PATCHWORK AVAILABLE NOW: We're not knitting!
In case you didn't know the definition of a Patchwork, it's a bit like Board Game Arena:
*A large piece of fabric obtained by sewing pieces of other cloth together. A lot of them.
PATCHWORK, made by the über-famous game designer Uwe Rosenberg, isn't exactly a novelty.
Released in 2014, the game has taken the world by storm and met the success it deserves, winning many worldwide awards and prizes (2017 Årets Spel Best Family Game Winner, 2016 Lys Grand Public Finalist,
2016 International Gamers Award- General Strategy: Two-players Nominee, 2015 Spiel der Spiele Special Prize Winner, 2014 Golden Geek Best Abstract Board Game Winner, to say the least...
**So what's all the fuss about?
**
In Patchwork, two players compete to build the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 game board. Each player takes five buttons- the currency/points in the game- and someone is chosen as the start player.
On their turn, a player either purchases one of the next three available patches or passes. To purchase a patch, you pay the cost in buttons shown on the patch, move the spool to that patch's location in the circle of patch tiles, add the patch to your game board, then advance your time token on the time track a number of spaces equal to the time shown on the patch. You are free to place the patch anywhere on your board that does not overlap other patches, but you probably want to fit things together as tightly as possible. If your time token is behind or on top of the other player's time token, you take another turn; otherwise play passes to your opponent. Instead of purchasing a patch, you can choose to pass; to do this, you move your time token to the space immediately in front of the opponent's time token, then take one button from the bank for each space you moved.
In addition to a button cost and time cost, each patch also features 0-3 buttons, and when you move your time token past a button on the time track, you earn "button income": take the number of buttons depicted on your personal game board from the bank.
The time track depicts five little 1x1 patches on it, and during set-up you place five actual 1x1 patches on these spaces. Whoever passes this patch on the time track first claims this patch and immediately places it on his game board.
Additionally, the first player to completely fill in a 7x7 square on his game board earns a bonus tile worth 7 extra points at the end of the game. (Of course, this doesn't happen in every game.)
When a player takes an action that moves his time token to the central square of the time track, he takes one final button income from the bank. Once both players are in the center, the game ends and scoring takes place. Each player scores one point per button in his possession, then loses two points for each empty square on his game board. Scores can be negative. The player with the most points wins.
That's it. As simple as it sounds.
You want to see it for yourself? Great. Our developer Victoria_La did splendid work in adapting the game for Board Game Arena: Thanks to her work, you can even play it from your phone as easily as on any computer. All of our thanks for making it possible!
You can check the game page right here if you wanna have a look at some games:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=patchwork
The BGA Crew also thanks the team from Lookout Games for giving us the rights to have the game on our platform, as well as Uwe Rosenberg. Always a pleasure.
So now is the time for you to master the craft of sewing small pieces of cloth together in different designs, colours, or textures. For better or worse.
We recommend you play it with a friend.
Or make a new one on BGA to play with.
It's all a matter of finding the one you'll stitch the best with.
Life is like that.
Like BGA.
Take care and enjoy this very nice game, more of them are coming your way until the end of the month!
See you next Wednesday for another release. 😉