I’d love for you to give this game a go. Here’s how I made it in Australia and how much it’d set you back to create your own:

Gamepieces

72 x Hexagonal matte white tiles

[$10-20]

I went with the 50x59mm tiles, you could go larger, but I wouldn’t recommend going much smaller.

I purchased 2 sheets (72 tiles) for $17.50, but they have been known to go on sale for $5 a sheet:

Link to search for exact hexagon tiles at Bunnings

It’s the largest expense but oh-so-satisfying compared to cardboard and gives the necessary height required.

1 x D6 dice

[$0-5]

I’ve been told it’s offensive to ask an avid boardgamer whether they have dice, so if you are, you’re probably good here.

I used these free digital dice for a fair while before realising I had one:

Google Dice

21 x Critter pieces per player

[$0-6 / player]

I used these, they’re very cute and a good size:

https://www.themosaicstore.com.au/collections/ceramic-flowers

Honestly you could use anything, such as little wooden cubes, meeples from another game or little figurines, they do have to be quite small.

30 x 3 resource tokens

(About 30 each of 3 different colours)

[$6-12]

I recommend these:

https://www.themosaicstore.com.au/collections/glass-triangles

https://www.themosaicstore.com.au/collections/mini-glass-diamonds

One mixed set for ~$6 of ~85 pieces is enough if you’re happy for them not to be matching

“I never once got bored during other people’s turns because I was always making fun patterns with the resources” - Amy (avid boardgamer)

Prints

I like to use small 10x15cm photo satin prints as the summary, bonus and power cards. These can then be stuck onto a card backing, sleeved or used as is.

Kmart and Officeworks both offer 15c prints of this size at time writing. So 17 prints (shown below would be a total of $2.55 - a bargain!)

• The rulebook! It’s FREE - https://volcanique.rocks/rules or Print version (A4 Landscape layout of A5 double spread) https://volcanique.rocks/rules/rulebook-12-25.pdf

• 5 x Turn summary cards 10x15cm (4x6"): https://volcanique.rocks/rules/print/turn-summary.png

• 5 x Cost reminder 10x15cm (4x6"): https://volcanique.rocks/rules/print/tile-costs.png

• 5 x Scoring points summary 10x15cm (4x6"): https://volcanique.rocks/rules/print/scoring-points.png

• 1 x Bonuses 10x15cm (4x6"): https://volcanique.rocks/rules/print/biome-bonuses.png

• 8 x Power card prints 15x15cm (6x6"):

  • Card group 1
  • Card group 2
  • Card group 3
  • Card group 4
  • Card group 5
  • Card group 6
  • Card group 7
  • Card group 8

Total $20-60

TOTAL $20-60

(Two player with own player pieces vs 4 player full resources, player pieces and dice)

[+ shipping]

Optional Extras

• 2-3 x coloured pencils or paints (to decorate your tiles)

• A ruler (or a something that you can draw a straight line with)

• A notepad and paper or notes app to write down the final scores! https://volcanique.rocks/scoring

• Freeze tokens

• 1 x D4 (also offensive to ask if they play DnD)

• 1 x Large coin (for disputes)

• Carry bags or little containers

• A bag or box to store it in (I’ve found great ones in op-shops)

• 1mm (or less) felt or foam adhesive for the backs of your tiles (jeweller’s felt)

• Scissors

• Hobby knife (for felt)

• Contact Cement (for felt backing)

• Cardboard

• Painters/masking tape (go for moderately good quality otherwise the paint seeps through)

• Matte spray or clear coat to protect your tiles (less shiny works best under most lighting conditions)

Decorating your tiles

Go as crazy or as simple as you like.

Here’s some suggestions:

• zigzags, straight lines and spots
• block colour, scribble colour, blanks
• 3 different colours
• forest, grasslands, desert

2 Player Tiles

You’ll need the following minimum for a 2 player game:

2 x uno dark tiles

2 x uno medium tiles

2 x uno light tiles

5 x duo dark/medium tiles

5 x duo medium/light tiles

5 x duo light/dark tiles

7 x trio dark/medium/light tiles

7 x trio dark/light/medium tiles

12 x volcano lava/soil tiles

2 x sacrificial critter crater tiles

    35 biome tiles + 14 other tiles
    
    Total Tiles = 49

3-4 Player Tiles

For a 3-4 player game you will need the following tiles:

3 x uno dark tiles

3 x uno medium tiles

3 x uno light tiles

6 x duo dark/medium tiles

6 x duo medium/light tiles

6 x duo light/dark tiles

9 x trio dark/medium/light tiles

9 x trio dark/light/medium tiles

21 x volcano lava/soil tiles

4 x sacrificial critter crater tiles

Uno tiles: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9
Duo tiles: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18
Trio tiles: 9 + 9 = 18
Other tiles: 4 + 21 = 25
= 9 + 18 + 18 + 25

Total Tiles = 70 tiles

1 x uno forest tile

1 x uno grassland tile

1 x uno desert tile

2 x duo forest/grass tiles

2 x duo grass/desert tiles

2 x duo desert/forest tiles

3 x trio forest/grass/desert tiles

3 x trio forest/desert/grass tiles

4 x lava/soil tiles

2 x sacrificial critter crater tiles

5 Player Extra Tiles

No idea if you can just keep adding extra tiles for more players - probs - but it’ll add to the length of the game, so be warned. Also more prep set-up time.