LookoutLookout Games Patchwork Board Game - an Interactive Two-Player Quilting Puzzle Strategy Game by Uwe Rosenberg, Fun for Kids & Adults, Ages 8+, 2 Players, 30 Minute Playtime

~ Rainy/snowy/too hot weekend? Got the stew stewing or pie baking? Not all friends could come over? Got about 20 minutes to kill? Well, this is the perfect game for you to play with your friend/roommate/partner/husband/child/anyone you've got there! But please note that you can only play this with one friend; not the whole squad - for this is strictly a 2-player game!~ What's all the stuff here? Well, you've got a lot of blue buttons, 33 patches, two quilt boards (lime green and yellow) and two time tokens of the same colors corresponding to these quilt boards, One Time board (the one with the spiral steps), One Neutral Token (the one that looks like Chess coin), Five 1x1 patches (the tiny leather patches), One 7x7 button tile (special tile).~ Rules:1. Each player picks one quilt board and the time token of the color corresponding to the color of their quilt board. Sit opposite to each other.2. Place the time board at the center. Both the time tokens have to be placed at the beginning of the spiral in the time board (As the game progresses, you literally spiral your way through time!). Place the 1x1 patches at the corresponding blanks on the time board. Arrange all the 33 patches randomly around the time board.3. Locate the smallest of the 33 patches. You'll find a tiny 2x2 rectangular patch. The Neural token (the grey chess like coin) has to be placed between this patch and it's immediate patch in the clockwise direction (refer to picture attached). The game proceeds in the clockwise direction from the neutral token.4. Each player gets 5 buttons to begin with.5. The player who last picked a needle must start the game. If neither of you have done that, just toss for it!6. During your turn, you have two choices:Choice A: Buy a patch of your choice by paying the number of buttons indicated on that patch. You are eligible to buy any of the first three patches that are immediately adjacent to the neutral token in the clockwise direction. When you do pick a patch, move the neutral token to the now empty spot created by you taking this patch. Now you can use this patch to create a quilt on your quilt board. Use the patch wisely! Next, move your time token as per the number of steps indicated by the hourglass on that patch that you've just used. As long as your time token is further behind or on top of your opponent's time token, it is still your turn! Yes. This game does not necessarily alternate turns.Choice B: You decide to rest. Here you just pass over your opponent's time token; exactly to the next space. Not one step more or less. You'll receive one button for each of the spaces that you've crossed. Now that your time token is in front of your opponent's, your turn is over!7. When your time token spirals it's way through the time board, You might happen to pass through some special places. When you cross a button checkpoint, count the number of buttons on the quilt that you've created on your work board (this doesn't include the buttons that you spent buying the patches but rather the huge buttons on the patches). You receive these many buttons from the reserve. Also, in case you are the first player to land onto or pass over a 1x1 patch, you get that patch. These patches go to the first player to land on or pass over them and MUST BE USED IMMEDIATELY.8. The first player to build a complete 7x7 quilt (without any empty spaces) on their work board gets the special 7x7 tile. This corresponds to 7 buttons. (PS. The work board itself is 9x9)9. So that's it. When both the time tokens reach the center of the time board, the game ends.10. Point calculation: Add all the buttons that you have left. From this subtract the number of empty spaces on your work board multiplied by 2.~ So that's pretty much it. You can refer to the pictures that I've attached to get more of an idea.~ You'll definitely get familiar with the rules when you play a game or two. The rules are very simple. And the game is fun!~ Also, I've noticed that this game does not involve much fighting or cheating. Just a fun and friendly game that helps you while away a max of 30 mins .

