Lava Run - The Craft-Able Dinosaur Game

Created by Louie's Loops

Lava Run is a craft-able board game about saving your dinosaur from a volcanic eruption! Place tiles to cleverly guide the lava as you move down the volcano. Use special tiles to mess with your opponents, all while trying to be the first dino to escape!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

HUGE announcement! - New Book and Game Coming Soon! 🎲 📕
1 day ago – Thu, Apr 30, 2026 at 01:43:44 PM

Okay, it’s finally time to show you what I’ve been stitching together since the release of Lava Run! I have been hook down working on maybe my biggest project yet, something big, weird, and very... Louie.

So I’m beyond excited to announce… The Goomis are coming out this September!


There's a lot to unravel here, including a new game, a book, and an entire world to explore as you meet a massive collection of my crocheted creatures! Let's take it one stitch at a time:

My new book, Crochet Goomis, is a massive collection—over 50 original amigurumi characters—set in a full yarn-crafted world called Goomia. As you crochet, you explore regions, meet characters, level up your skills, and even face off against epic boss patterns! All while you uncover the mysteries and stories in magical world filled with dragons, yetis, dinosaurs, gnomes, and even a mayoral cookie!

Alongside it, I’m launching a brand new collectable card game: Battle Goomis, a fast-paced game where your Goomis battle it out using unique abilities—and yes, you can actually crochet your team and play with them. Use each Goomi’s unique stats and special abilities to outplay your opponents by winding up your Yarn Ball fully or knocking out every rival in a fun, quick 2 - 4 player game designed for ages 7+.


The crowd-funder for the game will launch this September, just after the book release, and if you get Crochet Goomis, you’ll get a free printable starter deck for Battle Goomis included with your book for all the characters! Leading up to the release I’ll be doing loads of crochet-alongs, livestreams, and playtesting—so if you want in, now’s the time.

In fact, I'm fully opening up testing for Battle Goomis to anyone who bought Lava Run as of now. If you would like to learn more check out the open play-test info below!

Learn more about the Goomis at TheGoomis.com






If you’ve had a chance to play Lava Run, leaving a review would help more than you know. It really helps new people discover the game.

Here are the best places to leave reviews:


Even a short sentence goes a long way 🙏

📦 Missing Something?

If anything was missing from your order or didn’t arrive as expected, just reply to update or email me directly at [email protected] and let me know, I’ve got you covered.


Let me know what you think—and happy hookin’!
- Louie

Tis the season for dinosaurs! ☃️🦖 Get Lava Run in time for the Holidays!
5 months ago – Tue, Nov 25, 2025 at 03:03:22 PM

Hello my pre-historic pals!

Do you wanna make a snow-dino!? We were invited to join the Backerkit Holiday Market! So let's talk a bit about this limited time market and some updates on Lava Run shipments.


This special event brings together crowdfunding creators, indie artists, and game designers. Each offering unique ready to ship gifts, collectibles, and limited-edition rewards perfect for the holiday season. You’ll be able to shop directly from creators (like me!) and discover tons of amazing projects all in one place, at deep discounts!

🗓 Event Launch: November 18th - December 1st

📦 Ready-to-Ship Rewards - Shipping in time for the holidays!

➡️ SHOP THE HOLIDAY MARKET HERE! ⬅️ 

Have you gotten the H2O-NO Expansion Pack yet!? Add loads more chaos to your game with 14 new tiles and 4 new dinosaurs! This is now my favorite way to play Lava Run adding more ways to survive and sizzle the competition!

I'm so proud of how fun this expansion is with the classic game. I highly suggest your get a copy to add to your volcano, it's insanely fun!

➡️ Get the expansion pack here ⬅️ 



If you ordered the Land Before Twine Deluxe Kit (aka the Ultimate Crochet Kit Bundle) during the Backerkit fundraiser, I’ve got a quick update for you and have been emailing you (please check your spam!). The good news is the kits have officially arrived in the U.S.—the less fun news is they’ve hit one last little snag on their way to our fulfillment center. They’re now set to ship out on December 13th, which means international orders might not make it in time for Christmas. I’m really sorry about the delay, but I wanted to offer a fun workaround for anyone hoping to get a kit on their hook before Santa shows up.

If you’d like your order early, you can swap to one of our other themed kits and we can ship it out as soon as tomorrow. Your options are:

 
These kits can still be used to make your dinos and are beginner friendly, just no volcano supplies. If you would like any of these options please reach out to [email protected]! If you’d prefer to stick with Land Before Twine, no need to reach out; I’ll send your tracking information as soon as it’s on the move. Thanks so much for your patience, and please let me know if you have any questions!

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If you have any questions about missing items or your order then please reach out to me directly at [email protected].

Thank you so much for your patience and support! Happy holidays and even happier hookin'!
-Louie

Hot Off the Volcano: Shipping Is Almost Done! 🚚 🦖
7 months ago – Mon, Oct 06, 2025 at 02:28:07 PM

Hello dino friends!

First things first: the best news! By next week, nearly all of the Lava Run games will be shipped out with tracking numbers and everything—yes, even to our patient pals in the UK and EU! (More on that adventure below.)


