The best way to describe this game is SCRABBLE with colours and shapes. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s simple, or just for younger players.
In QWIRKLE you place as many of your six tiles as possible as long as you follow the rules of shape and/or colour.
There are six different shapes and six different colours and you’re trying to complete lines of either. You get 1pt for each tile in the row or column you’ve added to (and if you’re good, you can sometimes place to score multiple rows and columns). If you complete the six different shapes or colours, you get 12pts.
We really love QWIRKLE. It’s been easy to teach to all of our friends who game, no matter what they normally like to play.
It comes in a standard set, a travel set, and if you’re a fan like me, a nice looking Deluxe Edition.
There are also other variations like cubes and cards.
While it can look like a simple case of placing random tiles, there are tactics involved. Knowing each specific tile is only in the set three times allows you to plan if you want to place yours.
And knowing when to hold onto a piece so that you don’t present a Qwirkle to an opponent, but not waiting too long that someone else does it for you, can lead to some tough, thinky moments.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if this would be good for people who are colour blind. In some lighting we’ve struggled with red/orange and green/blue. I’d like to see a set with symbols or letters within the shape to make this easier.
And for some people, I know it can be hard to pick out if a piece can go in a spot when the board gets busy. We’ve made a handful of mistakes that we’ve only suddenly noticed at the end of the game. But other than that, I think everyone should have a version of QWIRKLE in their collection.
Colourful, simple to teach, with some decent strategy, QWIRKLE is a game that can bring different types of board gamers together.
Always Play Blue 