The fine art of competitive quilting.
Patchwork
published by Mayfair Games
Patchwork is a 2-player tile placement game. Each player has a quilting board that they are trying to fill up with various “scraps” of cloth by purchasing them from a central market using buttons, which is the cute little currency of Patchwork. The game is a careful balance of filling up your board with the quilt pieces, trying to make the biggest quilt while also making things fit together perfectly (who wants a holey quilt?!), while also yielding some button income back to you as you progress around the scoring board.
How we came to play this game:
We saw this on a list of recommended two-player games (which we’re always looking for since no one ever seems to want to play with us.) Finally, Mike bought it in his big binge a few weeks ago. It has a relatively easy entry, so we broke this one out the morning of Table Top Day while having coffee.
This reminds us of:
Susan: To me, it’s Tetris meets Tokaido. I always stunk at Tetris, being a very verbal person, so this one is a bit challenging to me.
Mike: Yeah, it’s basically two-player Tabletop Tetris.
Mike: Yeah, it’s basically two-player Tabletop Tetris.
Game art:
Susan: I mostly like the art, though the colors are a bit dull for me (for a real quilt!) The scoreboard has two sides and the simpler one was definitely easier on the eyes. The pieces have two values on them, their cost and the number of spaces they cause you to advance and those are easy to confuse at first.
Mike: The art conveys the quilt theme adequately enough. By the end of a game you have the feeling you’ve been working on a nice little bedspread. That’s if you haven’t left too many stray holes along the way!
Mike: The art conveys the quilt theme adequately enough. By the end of a game you have the feeling you’ve been working on a nice little bedspread. That’s if you haven’t left too many stray holes along the way!
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| Couple of holes! I know! |
Best part:
Susan: I really like the way they designed the circular market such that players have to really plan ahead by paying attention to what pieces might be coming up. It makes it a more challenging game than it seems at first glance.
Mike: Along those same lines, the ability to sabotage your opponent by limiting their choices is the most satisfying thing about the game. Determining the manner in which your nemesis is building their quilt and then laying booby traps for them is the key. Deeply satisfying evil gameplay! That’s everything I want in a game!
Mike: Along those same lines, the ability to sabotage your opponent by limiting their choices is the most satisfying thing about the game. Determining the manner in which your nemesis is building their quilt and then laying booby traps for them is the key. Deeply satisfying evil gameplay! That’s everything I want in a game!
Susan: You know, sometimes you suck, Mike.
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| Sure, it's pretty, but in the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar: "Its a trap!!!" |
Worst part:
Susan: The final scoring example in the rules made me feel like a real dunce, given how many empty spaces I had left at the end of my first game!
Mike: While the game is nicely designed for quick and satisfying play, I can’t shake the feeling that it might benefit from an expansion or two. Something is missing. I’m not sure what!
Susan: I agree - maybe bees. Get it?
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| Actual IM conversation between friends.... |
Mike:...still don't get it.
Mistakes we made:
Susan: I think we mostly got this one right from the get-go, though it’s easy to forget to move the neutral pawn after a cloth piece is purchased, so you need to keep on top of that.
Mike: Well, I got one thing wrong. I thought, for some ridiculous reason, that the player could only set the piece in the quilt with its face up as it was presented in the circle. (basically I thought the pieces were one sided, they are not!) It limited my options for the entire first game and some of the 2nd. Scroll below to see how that advantage worked out for Susan! (hint: Not too well!)
Mike: Well, I got one thing wrong. I thought, for some ridiculous reason, that the player could only set the piece in the quilt with its face up as it was presented in the circle. (basically I thought the pieces were one sided, they are not!) It limited my options for the entire first game and some of the 2nd. Scroll below to see how that advantage worked out for Susan! (hint: Not too well!)
Susan: Did I mention that you can be a meanie?
Play again?
Susan: I’m sure we’ll definitely crack this one out more, especially given that it’s a relatively fast 2-player game. But, I foresee me getting frustrated that I never win at it!
Mike: Definitely a good coffee game. Easy setup, easy clean up, short time spend. I anticipate several Sunday hangover mornings with this one!
Mike: Definitely a good coffee game. Easy setup, easy clean up, short time spend. I anticipate several Sunday hangover mornings with this one!
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| Artist's rendition of an actual quilting bee. ...and there was much rejoicing! |
#BoardGameHaiku
I build my nice quilt
Choosing “cloth” scraps, but I am
Spatially challenged.
Times played: 2
Game record Mike- 2
Susan- 0 (but proud that I wasn’t in the negative on the 2nd round!)
Click play on the vid below to learn how to play! It's a good game so buy it!
Oh, and if you wanna come out of this learning what the hell a quiliting bee is, here's a short history!
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