Welcome to Qwirkle!

Qwirkle is a fun and exciting game that combines elements of Scrabble, dominoes, and Jungle Speed. The objective is to strategically arrange tiles with matching shapes or colors to earn maximum points.

Getting Started

• Grab a sheet of paper and a pencil to keep track of the scores.
• Place all the tiles in a bag.
• Each player randomly selects 6 tiles from the bag.
• Keep your tiles in front of you, making sure other players can’t see the symbols. This is your hand.
• The remaining tiles go back into the bag to create the reserve.

Determining the First Player

So, here’s what you do. Take a good look at the tiles in your hand and find the ones that share something in common. It could be the color or the shape, but remember, don’t count any duplicates.

Now, the player who has the most tiles with this common characteristic gets to start the game. But what happens if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, it’s the oldest player who goes first.

Alright, it’s time to make your move. Put down all your tiles that have the same color or shape on the table. Score some points for that and take a moment to feel good about yourself. Then, go ahead and grab some more tiles from the reserve so you have six in front of you once again.

The Way We Play

When I sit down to play this game, there are two things I can choose to do. Let me break it down for you:

• I can add more tiles to a line, making sure they match either in color or shape. Then, I’ll grab some more tiles from the reserve to complete my hand with a total of 6. Oh yeah, all the tiles I play from my hand have to be part of the same line, but they can’t be touching each other.
• Or, I can swap some or all of the tiles in my hand for new ones from the reserve. After that, it’s someone else’s turn and I won’t play any tiles this time.

Building Those Lines

Throughout the game, we’ll keep adding tiles to the lines that were created in the first round, including all their branches. So, here’s what you need to know about that:

• We can’t just play tiles anywhere we want. They have to connect to the existing lines.

There are six different shapes and six different colors in this game. When playing, you try to make lines of either shapes or colors. You can create a line by connecting two or more tiles that have the same shape or color.

However, sometimes you might encounter a situation where you can’t add any more tiles to a line because of tiles from other nearby lines.

Here are some rules to keep in mind:

– When you add tiles to a line, they must belong to the same line but can be placed at either end of the line.

– You cannot use the same tile twice in a row, and you cannot have more than six tiles in a row since there are only six different colors and shapes.

If you want to switch tiles, you can do so by exchanging them.

When it’s your turn, you have the option to swap out some or all of your tiles instead of placing them in a row. If you choose to do this, here’s what you need to do:

1. Set aside the tiles you want to exchange.
2. Draw the same number of tiles from the pile.
3. Mix the tiles you set aside back into the pile.
4. End your turn.

If you can’t place any tiles on the table, you must exchange some or all of your tiles and end your turn.

Scoring

When you make a line in the first round or complete a line later on, you earn 1 point for each tile in that line. That means you get points for all the tiles in the line, even the ones you didn’t play.

• A tile can score 2 points if it belongs to two different lines.
• Qwirkle: You get an extra 6 points whenever you complete a line of 6 tiles. So, a Qwirkle earns you a total of 12 points – the 6 points for the line plus the 6 bonus points.

END OF GAME

When there are no more tiles left in the supply, players keep playing as usual, but they don’t draw any more tiles at the end of their turn.

1. When a player has played all of their tiles, the game comes to an end and that player gets an additional 6 points.

If no player has any tiles left and there are no more tiles in the reserve pile, the game ends right away. No bonus points are given in this case.

The player who has the highest number of points at the end of the game is the winner.

TIPS

Hey there! I’ve got some awesome tips to help you dominate at Qwirkle. Check them out:

• Count the tiles: Let’s say you’re waiting for a yellow circle. Make sure there are still some left in the game. You know, there are 3 yellow circles in total.
• Go for multi-line plays: If you can, try to place tiles that fit into multiple lines. This way, you’ll rack up more points and totally impress your friends.
• Avoid creating lines of 5: Trust me, it’s not a good idea. You don’t want to give your opponent a chance to make a Qwirkle. Keep them on their toes!