🇬🇧 UK/EU 🇪🇺 Shipping Saga:

This one’s been a journey. Our fulfillment center misplaced the pins and kits, so we re-sent them. Then customs stepped in and then sent back the replacement shipment, so we had to reship it. And just this week… they found the original package. (Cue dramatic dinosaur roar 🙃). The good news: everything is moving again, and games are being shipped out this week from the UK, and should reach everyone in the UK/EU within 1–2 weeks depending on where you are. I should have tracking numbers for you by this Friday!


😵‍💫 The Rough News (but hopefully not too rough):

If you backed the Land Before Twine Ultimate Crochet Kit, you may have noticed part of your package hasn’t arrived yet. That’s because a shipment went missing somewhere in the prehistoric mail system. We’ve already arranged a replacement, it's on the way and it should be in your hands by early November at the latest (earlier for some). No extra shipping costs, of course.

For UK/EU dino friends that purchased this kit, it will be shipped out in a second shipment to be delivered early November as well, to prevent further delays on any games or other items in your order.

For a small few of our international friends (not UK/EU), this delay even includes the games themselves. If that’s you—or you’re not sure—please reach out to me directly at [email protected] and I’ll get it sorted ASAP.

I'm so sorry about this further delay! It was totally out of my control and has been an extremely frustrating process. I am doing my best to remedy this as soon as possible!


🧶 🖨️ Crafty & Custom Extras:

  • Custom Crocheted Dinos are being shipped! If you ordered one, check your inbox for a message from me. If I don’t hear back, I’ll follow up so your new dino pal doesn’t get stranded.

  • 3D Prints have already been sent out! If you’d like the files to print your own, you can grab them from the Craft-Able page here.

  • Craft-Able Instructions are up and ready for you here! You should have also received a second email about that with this update!

Other Fun Stuff:


  • We’ve also been playing Lava Run (and crocheting dinos) live over on YouTube—come join us here!

Thank you all so much for your patience, kindness, and excitement for Lava Run. This whole project has been an absolute blast to share with you, and I’m so excited that soon every last dino will have a home.

Your lava-loving pal,
- Louie and the rest of the Lava Run crew.

The Volcano Has Erupted! - Lava Run is On It's Way!! 🌋 🎉
9 months ago – Mon, Aug 04, 2025 at 11:12:50 AM

BIG news from deep inside Lava HQ: the volcano has officially erupted with shipments! That’s right – orders are being sent out faster than a raptor on roller skates!



🌎 USA, AU, NZ, Asia, and most international orders (except UK/EU) have already left the nest and are stampeding toward your mailboxes if not already arrived! Tracking info is coming ASAP, so keep those eyes peeled like a banana-saurus.

🇬🇧 UK and EU friends, your orders are taking a slightly more scenic route through a UK fulfillment center. We thought this would be a quicker stroll through the Cretaceous countryside, but we hit a customs tar pit. Expect your games to arrive around August 20th—just in time for a proper prehistoric party.

🦴 Custom-crafted dinos and 3D printed pieces will be hatching in a separate shipment, straight from my personal dino-lair! They’ll be on their way within the next week or so. Roar-some things come to those who wait!

📸 Got your game already? I’d lava to see it! Snap a pic of you with your copy and send it to [email protected] – I’ll be sharing your dino selfies on our Instagram stories!

🎥 We’re planning to resume livestreams in mid to late August, once everyone’s had a chance to wrangle their games. I’ll send out another update when the dinos are ready to dance live in more play-alongs!

🎲 And speaking of fun – we’ve got a new game in development that’s ready for some playtesting soon! Want to help shape the next evolution of cozy chaos? Fill out this form and join the test herd later this month!

Thanks again for being the absolute tricera-TOPS. You’re all legends of the lava.

With molten gratitude,
 🧡 Louie & the Lava Run Team

The Dinos made it to the Raft! - Lava Run is Almost Here! 🚢 🦖
11 months ago – Mon, Jun 16, 2025 at 10:39:24 AM

Hey friends!

DINO SIZED NEWS — the Lava Run games are finally on their way from the manufacturer! Fulfillment is beginning ASAP, and we’re expecting games to be delivered throughout July and August (depending on where you're at). I can’t thank you enough for your patience. I know it’s been a wait, but the dinos actually got onto the raft and are officially paddling your way!

💳 What to Expect Next

Just a heads up: credit cards will be charged tomorrow for shipping and handling (as noted in your original survey).

Expect another update when we begin fulfillment next month and when your game has been shipped!



🧶 Bonus Minigurumi Patterns Just for Backers!

As a mini thank-you, I’ve created two bonus crochet patterns: a Mini Goblin and a Gnome Rider (plus a tiny harness to saddle them up!). I'm also working on mini versions for the dinos and more mini riders... because apparently, I'm now addicted to making these little dudes too.

➡️ Download the Mini Gobling Pattern

➡️ Download the Mini Gnome Pattern

➡️ Download the Mount Harness Pattern



👾 Something Else is Bubbling...

While Lava Run was brewing, I was quietly tinkering with something new behind the seams... Let’s just say a new way to play Lava Run might be in the works 👀 And that’s not all — there’s a brand new Craftable game on the horizon too. I can’t wait to share more with you soon!

Thanks so much for reading, I can't express to you enough my appreciation for your support and patience I'll update you soon when fulfillment begins!

– Louie & the Lava Run Crew 🌋🦕