A: You calculate the negative sum exactly. It is important to find out the difference between the players’ scores, even if they are both negative.

If your time token is on top of the other’s time token or behind it, you go again. Otherwise, it is your opponent’s turn. Just before you start, lay the special tile out. The first person to completely fill a 7×7 space on their quilt board receives this bonus. It can’t be exchanged for buttons to clear that up straight away! The first player to cross each 1×1 patch takes it for their own board. You’ll inevitably find you need a couple of these throughout the game, so don’t waste them. As soon as your time token passes it, take it and add it to your quilt. Patchwork plays fast, the instructions are fairly simple, and the game does not imply lots of strategy and deep thinking. However, doing well in Patchwork is not that easy. Many patches have peculiar shape, which is something you have to take into account while building your quilt. If it is uneven and there are blank spaces, you will lose points.Patchwork - the board game where you build the most aesthetic and high-scoring patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 game board! Patchwork is a casual two-player game best enjoyed in a few sessions with a family member. It’s far from a complicated game but still manages to retain high replay value. If you’re a highly competitive person, I suggest you skip Patchwork, but for anyone else, it’s going to be a fun little game. Conclusion: Verdict? Play continues until each player has run out of time, at which point the winner is determined. Each player gets one point for each unspent button. Each player loses two points for each uncovered square on their board; there is also a points bonus for the first player to form a fully filled seven by seven square. Final Thoughts On Patchwork

As you get to the last few turns, calculate whether it makes sense to get more patches or not. You’re aiming for the maximum number of buttons, remember. Sometimes this means not spending the ones you have as the game draws to a close. As you pass the button icons, take buttons from the “bank” on the table. You’ll take the number you have on your semi-patched quilt board. For example, if you see seven buttons on the patches on your quilt, take seven from the pile. Investing in high-value pieces early gives you good momentum for the game. Patchwork is a game of Tetris without the speed stresses. It’s literally all about “knitting” a quilt from pieces of “patchwork”. Does it get any more granny-zen than that? (No offense, knitters!)This may lead you to believe that you can get a couple of sessions out before the game turns boring, but on the contrary, Patchwork is a highly replayable game. The rating is only there to give you a sense of how easy it is to learn and get the hang of it. Versions & Expansions Patchwork Express The aim of Patchwork is simple: in this game, as in life, the player with the most buttons wins. Why? Because, let’s face it: buttons are great. Put the special patches on designated spaces on the time board. Set the special tiles on the side of the board, and with that, you’re ready to start the game! Taking Turns If you don’t, you’ll be on Santa’s naughty list and will incur a 2 button penalty at the end game scoring for each vacant square on your board. Because of this reverse-racing element, passing, rather than a no-other-option turn, then takes on a tactical aspect that can frustrate your opponent like a tiger tangled up in tinsel! Patchwork is a 2 player game. Your job is to make the best patchwork quilt on your game board with a 9×9 grid.

Apart from being aesthetically superior, creating a quilt with no holes is good because you are more likely to get the 7x7 bonus and it’ll mean fewer minus points at the end of the game. Only the first person to complete a filled-in, hole-free seven-by-seven square earns the 7x7 bonus, which is worth 7 points. Place the central time board in the center (or wherever you can both see it best). Place each player’s time tokens on the starting space and add the 1×1 small square patches. Pile the buttons together somewhere nearby – these are the game’s currency. Now, this is a high level overview of Patchwork. If you’re only interested in finding out what I think about the game, feel free to skip ahead to the Thoughts section. If you’d like to know more about the game play, then read on. Threading the Needle Learn how to play with your opponent, discover interesting moves and share ideas to have a great time with the game for a very long time. Pros & Cons Pros:

Conclusion

If you’re the type of player that likes a good competition, even if you have a like-minded opponent, you won’t be satisfied with Patchwork. The randomization elements are present throughout the gameplay, and no matter how skilled of a player you are, there are situations where it won’t change the outcome. The only difference in round three is that for the final patch you can choose any of the final three available. Finally, you count your totals and produce a final score, minus all blanks on your sheet.

Patchwork DOODLE was released in 2019. This is a "roll and write" game that uses cards to represent the pieces, and has players roll a die to determine which pieces to play. Players then draw the pieces on a sketchpad board. I’ve read a few statistically clever tactics and strategies. Follow the link to read more if you’re interested. These techniques do work. While these won’t necessarily give you the win, they put you in the best position possible. However, I think these kinds of strategies are missing the point. If you want to play an intensely clever game, get your chess board out or throw Diplomacy onto the table. My husband knows the way to my own heart is through some heady board gaming action. And if you are like us, you now no longer have to “ say it with flowers”. No, this year, you can say it with the strategic smashing of the prettiest kind! Welcome, lovers, to Patchwork: Valentine’s Day Edition! Pretty PatchesThere is no real catch here: Patchwork is indeed a rather peaceful game for two. But it is quite challenging and exciting, even though what you are dealing with is just patches for a quilt. Actually, those patches deserve attention. They are colorful and just a pleasure to hold in your hands and a pleasure to add to your personal quilt that you may design to look the way you want it to look. Patchwork Doodle is therapeutic. There is no denying how easy going and relaxed a game this is. I’ve played other roll and writes, and I can’t deny there is more of a relaxed feel to them over other games. This game, however, is truly chilled. It doesn’t require you to be around a table, which is great. It’s also very mobile, so long as you have coloured pencils and somewhere to place the cards. Even then it doesn’t require masses of space. I’d even argue it is compact enough to be an ideal travel game!