Games Like I Buried Steve

Build it. Then survive it.

Every round, you and up to five friends get a fistful of building energy and a patch of tropical sand. You place traps, blades, ramps and bottomless gaps — in secret. Nobody sees what you built until the countdown hits zero.

Then everyone races through it at once.

Points go to whoever reaches the goal. Points also go to whoever's trap put somebody in the water. The catch: if everybody makes it, nobody scores. Build it too hard and you'll never finish it yourself — race smart, or race last.

The loop

Draft — Gather at the tiki bar and pick your hand of pieces. Your cards are yours alone; nobody gets to guess what's coming.

Build — Fly over the course and spend your energy. Blocks, traps, pads, doors. Every placement stays hidden from your rivals.

Race — First person, full speed, everyone's sabotage revealed at once. The island sinks behind you, so there's no waiting it out.

Score — Goal points, first-across points, and points for every rival your trap sends flying.

An arsenal that hates you

Swinging axes, spinning blades, punch pistons and spike turrets

Boulder dispensers that roll their payload downhill into traffic

A five-tile mechanical claw that grabs a runner and hauls them backwards

Vortexes, one-way floor doors, and freeze traps that leave you a sliding, shoveable block of ice

Proximity-fused explosive barrels that turn the last stretch into a countdown you can hear