Designed by: Susan McKinley Ross
Qwirkle is an abstract game of pattern-forming. The game has no board; it’s simply a bag of blocks that players are dealt 6 of randomly. During play the blocks join together to form a grid on the table, and what and where you play determines how much you score.
The blocks are made up of six colours and six shapes: squares, stars, cloverleafs and so on. You can place as many blocks as you like on your turn, but they must join the grid, and where they join they must match the tile they’re adjacent to: either by colour, or by shape. You score a point for every tile in the line you’ve added to and/or created, with the possibility of a bonus six points if you add the sixth and final block to a line, making it represent either all six shapes of one colour, or all six colours of one shape. After taking your turn, you draw back up to a hand of six blocks in the bag.
Play continues until the bag is empty of blocks, and one player runs out. Highest points wins!
Minimal. The worst that can happen is someone can take the spot you're eyeing up: but as your blocks are hidden, no-one can actually target anybody else deliberately.
It really does depend on the players: Qwirkle can be played very fast and reactively, but it also does invite the odd ponder for those prone to pondering, particularly as the game nears its end. Scrabble players will recognize the opportunity to play tactically is present.
Low enough to make the game accessible for young children. In fact Qwirkle is a family game in every sense: simple rules, but enough depth not to feel a dull plodding experience for adults, and to help children develop their tactical thinking.
There's not a massive variety in the play, but simple rules and randomness in the block drawing mean Qwirkle does feel eminently replayable, for families in particular.
2-4
Players
6+
Years
30-60
Mins
Sam says
It's rather ingenious really: the tile-laying tactics of Scrabble, minus the vocabulary. There's an element of luck too - which could decide a game where players are very evenly matched - but considering the target audience here, that's no bad thing. There's something very satisfying about those chunky pieces and what Qwirkle does: simple rules, accessible play - it does very well.