Patchwork

Each player starts with a personal 9x9 grid board and five buttons, which serve as currency. All unique patch tiles are randomly arranged in a large circle around a central time board. A neutral pawn is placed between two specific patches on this circle. Each patch tile has a button cost (how many buttons you pay to acquire it) and a time cost (how many spaces your time token moves on the time board).

The primary objective of Patchwork is to create the most complete and valuable quilt on your personal 9x9 board. This involves strategically acquiring and placing patch tiles to fill as many squares as possible, while also collecting buttons, which are the main form of victory points. Minimizing empty spaces on your board is crucial, as each empty square will result in negative points at the end of the game.

Players take turns based on their position on the time board; the player whose time token is currently behind or on top of the other player's token takes a turn. On your turn, you can choose one of three actions: either advance your time token to gain buttons (moving past the opponent's token and collecting one button for each space moved), or buy one of the three patches immediately in front of the neutral pawn. If you buy a patch, you pay its button cost, move your time token forward by its time cost, and place the patch on your personal board. The neutral pawn then moves to the spot where the chosen patch was taken from.

Throughout the game, players collect buttons. When your time token passes a button icon on the central time board, you collect buttons equal to the number of button icons on your personal board. At the end of the game, each button you possess is worth one victory point. However, for every empty square remaining on your 9x9 board, you lose two victory points. Additionally, the first player to complete a 7x7 square on their board receives a special bonus tile worth seven points.

The game concludes when both players' time tokens have reached the central space of the time board. At this point, players calculate their final scores. This involves summing up the total number of buttons they have collected, adding any bonus points from the 7x7 tile (if acquired), and then subtracting two points for each empty square remaining on their personal 9x9 board. The player with the highest final score wins the game.