Figured I'd add my two cents to the well deserved 5-star ranks!INTRO: Patchwork is a light-medium, 2-player abstract resource management game, quite unlike any other I've ever played. When I first saw this displaying on people's wishlists on BGG last year, I kept wondering, "what are people thinking? this looks so incredibly boring." And at first, honestly, it does! BUT, it is really so much more than just a quilt making game. Uwe Rosenberg has a gem on his hands here that I"m sure will only gain in popularity with time, and that people will definitely still be playing in 10 years - it's that good.SETUP: Pretty simple setup, easily under 3 minutes. To start, give each player a quilt board (9x9 grid). Put out the timer track in between boards, and place both player markers at the beginning of the track. Fill the single square tile spaces on the timer track with the single tile squares. Then set up ALL the 'quilt pieces' in a large circle/oval surrounding the timer track, in between the player boards. Find the starting 1x2 piece and place the Start token next to it. Finally, give each player 5 'buttons' (your currency) and place the rest in a pile off to the side. Place the special 7x7 tile next to these. Good to go.GAMEPLAY: The beauty of the game is magnified by its simplicity here. On your turn, you really only have two options: either 1) move your player marker one timer space beyond your opponent, and collect buttons = number of spaces traveled, or 2) purchase a piece of 'cloth,' paying the appropriate number of buttons indicated, and then also moving your player marker the indicated number of timer spaces. (For example, one of the many Tetris-y style pieces might have written on it 3B, where B is actually a picture of a button, followed by 2T where T is actually a picture of an hourglass). And seriously, that's it. The depth and strategy come in deciding when and what to buy, and maximizing your button potential for purchases, as well as endgame scoring.There are a few other idiosyncracies that come along as well. The pieces you can buy are limited to the 3 clockwise from the Starting token position, which continually moves around the board after a purchase. So the pieces available for purchase continue to change on any turn after one in which a piece was bought (remember, you can choose option 1 above and not buy anything to gain more buttons; in fact, sometime you have to do this, not being able to afford any of the 3 pieces available). Recognizing what you need to fill in on your board vs. what you think your opponent is looking for is key.Also of note is when you are the first to pass a single tile piece on the timer track, you get to take that piece and place it on your 'quilt,' which is helpful when you need to fill in the small gaps. Likewise, when you pass the button symbol on the timer track, you then count up all your buttons shown on your previously purchased quilt pieces, and acquire that many from the 'bank.'Lastly, there is a special 7x7 piece that the first person to form a completed 7x7 quilt on their board acquires. At the end of the game, this piece, not surprisingly, is worth 7 points :) All buttons you have at the end of the game are added up, 1 point per button, minus 2 points per any open square still left on your player board ('quilt'). Whoever has the higher score wins. In case of a tie, whoever reached the end of the timer track first wins.ART & COMPONENT QUALITY: For what it is, the artwork is nice and works for this game. Each piece kinda has a slightly used look on it, as you are supposed to be sewing pieces of cloth together, making a Patchwork (hence the name). But the component quality - YES! So good; they nailed it. Nice punchboard thickness to it, feels great in your hands. The box is perfectly sized for the components, too. No extra room not needed. Relatively small; not a lot of shelf space. Box art is better in person, too, than the picture here. Overall, absolutely wonderful. Should last for years and years.CONCLUSION: I was stunned by how easily my wife and I picked this up and played right out of the box, and yet how much depth and replayability there is to the game. (Again, the rulebook couldn't have been simpler and easier to follow). The setup of the pieces will change every game, so no two games will be alike - or the odds I'm sure are ridiculously small, anyway!Overall, I'm really glad I kept hearing and reading more about this game, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been put off initially by the theme. It's a great way to spend a half hour with a friend or loved one, and is easy enough to teach (the rulebook is PERFECT to understand and beautifully designed...way to go guys). Great for non/light gamers, and yet definitely enough strategy there for the more hardcore gamers. Which is perfect for my wife (non-gamer) and I (gamer).One final thought: this game honestly will probably replace Lost Cities for us (one of the few games she'll actually play with me). If given the choice, I'm sure both of us would rather play this one.

This game has become one of our favorites. It's designed for two players. It's easy to set up and learn the rules. Once you are playing, you can make it as complex as you want, more than we need anyway. The cardboard pieces are solid. One thing that wasn't clear to us was whether the button spots on the turn board are considered move-spaces. We tried it both ways and decided that they should be included as spaces, along with the leather-patch spots.