In the 19th century, as microscopes revealed a hidden world, a handful of obsessive naturalists started arranging diatoms, the glassy shells of single-celled algae, into intricate mosaics on glass slides. It is a real and almost forgotten Victorian art form, and it is the unlikely heart of Diatoms, a tile-laying game that is now a finalist for a 2026 Origins Award.
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Find events near youDesigned by Sabrina Culyba and published by her studio Ludoliminal (with 25th Century Games handling retail), Diatoms casts 2-4 players as artists of the microscopic, collecting glittering algae pieces and arranging them into patterns to win over the judges of the Society of Microscopic Arts. It plays in 30 to 40 minutes and packs in 36 solo commissions for anyone who fancies pottering away alone. The theme sounds esoteric, but the game has quietly gathered the kind of recognition most designers dream of: it took the 2023 Cardboard Edison Award for best unpublished design, then earned a 2025 Mensa Select badge after release.
Now it is one of ten finalists for Best Light Strategy Game at the 49th Origins Awards, lined up against familiar faces like Finspan and Tag Team. The winners are being decided at Origins Game Fair in Columbus right now, with the convention running 17 to 21 June, so the result may already be in by the time you read this.
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See how it worksIf the premise alone has you intrigued, that is rather the point. Diatoms is the sort of lovely, brain-tickling game that turns a quiet evening into something worth gathering people for. Round up a group and see who can out-arrange the rest.
Sources: Ludoliminal | DDO Players | BoardGameWire
