Description
Create sets by matching shapes or colours. Any player can add to any set or switch cards in the sets, but the real payoff happens when a set of all 6 is completed and a Qwirkle is scored!
The player with the most Qwirkles after the last card has been drawn wins the game!
It plays very much like the classic card game Rummy but has a strong influence from the original Qwirkle game which was MindWare’s most successful game to date.
Components
108 playing cards: 3 of each of the thirty-six cards shown at right
Rulebook
The Object of the Game:
Make the most Qwirkles to win (A Qwirkle is a run of 6 cards that are either all the same shape or all the same colour, without any duplicates)
Setup:
First things first, you need to shuffle the cards thoroughly and then deal 9 cards to each player, after that, place the remainder of the deck to one side of the play area, this deck will be drawn from frequently so make sure each player can reach it.
Next, you need to decide the player who starts the game, The player with the largest set of cards that are all one shape or all one colour, without duplicates, goes first. In the event of a tie, the player who is the oldest out of the tied players is the one who goes first.
The first player does NOT have to play their largest set on their first turn. And if none of the players has a set of at least 3 cards to start the game, all the cards are reshuffled and dealt again. After the first player has acted then play continues clockwise.
Game Play:
On your turn, you will have access to the following options;
Play cards down onto the play area (Can only play a card on either a matching colour or shape),
Switch cards if needed. (If you make a Qwirkle, take it out of the play area)
And Draw cards from the deck to return your hand to 9 cards.
You can do both of the first two options on your turn and must always follow the third.
Playing Cards:
On your turn, you must play at least one card. You can start a new set, add to an existing set, or switch cards to make new sets. You can do more than one of these things on your turn.
For example, you can start a new set and also add a card to an existing set. Or you can add cards to several existing sets. A set consists of at least 3 cards that share one attribute, either colour or shape.
There cannot be duplicate cards in a set. For example, a set of squares cannot have 2 red squares in it. To start a new set, play at least 3 cards that share a single attribute, without duplicates.
Making a Qwirkle:
Whenever you make a Qwirkle, remove the Qwirkle from the play area. Set the cards to your side so that you can count how many Qwirkles you made at the end of the game.
All players are allowed to look at the completed Qwirkles at any point in the game. If you find you need to refer to them often, you may want to fan them out so that they can be easily seen.
End of the game:
When the last card is drawn, each player gets one last turn (The player who drew the last card is the one who gets the final turn)
After the final turn is made, count up the amount of Qwirkles each player has, the player with the most is the Qwirkles wins!
Suitable for ages of 6 years and up