Below: Expanded Edition Exclusives2015
Above and Below: Megaland Bonus Cards2018
Near and Far: Dice Tower Character Tiles2018
The Red Raven Fan Box #12018
Arzium Archive Promo Box2024
Above and Below: Watch It Played Building Promo Card2016
Above and Below: Mystic's Hut Promo Card2015
Near And Far: Rodney & Pep Watch It Played Character Tiles2017
Near and Far / Above and Below / Islebound: Secret Cabal Character Tiles2017
Above and Below: G@mebox Building Promo Card2016
Above and Below: Treasure Chest2025
Near and Far: Bounty Hunter Character Tiles2020Plays with
See them in LudoyaPhotos from Ludoya tables
All photos in LudoyaWhere to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 308
- Plays logged
- 324
- Players
- 1h 9m
- Average play
- 125
- In collections
- 17
- On wishlists
- 1
- Pre-ordered
6.6/10
from 64 Ludoya reviews
Mestremuten6.0 Rating: 3/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 0/1
First impressions · 1 play
Elfrikijugon8.5 Zona lúdica
First impressions · 2 plays
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
How many villagers do I need to send exploring, and how does the lantern total work?
You must send at least two ready villagers, then roll one die for each; each die showing 1–2 gives 1 lantern, and 3–6 gives 2. You may exert villagers after rolling, moving them to your injured area for 1 extra lantern each (pp. 6, 8).
If I succeed at an encounter, which reward do I get?
You get the reward for the highest explore number associated with your chosen option that your lantern total meets or exceeds—not necessarily the highest number in the whole encounter. If you fail to reach any number for your choice, you get no reward and return the cave card to the bottom of its deck (p. 8).
Can I take another turn after I pass, or still do free actions?
No. Once you pass, you cannot take any more actions or free actions that round; however, you may take free actions before passing. If you start your turn with no villagers in your ready area, you must pass (p. 10).
When can I do free actions, and can I do them after a regular action?
You can do as many free actions as you like before taking a normal action on your turn. After you take a normal action, you cannot take any more free actions that turn (p. 9).
How does the advancement track affect my income?
Place goods in the track from left to right without skipping spaces; goods of the same type must stack in the same slot, and placed goods cannot be removed. Each round, you collect the income shown above only the rightmost occupied slot, in addition to any income from buildings (pp. 10–12).
Official score sheet
Above and Below score sheet
Every scoring category, from the Ludoya kit. On your phone the totals add up by themselves.
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Play Above and Below with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
- Log every playScores, winners, timers and photos, then your stats: win rate, favourite player count, best score.Log a play
- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
- Find people to play it withClubs, game nights and events near you that bring this game to the table.See events
Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.






















