Qwirkle Board Game Review

You'll love Qwirkle, the board game by MindWare. It's not just for the kiddie set, mind you. Even adults are having fun with its surprisingly simple layout. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just a plain match-the-colors-and-shapes game. Qwirkle is Scrabble, Rummikub, and Dominoes combined, which means there's logic and strategy involved. If you don't watch out, you might find yourself scrambling for the right tile to rescue you.

On top of it all, Qwirkle board game is MindWare's most awarded game ever, garnering recognition from various toy industry awards such as Mensa Best Mind Game 2007 and Major Fun Award 2007. True enough, Qwirkle encourages strategy and deep thought, and for little kids, pattern recognition and sequencing.

Does that sound nifty or what?

So how do you play Qwirkle Board Game?

1. Qwirkle board game has 108 tiles painted with one of 6 shapes (starburst, diamond, cross, circle, square, and an X-mark) in one of 6 colors (yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple).

2. The object of the game is to form rows and columns of tiles with either matching color or shape.

3. At the start of the game, place the tiles face down on the table, and shuffle them well. Each player then gets 6 random tiles.

4. Player with the most tiles sharing one attribute starts the game. He or she plays them in a row or column, and scores 1 point for every tile.

5. For example, first player lays down four diamonds (4 points). Next player builds on that existing row with one more diamond (of a different color than the ones laid down) and scores 5 points. Or that player can match color instead (of a different shape than the ones already played).

4. A player who adds the sixth tile in a series (called a Qwirkle) not only scores 6 points for the tiles, but also gets 6 more bonus points.

5. Players must continually replenish their six tiles on hand after each turn.

6.All colors in a row and all shapes in a column must be different.

7. Game ends when all the tiles have been used, or when a player uses all his/her available tiles. (This last person gets 6 additional points.)

As you can see, Qwirkle board game is a thinking game with endless tactics and maneuvers to furrow the forehead of even the most adept players. You can block your opponent from forming a series, and, of course, be prepared to get frustrated as well. You can even score big by creating multiple combinations of colors and shapes (reminiscent of Scrabble).