by Martino Chiacchiera

The Journey from Bonsai to Koi

After Bonsai, we knew our journey together wasn't over. As designers — Rosaria Battiato, Massimo Borzì, and me — we had found a rare creative harmony, one rooted in our shared passion for Japanese culture and the quiet elegance of nature turned into games. We wanted to keep walking that path, not by repeating ourselves, but by evolving.

Koi began as a natural continuation of the work we had done on Bonsai, carrying forward the same core desire: to intertwine mechanisms and aesthetics in a meaningful way. Not a pasted theme, but a game rising from the nuances and specifics of the theme.

In order to achieve this, we sought to realize a game in which beauty wasn't only contemplative, but also strategic. We dreamed of letting players build something uniquely their own, not just to admire, but to master — a living, breathing koi pond that blossoms with every decision, where Zen meets (game) depth.

That's how Koi was born.

Why Koi?

It was, once again, a choice guided by the heart. The koi fish holds a special place in Japanese culture — a living symbol of resilience, grace, and prosperity. Their presence brings life and movement to still waters, their colors turning a simple pond into a place of reflection.

We've always loved watching koi ponds — in Japanese gardens, in books, even on screensavers when needed. There's something hypnotic in the way they glide, something calming in their gentle defiance of stillness.

When we asked ourselves what to design next, the answer came with surprising clarity. We wanted to create a game that would let players build their own pond, not just to admire it, but to fill it with meaning — a space where each movement echoes intention, where koi "swim" not only on the board, but through the choices you make.

That's how the koi became the soul of our game.

Pond under construction
From Seeds to Ripples

Just as Bonsai invited players to cultivate a miniature tree tile by tile, Koi carries forward that same meditative spirit, but flows in new directions.

The heart of the game remains familiar: draw from a shared line of cards, gather essential resources — water, coins, and koi — and shape something personal through the placement of hexagonal tiles. Each turn, players face a meaningful choice:

▪️ Meditate to collect new cards, earn coins, and welcome new koi into their care, or

▪️ Work to activate their Sensei's guidance, placing tiles and shaping their pond with precision and intention.

You may act or reflect, but never both. This simple decision deepens the pace and poetry of the game. In this balance of stillness and motion lies the essence of Koi: a dance between calm and cleverness, between harmony and strategy.

Action cards build a chain of effects
It All Started with Water and Fish

From the beginning, the koi had to be at the center. We imagined them gliding through still water, graceful and alive, and we wanted players to feel responsible for their presence, to take care of them. That's why one of our first decisions was to include koi tiles in three different sizes — not just as a visual touch, but as a design choice rooted in meaning. Adding each and every fish would be a conscious placement and a quest to keep the pond in balance.

In early versions of the game, we even had a food resource. Players would feed their koi to help them grow. As development moved forward, we realized that this mechanism, while thematic, added layers that distracted from the strategic clarity we wanted, so the food disappeared, but the koi stayed as the heart of the experience: Small ones are easier to surround in water, but yield fewer points. Large koi are harder to take care of, but more rewarding. It's a delicate dance of patience and intention, of when to tend to the small and when to reach for something greater.

And so, at the beginning, there was only water and fish.

Transparent tiles
Framing the Stillness

And yet a koi pond is never just water and fish. It's a world within a frame, a composition of harmony and contrast.

We realized early on that no pond feels complete without a defined perimeter. That's how the rock tiles came into play: sturdy, grounding, natural — the perfect place to set a lantern and bring light to the surface. Then came the lilies, soft and ornamental, dotting the water with beauty. And finally, the goals — almost entirely unique to each player — are designed not just to guide play, but to make every pond unmistakably yours.

That's when the idea struck: What if everything in three dimensions was meaningful? Together with the publisher, DV Games, we embraced this vision — not just for its elegance, but as a challenge. Scoring became linked to presence and form, to what rises above the surface. The publisher's creative work turned this into a visual signature, with carefully sculpted 3D elements that made every game a personal, aesthetic statement.

In Koi, your objectives don't sit beside your pond; they grow from within it, integrated and intentional. As you build, your play area becomes something beautiful and utterly distinct from that of your opponents. Every stone, every bloom, every curve of the water tells your story.

From prototype to 3D mock-up
Refining the Flow

Designing Koi was never a solitary effort. From the beginning, we knew that playtesting would be essential in shaping the experience we wanted to deliver. After all, a game — like a koi pond — requires careful balance, iteration, and the ability to listen and adapt.

We started with digital prototypes, testing online to quickly explore different directions. As the game took form, we moved to in-person playtests, observing how players interact with the components, the timing, the flow. Blind tests followed, complete with feedback forms designed to capture impressions, evaluate clarity, and identify both the enjoyable moments and the pain points.

We tested sooo many different combinations of cards and effects
Each session brought new insights. Sometimes small adjustments were enough to improve the tempo of a match; other times we reworked entire systems to better support the experience we envisioned. The feedback helped us calibrate both the strategic depth and the aesthetic pleasure at the heart of the game.

In the end, Koi reflects not only the vision of its creators and the DV Games team, but also the invaluable contributions of all those who tested it — shaping it, piece by piece, into what it is today.

We ended up with something that looks beautiful, fun, and thematic — and lots of users already showed enthusiasm for these reasons. The game will be out soon (both at Gen Con '25 and at SPIEL Essen 25), and we are thrilled to see what beautiful koi ponds you will build.

Enjoy, and stay koi!

Martino Chiacchiera

Mock-up prototype