Patchwork: Winter Edition

Tetris meets old-world handicraft

Patchwork: Winter Edition is a two-player tile-laying game that is easy to learn and quick to play. It is no exaggeration to say that while one player punches out all the pieces from their punchboards, the other player can have read and come to grips with all the rules of the game.

Set Up

The main board (which serves as a time track) is placed in the centre of the table and the patchwork swatches (‘tetris’ pieces) are arranged in a loose circle around this board. The five square ‘filler’ patches are placed on the time track and then each player chooses one of the two circular markers and these are placed in the first field on the main board. Each player then takes a player board and five buttons (this is the ‘currency’ of the game).

One last point before we start. Each tile has two symbols: an hour-glass and a button. As the final stage in set up, find the tile with ‘2’ next to the hour-glass and ‘1’ next to the button. Looking at the tiles in a clockwise manner, place the pawn immediately after this tile in the circle.

Now you’re all set to go. It really is that simple.

So, how do you play?

Playing is straightforward. The active player is the one who is behind on the time track; if both players are on the same space, then the player on top is considered to be in last place. On their turn, players either buy a tile or take buttons. Sometimes buying a tile will also mean you take buttons.

Buying a tile – Clockwise, count three tiles round from the pawn. These three tiles, and only these three tiles, can be bought. To buy a tile a player needs to pay the number of buttons shown on the tile. If you don’t have enough buttons, then tough. After buying a tile, immediately place it on your player board and remember to advance your counter on the time track the same number of spaces as the number of hours on the tile. Don’t forget to move the pawn to the space left by the tile you’ve just taken.

Taking buttons – Instead of buying a tile you can simply advance your counter on the main board so it is one space ahead of the other player’s counter. For each space you cover, you receive one button.

If your counter goes past one of the filler patches on the board, you get that as a bonus. Also, if the counter goes over a button, then you count the number of buttons shown on tiles in your patchwork and take that number of buttons.

The game ends when both players reach the centre of the time track – their day is done. Count up your buttons and subtract two buttons for every uncovered square on your player board. The winner is the player with the most buttons. All that is left to do is to set up for another go.

Impressions

For me, this game is a winner. Quick to set up and put away. Easy gameplay and no ‘take that’ moments. There is little to no downtime as play proceeds swiftly from player to player. The publisher suggests 30 minutes to play and in my experience it is easy to play twice in an hour, including set up and clearing away.

If you like this game, you might want to try Cottage Garden, also designed by Uwe Rosenberg, which allows up to four players. Other similar games include: Bärenpark by Phil Walker-Harding, where players design a zoo; and My City by Reiner Knizia. Readers might be tempted to try the original Patchwork, too. But I would advise against this, as there is really no substantive difference between the two versions of the game. Sure, the artwork is different and my copy (the Polish version) includes a gingerbread baking mould as a freebie, but gameplay is almost totally unaltered. The only small change, and it is a small one, is that in the Winter Edition the filler patches lie on their own spaces on the time track, while in the original version they don’t. Is this a good enough reason to buy both copies? Well, if you are a completionist, then ‘yes’. Otherwise, maybe not. Unless of course, you simply like the idea of playing a more festive version of the game on special occasions. After all, it takes all sorts and life would be terribly dull if we all thought the same.