Overlap

Overlap is a card game using small, square cards, each with nine squares that are each colored red, yellow, or blue. The goal of the game is to score points by placing cards such that squares of the same color align. As the name suggests, the cards can overlap one another, adding another level of strategy and requiring spatial-reasoning and critical thinking skills.

How to play:

Set up: Shuffle the deck of cards, then deal each player five cards. Each player places this stack of cards face down in front of them. Place one card from the deck face up in the center of the playing surface.

Gameplay: Choose a starting player. That player draws the top card from his/her stack and plays it on the playing surface following card placement rules, and then calculates and records his/her score for the turn. Play then continues clockwise. When all players have placed all their cards, the round ends and the cards are shuffled back into the deck. The number of rounds corresponds with the number of players, with each player having an opportunity to go first.

Card placement: Cards may be placed adjacent to other cards in play, but they must be played so that at least one square aligns with a square on an adjacent card. Additionally, they may be played so that the cards partially overlap, as long as the squares align. When cards are played, at least one square must lie over an empty space (you cannot occlude 9 squares with any given card.)

Scoring: When you place a card, any instance in which a square of a certain color lies next to a square of that same color on another card is worth one point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

-description from designer