Game profile: Qwirkle

November 9, 6:14 AMPittsburgh Board Game ExaminerRobert Moyer

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Product image from MindWare

Matching shapes is easy. So is matching colors. Switching back and forth between the two is somewhat more difficult. That’s the concept behind the shape and color matching game Qwirkle from MindWare.

Qwirkle comes with 108 blocks that have a colored shape on one side. There are six different shapes – a circle, "X", diamond, square, star, and clover – painted one of six different colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple. Each turn, you draw from your hand of 6 tiles and try to string blocks together into lines of either like shape or color. You score points for each block in the line that you add in addition to the blocks already in that line on the table (so it really pays to build onto the lines already there). The player with the most points when all of the tiles have been used wins the game.

It is a simple enough concept that 2 to 4 players as young as six can enjoy. What those players may not realize is that since different parts of the mind process color and shapes, there is a lot of brain activity going on behind the scenes when you switch back and forth between the two. I don’t know if you could technically classify that as “educational”, but there is a lot more brain activity happening playing Qwirkle compared to plopping a kid down in front of the TV.

Since it’s creation in 2006, Qwirkle has become Mindware’s most awarded game by winning the Mensa Select Award, the Major Fun Award, and the Parent’s Choice Gold Award. With that sort of industry support, you know you’re in for some challenging, intelligent fun.

For more info: Read the rules at the Mindware website.