All 4 It

… an abstract game for two players.

Objective

The aim of the game is to accumulate the most points over four rounds by dominating the grid.

Rules

At the beginning of each game…

  • Each player is assigned a color. To determine this, the oldest player flips a two-sided tile. The side that lands face up (red or white) is that player’s color. The other player takes the remaining color.
  • The Power cards are shuffled and placed in the Power Deck.
  • The Shape cards are shuffled and distributed evenly to each player’s Shape Deck.
  • Each player sets their point counter to 5 points.

At the beginning of each round…

  • Players draw two cards from their Shape Deck and put them face up in the Player Deck.
  • Players draw two cards from the Power Deck and keep them face down below the Player Deck. Players may look at their power cards at any time.

Players take alternating turns until the round ends.

In round 1, the red player takes the first turn. Each round thereafter, the starting player switches. During each turn… Players may do one of the following (see Addendum - Turn Options for specifics):

  1. Play a shape, or
  2. Use a power, or
  3. Pay 1 VP to exchange a current power card for a new one from the Power Deck.

The round is over when the grid has been filled.

At the end of the round…

  • Each player receives a number of points equal to the number of tiles of their color on the grid. They must adjust their points counter accordingly.
  • The grid is cleared of all tiles.
  • Each player returns their power cards to the Power Deck. The deck is then shuffled.

The game is played over 4 rounds.

After 4 rounds, the player with most points wins.

Addendum - Turn Options

1. Play a shape

Player chooses one of their two shapes drawn from the Shapes deck.

Player chooses where on the grid their shape will be “imprinted”:

  • Where there are no tiles already placed, player lays a tile of their representative color (red or white).
  • Where a tile has already been placed, player flips that tile to the opposite side, changing its color. This happens regardless of whether the new color of the tile will benefit the player.

… with the understanding that:

  • All four points of the imprinted shape must fit within the 5 x 5 playing grid
  • Shapes may be rotated to fit into the grid, but they may not be “mirrored”. In other words, if your Shape card cannot be rotated to match the imprint you are making on the grid, the move is not valid.

2. Use a power

Player may carry out the actions described on one of their power cards.

Player reveals this card to the opposing player for the rest of the round. (Powers can still be used after they’ve been revealed.)

Player subtracts the number of points listed on the power card from their point total.

3. Draw a new power

Player subtracts 1 from their points total and draws one card from the Power Deck into their hand. Player shuffles one of their Power cards back into the Power Deck.

**A printable PDF of the Power Cards will be added soon - stay tuned (April 21)** 

Design Team: Niel Bekker, Grant Reid, Catherine Kwak and Justin Snyder