Patchwork

Last week the popular game by Uwe Rosenberg, Patchwork, came to the IOS and Android and I have been playing it quite a lot. I know nothing beats an actual physical game, and the only things that hold me back from buying up all the games I enjoy are money and space! Seriously, some games are HUGE and I live in a teeny place where my walls are mostly stacked boardgames. But buying this game as an app was a great idea and totally justified as I see it as sampling a game before committing to buy. Also, sometimes it can be nice to curl up in bed with a game and play under the snuggly duvet. Shut The Box used to be a bed favourite as the rolling dice is contained in the box, but I'm not sure if the neighbours appreciated the constant dice rolling noise and the wooden slabs being flicked over.

Patchwork is a relatively simple game to play, and like many games it has a greater depth to it that emerges the more you play. The game had a few bugs on the initial download but these have been rectified and it plays smoothly now. The game emulates the tradition of patchwork quilting in the USA, where generations of families diligently work on creating beautiful patchwork quilts to pass on down. Now you can try your dab hand at it without the pain of stabbing your fingers with the needle. 

In this two player game, you compete to create the most attractive and high scoring quilt. The game fuses elements of puzzle-solving, time management, spatial control and strategy. At the start you are given a 9x9 grid to make your quilt on and are given five buttons. Buttons are the currency of the game, and the victory points. Buttons are worth one point and any leftover holes on your quilt are worth minus two points. To make a nice attractive quilt it must have minimal holes, I am still working on that part.

The score is kept by a time track on a separate board, which not only keeps track of the points but it gives you little perks to make the game even more interesting. Another interesting thing to note is the mechanism of the time track. After each turn the player who is behind or on top of their opponent's token goes first. So you could end up taking consecutive turns, if you play your *buttons* right!  

At the start of each turn players are given the option to choose from three of the available patches to buy and sew onto their board, or players can select the Pass option by sliding the button at the bottom of the screen. This allows you to move your time token one space in front of your opponent, then collect one button from the bank for each space moved. A good way to stock up on buttons when you are low. 

Each patch for sale is worth a certain amount of buttons and takes a certain amount of time to sew. Both of these are shown on the patch. Some of the more bizarre shaped patches display buttons too.

Once you have purchased a lovely patch, you can flip it diagonally and horizontally to make it fit nicely, but patches cannot overlap each other. Make sure you flip them using the buttons on the screen and not manually flipping them with your fingers, that did not go well! Once you are happy where you have placed your patch you sew it in and gain points for covering up holes. Sometimes life does not hand you buttons and you find you cannot afford any of the patches, if this happens then you select Pass and collect some buttons for your next turn.

Remember that time track and it's little perks? There are five 1x1 patches on the time track, whoever passes a patch first claims it and may place it on their board to fill a gap in the quilt. If you are anything like me, there will be a few holes on the quilt! Those awkward shaped patches that display buttons on them come in handy here too. On the time track there are buttons placed on the route, and when you move past a button on the track you receive as many buttons as you have on your quilt from the bank. It is raining buttons! Happy day. This button downpour happens to both players, regardless of whoever passes it first. 

There is also a bonus incentive for the first player to create a 7x7 quilted area. I am yet to do this as I tend to pick up the more abstract patches with the buttons.

This is a really fun, light and engaging game for two players who enjoy a little strategy and buttons. I look forward to playing a physical copy and holding all of the buttons in my greedy paws.