# Above and Below

Above and Below is a board game for 2–4 players. It plays in 90 minutes and is meant for ages 13 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 5.5 out of 10 by 58 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $32.33 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–4 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 13+
- **Complexity:** 2.5 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2015
- **Categories:** City Building, Negotiation, Adventure, Economic, Fantasy, Exploration, Farming
- **Mechanics:** Storytelling, Narrative Choice / Paragraph, Turn Order: Progressive, Set Collection, Action Points, Dice Rolling, Trading
- **Ludoya rating:** 5.5 out of 10, from 58 reviews
- **Owned by:** 120 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 300
- **Unique players:** 306

**Designers:** Ryan Laukat

**Artists:** Ryan Laukat

**Publishers:** Red Raven Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gamers Guild AZ | 32.33 $ | https://gamersguildaz.com/products/above-and-below-board-games |
| Cardhaus Games | 39.99 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/above-and-below/ |
| Board Game Bliss | 57.95 $ | https://www.boardgamebliss.com/products/above-and-below |
| Ludifolie | 35.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/9834-above-and-below.html |
| TLAMA games | 1049 Kč | https://www.tlamagames.com/deskove-hry/above-and-below/ |
| Zatu Games | 39.95 £ | https://zatu.com/products/above-and-below |
| Spelexperten | 549 kr | https://www.spelexperten.com/sallskapsspel/strategispel/above-and-below.html |
| Games Empire | 79.99 $ | https://gamesempire.com.au/products/above-and-below |
| Alphaspel | 599 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/58675-above-and-below |
| Fantasiapelit | 55 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_163929 |
| Good Games | 89.62 $ | https://www.goodgames.com.au/products/above-and-below |
| Spielezar | 62.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/brettspiele/above-and-below-en |

## Expansions

- [Above and Below: Desert Labyrinth and Underforest Encounter Book](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-desert-labyrinth-and-underforest-encounter-book)
- [Above and Below: Groves](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-groves)
- [Above and Below: Expanded Edition Exclusives](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-expanded-edition-exclusives)
- [Above and Below: Megaland Bonus Cards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-megaland-bonus-cards)
- [Near and Far: Dice Tower Character Tiles](https://www.ludoya.com/games/near-and-far-dice-tower-character-tiles)
- [The Red Raven Fan Box #1](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-red-raven-fan-box-1)
- [Arzium Archive Promo Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/arzium-archive-promo-box)
- [Above and Below: Watch It Played Building Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-watch-it-played-building-promo-card)
- [Above and Below: Mystic's Hut Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-mystics-hut-promo-card)
- [Near And Far: Rodney & Pep Watch It Played Character Tiles](https://www.ludoya.com/games/near-and-far-rodney-and-pep-watch-it-played-character-tiles)
- [Near and Far / Above and Below / Islebound: Secret Cabal Character Tiles](https://www.ludoya.com/games/near-and-far-secret-cabal-character-tiles)
- [Above and Below: G@mebox Building Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-gmebox-building-promo-card)
- [Above and Below: Treasure Chest](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-treasure-chest)
- [Near and Far: Bounty Hunter Character Tiles](https://www.ludoya.com/games/near-and-far-bounty-hunter-character-tiles)

## Similar games

- [Above and Below: Haunted](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below-haunted)
- [Roll Player Adventures](https://www.ludoya.com/games/roll-player-adventures)
- [Divinity Original Sin: The Board Game](https://www.ludoya.com/games/divinity-original-sin-the-board-game)
- [Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sleeping-gods-distant-skies)
- [Tales of the Arthurian Knights](https://www.ludoya.com/games/tales-of-the-arthurian-knights)
- [Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies (Gamefound Edition)](https://www.ludoya.com/games/sleeping-gods-distant-skies-gamefound-edition)
- [Valor & Villainy: Lludwik's Labyrinth](https://www.ludoya.com/games/valor-and-villainy-lludwiks-labyrinth)
- [Lands of Evershade](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lands-of-evershade)
- [Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread](https://www.ludoya.com/games/arydia-the-paths-we-dare-tread)
- [Vantage](https://www.ludoya.com/games/vantage-2)
- [Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin](https://www.ludoya.com/games/tainted-grail-kings-of-ruin)
- [Near and Far](https://www.ludoya.com/games/near-and-far)

## Rules questions

### Do I have to send exactly two villagers when I Explore, or can I send more?

You must send at least two villagers to explore, but you may send any number more and you roll one die per villager sent (page 6).

### How do lanterns from die rolls and exerting villagers work — can a villager give zero lanterns?

Each villager’s die yields lanterns according to the thresholds on the cave card (low rolls give 1 lantern, high rolls give 2 — there is no zero), and you sum those lanterns to meet an explore number; you may then Exert villagers (move them to your injured area) to gain +1 lantern each (pages 6 and 8).

### If I fail an Explore, what happens to the cave card and my villagers?

If you fail you gain no rewards, move any villagers remaining on the cave card to your exhausted area, and place the cave card on the bottom of the cave deck; apply any failure penalties printed in the encounter paragraph (page 8).

### Can I perform Free Actions (like buying/selling a good) after I take a normal action on my turn?

Free actions may be performed any time before you take a normal action on your turn, but once you perform a normal action you may not take any free actions until a later turn (page 9).

### How do beds, cider, and potions interact when resting villagers at the end of the round?

At round end you may first spend potions (move one injured→exhausted per potion) and ciders (move one exhausted→ready per cider); then each bed on your buildings lets you move one villager up one area (injured→exhausted or exhausted→ready); note some villagers (e.g., Metal Man) are exceptions (pages 10 and 12).

### How does the Advancement Track affect income and scoring — which goods give me income each round?

Place goods left-to-right on the advancement track; the rightmost filled slot determines your current per-round income (the number at the top right of that slot), while the left number above each slot is the endgame points per good in that slot, and goods placed there cannot be removed (pages 12 and 10).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/above-and-below)
- [Above and Below in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/above-and-below)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172818)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._