The first abstract game on my list and one that we have played a great many times. I’ve always wanted to try to make a giant version of this one similar to the Qwirkle set we use at Platypus-Con ,but the need for a board has always slowed our roll. Regardless it is a terrific game of tile placement and potential for being quite cutthroat!
On your turn all you do is play a tile. Each of the tiles look like two hexagons put together on one of their sides. There is no rule on where you have to place the tile other than it needs to be in the confines of the board. Although generally you are going to want to play them near tiles that have the same shape/color combo as what you are placing. Being next to similar symbols is how you get points. For the five directions radiating out of each of the hexagons you placed you go as far as you can without hitting a different symbol. Adding together all of those values is the score for that color you got from playing the tile!
If you manage to max out your score in one of the colors that is called getting an ingenious. You have to hold up jazz hands and say, “Ingenious!” (Not really but its a house rule I keep trying and failing to get my friends to adopt). In reality what you get is another turn right away! If you plan it right you can even get multiple extra turns if you Ingenious multiple colors in succession.
The end game scoring is one of my favorite parts of this game. The score you get is the lowest value among all the colors. So while getting an Ingenious gives you a benefit, you need to make sure not to ignore any of the colors. Especially if you playing with me! If I notice you currently have a lower score than me, I might try to make the color you need inaccessible securing my victory! Although I promise to try to play nice the first time you give this great game a try!
