Sandships Card Game: How to Play and Win

By Looney Labs - Shop | Published: 2026-10-29

Category: How-to Guides

Learn how to play Sandships, a Looney Pyramids expansion. This guide covers setup, ship modes, city control, and combat to help you win on Mars.

Quick answer

Sandships is a Looney Pyramids expansion that turns pyramids into sand-sailing warships. You need your own pyramid sets and a copy of Sandships to play; the goal is to control cities and eliminate opponents through careful ship building and combat.

What you need before you start

Sandships is not a stand-alone game. You must already own Looney Pyramids: three trios of a color per player, plus one extra trio for each unowned city (black pyramids are recommended for cities). The game itself provides the card deck and rules.

Because Sandships relies on your existing pyramid collection, the exact number of pyramids you need depends on player count and how many cities you want on the board. Plan your pyramid inventory before inviting players.

Common mistakes new players make

A frequent error is forgetting that ships can convert between sailing and soaring modes. Each mode has different movement and combat rules, and switching modes costs an action. New players often leave ships in the wrong mode and waste turns.

Another pitfall is ignoring city control. Cities provide resources and victory points, but they also become targets. Spreading your pyramids too thin across multiple cities leaves you vulnerable to concentrated attacks.

How to play Sandships step by step

1. Set up the board and cities: Place the Sandships deck in the center. Each player chooses a color and takes three trios of pyramids (one large, one medium, one small per trio). Decide how many cities to include (one per player is standard) and place one extra trio of pyramids (preferably black) on each city space. Check that you have enough pyramids for all players and cities before starting. If you are short, reduce the number of cities.
2. Understand ship modes: sailing and soaring: Each ship (a trio of pyramids stacked together) can be in sailing mode (stacked vertically) or soaring mode (stacked horizontally). Sailing ships move along the plains and can attack cities. Soaring ships fly over obstacles and can attack other ships. Switching modes costs one action. Keep ships in the mode that matches your immediate goal. Sailing is better for city assaults; soaring is better for ship-to-ship combat.
3. Turn order and actions: On your turn, draw one card from the deck. You may then perform up to two actions: move a ship, switch a ship's mode, build a new ship (using pyramids from your reserve), or attack an enemy ship or city. Cards may grant bonus actions or special abilities. Plan your two actions carefully. Attacking usually ends your turn, so move or switch modes first if needed.
4. Combat resolution: When you attack, compare the size of the attacking pyramid to the defending pyramid. A larger pyramid defeats a smaller one. If the defender is a city, you must defeat all pyramids in the city to claim it. Defeated pyramids return to their owner's reserve. Use your largest pyramids for attacks and keep smaller ones for defense or as cannon fodder. Losing a pyramid is not permanent; you can rebuild it later.
5. Winning the game: The game ends when one player controls all cities or eliminates all other players' ships. That player wins. Alternatively, you can set a time limit or a target number of cities to control. Focus on controlling cities rather than eliminating all opponents. City control gives you resources and a shorter path to victory.

Product facts

Sandships: Sandships is a game for the Looney Pyramids. It is not a stand-alone game. You must already have pyramids to play: 3 trios of a color per player, plus 1 trio per unowned city (black is preferred). This means you cannot play Sandships without owning Looney Pyramids first. If you are new to the system, you need to buy a pyramid set separately.
Sandships