An addictive strategy game in the tradition of Sequence, Scrabble, and Othello, the Qwirkle Board Game from MindWare has a simple, straightforward premise: match tiles and win points. But the real joy of the game lies in plotting and scheming your way to victory. Winner of the Parent's Choice Gold Award and a Mensa Select National Competition Winner, Qwirkle is destined to be a family game night favorite. This game is designed for ages six and up and for two to four players.

Qwirkle
Board Game

• Ages: Six and up
• Players: Two to four

At a Glance:

• A fun twist on Scrabble and matching games
• Players strategize to make matches and earn points
• Comes with 108 wooden tiles
• Winner of Parent's Choice Gold Award and Mensa National Competition
• Includes drawstring bag for tile storage and instructions

This award-winning strategy game is easy to learn. View larger.

Match colors and shapes in this enthralling strategy game. View larger.

Mix, Match, Score, and Win

Qwirkle consists of 108 wooden blocks with six different shapes in six colors. Using the blocks, players attempt to score the most points by building lines that share the same shape or color. The simple setup makes this an instant winner for younger kids, while adults will enjoy strategizing to win.

How to Play

A typical game of Qwirkle lasts about 45 minutes--longer when you're first learning how to play--and players will likely catch on to the rules in no time at all. The game can be set up anywhere, although a large tabletop is best to accommodate the generous number of tiles. The only other thing you'll need is a pencil and paper to keep track of everyone's point count.

Each tile has an illustration on the back (circle, eight-point star, four-point star, square, clover, or diamond). Each of these symbols appears in six different colors (red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple). In total, the game has three tiles each of the 36 possible color-symbol combinations. To help make sure you don't lose any tiles in between games, Qwirkle comes with a drawstring storage pouch.

Straightforward, Easy-to-Follow Rules

As in Scrabble, the game starts with players drawing their own "hand" of six tiles. The player with the most tiles that share something in common (color or symbol) plays their pieces and wins points. And so it goes until the pieces make up a giant grid. One rule adults will likely need to reiterate to little ones is that duplicate tiles don't count. For instance, if someone has three diamonds, and two of them are green, they can only count one of those diamonds for points.

As play continues and the stakes get higher, younger kids may need some help deciding where to build to maximize their points. Our testers found that the length of the game may make younger kids squirmy halfway through. To keep them engaged, parents can always distribute half the number of tiles to start. The game is over when all the tiles have been played and all the points have been tallied.

What's in the Box

108 wooden tiles, cloth drawstring bag, and instruction booklet.

Flip, twist, and spin your way through the Perplexus Maze Game from PlaSmart. This Perplexus Original is a bendy, trendy, can't-put-it-down challenge! With plenty of twists, turns, and barriers between start and finish, it will leave you perplexed. Once you try it, you won't be able to put it down!

Perplexus Maze Game

• Ages: Six years and up
• Requires: Ready to play

At a Glance:

• Flip, twist, and spin your way through the Perplexus Original Maze
• The maze and its obstacles are easy to play, but hard to master
• Race against yourself, your friends, and the clock
• Includes a super spiral, a tightrope, and a swing arm
• Features 3 different puzzles and 100 challenging barriers

Easy to play, but hard to master. View larger.

Clear sphere holds metal balls that wind through a maze. View larger.

Race against the clock or challenge your friends. View larger.

Easy to Play, Hard to Master

The Perplexus Original Maze Game is a clear sphere filled with multicolored pathways covering different areas of the sphere's interior. A small metal ball rolls around on the inside, and it's your job to guide that ball through the maze to its end. Once the ball is balanced in its starting position, it's easy to start rolling it around the tracks. By the time you've learned the different passageways, you'll realize that even though it's easy to play, all the different ways of moving around are hard to master!

Flip, Twist, and Spin Your Way through the Maze

Moving through the different pathways is a wacky exercise in spatial reasoning and stimulates your cognitive reasoning. As you move the ball along one track, you find that it's never long before you reach a different colored track that requires you to flip, twist, and spin the sphere 90 degrees one way or another to keep the ball rolling. Twist around corners, flip from the yellow to the orange ramp, spin around the various curves--if you fall off the track, just get back on and try again!

Race Yourself, Your Friends, and the Clock

If you work hard enough and make it to the end of the maze, congratulate yourself, and then turn it into a racetrack! Keep track of your personal best times and race against the clock. You can also race against your friends' times, or stage races with multiple Perplexus Mazes!

3 Races and 100 Challenging Barriers to Master

The Perplexus Maze Game includes a super spiral, a tightrope, and a swing arm to form 3 different puzzles and 100 challenging barriers to discover and overcome. Share it with your friends and family as you try to uncover all the patterns and obstacles, but be careful--Perplexus Original is so addicting that once you let it go, you might not get it back!

What's in the Box

Perplexus maze and stand.