Patchwork

Players: 2 | Ages: 8+

Patchwork is a beloved tile-laying game for 2 players. This puzzle game has been admired by players around the world since its release in 2014 and remains one of the most popular two-player titles on the market.

As its name suggests, Patchwork pits two players against each other in a contest to create the most complete, aesthetically pleasing patchwork quilt. The pieces of this quilt are represented by tiles of different shapes and sizes, which start the game randomly arranged in a circle.

Players then take tiles according to a clever mechanism. They can choose and pay the cost in buttons (the game’s currency) of whatever piece they choose and move their pawn a number of spaces on the time track equal to the value on the tile. Players continue to take pieces until their pawn fully overtakes the other player’s pawn. If you don’t want to pick a piece, you can pass instead, moving your pawn ahead of the other player’s and taking a number of buttons equal to the number of spots you moved.

You can place the tile that you take anywhere on your 9x9 grid, but you’ll probably want to keep them closer together so that it’s easier to see what spaces you still need to fill. At certain points on the time track, you’ll also unlock 1x1 tiles to help you plug little gaps and receive button income based on the value of the tiles that you’ve placed. Buttons convert into points, but you’ll also lose two points per empty spot on your board, so be careful not to leave gaps!