Qwirkle

Official

Qwirkle is an abstract tile-laying game in which players build crossing lines of wooden tiles that share either a color or a shape, scoring a point for every tile in each line they create or extend and a six-point bonus for completing a 'Qwirkle' line of all six matching tiles. Highest score when the bag is empty wins.

2-4 players·30-45 min·MindWare (2006)

Rules

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Variants

Scorecard tool

Qwirkle Scorepad

Round-by-round scorepad with auto-save for Qwirkle

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Final ScoreResult

Highest WinsScoring

Draws AllowedDraws

2–4 PlayersPlayers

Each player holds 6 tiles and on a turn either places tiles into one matching line (same color or same shape, no duplicates, max 6 long, connected to the grid) or trades tiles, then draws back to 6. Score 1 point per tile in every line touched, +6 for completing a six-tile Qwirkle, and +6 for the player who empties their hand to end the game.

Qwirkle is a tactical tile game played with 108 wooden tiles that each show one of six shapes (circle, four-point star, eight-point star, square, diamond, clover) in one of six colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple); there are three identical copies of each of the 36 shape-color combinations. Players keep a hand of six tiles and, on their turn, add one or more tiles to a shared grid, building rows and columns in which every tile shares one attribute (all the same color OR all the same shape) with no duplicates in a line. You score a point for each tile in every line you create or extend, plus a six-point bonus for completing a 'Qwirkle' (a full line of all six tiles in a color or shape). When the draw bag is empty and a player plays their last tile, that player earns a six-point bonus and the game ends; the highest total score wins.

How to Play Qwirkle

Components

108 wooden tiles. Each tile shows one of 6 shapes (circle, four-point star, eight-point star, square, diamond, clover) in one of 6 colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). There are 3 identical copies of each of the 36 shape/color combinations.
1 cloth draw bag.

Setup

Put all 108 tiles in the bag and mix them.
Each player draws 6 tiles and keeps them hidden (on a rack if your edition includes them).
Decide who goes first: each player states the largest set of tiles in their hand that all share one attribute (all one color, or all one shape), not counting duplicates. The player who can place the most such tiles starts and plays that set as the opening line. If tied, the oldest player in the tie goes first.

A Turn

On your turn you do one of the following, then draw back up to 6 tiles:

Add one tile to the grid, or
Add two or more tiles to the grid (all in a single line, all sharing one attribute), or
Trade any number of tiles back into the bag (this ends your turn with no placement; then draw replacements).

Placement rules

Every tile you play this turn must go in one straight line (a single row or a single column).
A line must be either all the same color (with different shapes) or all the same shape (with different colors).
No duplicate tiles may appear in the same line.
A line can be at most six tiles long (there are only six colors and six shapes).
At least one tile you play must touch a tile already on the grid (your additions connect to the existing pattern). After the opening turn, the grid is one connected group.

Scoring Your Turn

Score 1 point for every tile in each line you created or added to this turn, counting the tiles that were already there as well as the ones you just placed.
If your tiles touch more than one line (e.g. you place a tile that extends both a row and a column), score each line separately — a single new tile can score in two directions.
Qwirkle bonus: completing a line of all six matching tiles is a Qwirkle. You score the 6 tiles in the line plus a 6-point bonus (so a freshly completed Qwirkle is worth 12 points for that line).

End of the Game

Once the bag is empty, players keep taking turns but no longer draw replacements.
The first player to place all of their remaining tiles ends the game immediately and earns a 6-point bonus.
The player with the highest total score wins.

Quick Notes

Trading tiles uses your whole turn and scores nothing — do it when your hand is stuck.
Setting up (but not completing) a Qwirkle hands your opponents a 12-point opportunity, so guard the sixth slot.

Final score is the running per-turn sum: base tile-line points + 6 per Qwirkle completed + a 6-point end-game bonus for the player who plays out last. A tile at a row/column crossing scores in both lines. Highest total wins; the rulebook names no end-game score tiebreaker, so ties are shared by default.

Record each player's Total Score (authoritative outcome). Recommended optional diagnostics: qwirkles_completed (count of six-tile lines finished) and end_game_bonus (whether that player ended the game). These are diagnostic-only counts: base tile-line points are never recorded separately, so the diagnostics do NOT sum to Total Score. Record Total Score as the authoritative value.