take turns to build koans. After building a koan, a student may call either "Master" or "Mondo": Master: The Master determines whether that Student's koan follows or breaks the Rule (also stylized as: "possesses or lacks the Buddha-nature", in fitting with the game's philosophical theme) and marks it with a white or black stone accordingly. Mondo: Each Student guesses whether the koan follows or breaks the rule, by holding a black or white stone in their hand. The Master marks whether the koan follows the rule, and stones are revealed simultaneously: Students who guessed correctly are awarded a Guessing Stone. At the end of their turn, a Student may spend Guessing Stones to guess the Master's Rule. If the guess is wrong, the Master may build and mark a new koan (which either fits the Master's Rule but not the Student's guess, or vice versa) to prove this. The first student to correctly state the rule wins that round and becomes the new Master. Philosophy of play Zendo encourages inductive reasoning and scientific thinking due to the nature of the guessing process. Players are enticed to think critically while playing the game. Although it is possible to 'win' Zendo by correctly stating a rule, there are no losers. Every player benefits from observing and following play. Furthermore, Masters may 'win' as well, by choosing a challenging, yet simple Rule. Koan attributes Pieces tend to be objects with multiple discrete distinguishing attributes; for example, Icehouse pieces, folded paper pyramids or Lego blocks. Using these, it is possible to create many different parts inside a koan. A partial list of koan attributes is below. Size of pieces Shape of pieces Color of pieces Number of pieces Relative orientation ("pointing at another piece/parallel to another piece") of pieces Groundedness (pieces supported entirely by other pieces are not "grounded") of pieces Awards Zendo won the 2003 Origins Award for "Abstract Board Game". Zendo was named one of the 2005 Mensa Select games by American Mensa. References External links Zendo page , Looney Labs Zendo site Icehouse games Mensa Select winners Origins Award winners Games of mental skill Games with concealed rules