Patchwork

Description

"Patchwork" is a 2-player tile-laying game where competitors build efficient quilts on 9x9 boards, balancing patch costs, time progression, button income, and space minimization for optimal scoring. Key mechanics include: - *Tile purchase/placement* Players buy and place polyomino patches from a circular market onto their 9x9 board without overlap, aiming for tight fits. - *Time track management* Purchasing advances a player's time token by the patch's time cost; passing catches up to the opponent, gaining buttons per space moved. - *Button economy* Buttons serve as currency for purchases and score points; income earned by summing buttons on owned patches when passing track buttons. - *1x1 patch claiming* Five special 1x1 patches on the time track are claimed by the first player to pass them for immediate board placement. - *7x7 bonus* First player to fill a 7x7 area on their board gains a 7-point bonus tile. - *Turn alternation* Continuous turns if time token is behind or on opponent's; game ends when both reach the central time square. Patchwork is a competitive 2-player board game focused on quilt-building on personal 9x9 boards. Patches are arranged in a random circle with a spool marker starting clockwise of the 2-1 patch; players begin with 5 buttons each. On a turn, a player either purchases one of the three patches clockwise from the spool—paying its button cost, advancing the spool, placing it on their board (ideally tightly to minimize empty spaces), and moving their time token by the patch's time value—or passes by advancing their time token just ahead of the opponent's and gaining 1 button per space moved. A player takes additional turns if their time token is behind or atop the opponent's. Button income occurs when passing buttons on the time track, totaling buttons depicted on one's patches and drawing that many from the bank. The time track holds five 1x1 patches, claimed and placed by the first to pass them. The first to fill a 7x7 square earns a 7-point bonus. Reaching the time track's center triggers final income; game ends when both arrive. Scoring awards 1 point per button held minus 2 points per empty board square, with the highest score winning (scores can be negative).