FAQs

Why did you change the name?
The name was changed to avoid any conflict with Sony Corporation, who decided to release a fantasy game called Ico and was able to trademark the name since, at the time, it was no longer in commercial use.

When was the game first released?
The Ico Crystal Game was originally published in 1980 and sold over 100,000 units retail and to schools. It is considered a board game although the board is a three dimensional shape, the icosahedron, hence the name.

Have the rules ever changed?
Over the years, the rules have been re-written several times. This was done to improve clarity, to make them more understandable. The way the game is played at each Level has not changed since the first release.

How many Levels of Play are there?
We suspect there are 12. It took several years to be certain about the first 4 levels. Levels 5 and 6 came within the next year. Levels 7 and 8 came by the end of 1984. We are just pretty sure that more will be revealed.

Can I send you an idea for a new Level of Play?
Well you can certainly try. We have received many comments and suggestions through the years, and several good ideas for games. Every game idea seemed to fit within an existing Level of Play, rather that "break" a new level. So we called these games "variations" and began to keep track of them using decimals, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. Some of these are really great games. One of my favorite games to play is a variation, Level 5.3.

Will you print t-shirts like you did before?
In the past we printed two shirt designs a year. One design was for those who wanted to buy a shirt. The other design was only for those who won a shirt, and the only way to win a shirt was to beat the inventor. This was called the "Challenge Shirt". Only a few hundred of those were ever made. There were also 2 versions of the Tournament Shirts, one for the tournament players, and one using the same design but in opposite colors for Referees and Staff. I suspect we will print a new shirt design sometime in 2007.

Will IcosaGame also be available in stores?
Not so much. With the website it is not really necessary to have the game in stores. We did that before and to do it right requires a lot of travel and a great deal of work. Many hundreds of small shops and game stores carried our games. The folks that owned and ran these stores and shops were the best. Most of the shops that carried our games have been swallowed or replaced by large franchise and chain operations. There may be special circumstances where we would allow a store to sell our games.