Category: Game Rules

There was a game that I was attempting to develop at the same time I was starting out with A Game About Colors… This other game was called Boxed In.

Boxed In came from wondering what a competitive version of Shut the Box (the classic pub game) might look like. Giving each player their own tray made the game immediately more interesting, and most of the development came from ongoing playtests with ChatGPT—mainly experimenting with doubles penalties, pacing issues, and ways to keep the game from stalling out.

We found a few solid ideas, like the Stalemate Release rule, but I never quite reached a final version that felt fully balanced. Still, the process paid off. A lot of what we learned while testing Boxed In directly shaped the design of Race to 65, which grew out of the same experiments but landed in a much stronger place.

Original Rules — Boxed In (Early Concept Version)

• Each player has their own tray with tiles numbered 1 through 12, all starting unclaimed.
• On your turn, you roll two dice.
• After the roll, you may claim:
  • either die result (if unclaimed),
  • or the sum of the dice (if unclaimed),
  • or both individual numbers and the sum, if all three are unclaimed.
• You could not affect your opponent’s tray; the game was mostly a race, not a conflict.
• Doubles rolls were allowed to trigger bonuses for the roller or penalties against the opponent, but these were still very loose ideas at this stage and not yet defined.
• First player to claim 10 tiles on their own tray won the game.
• If a number was already claimed, you simply couldn’t take it; the roll did nothing.
• There were no locked tiles, no cursed tiles, no drain effects, and no stalemate rule.
• The flow was straightforward: roll → claim whatever’s free → try to reach 10 tiles before the other player.

In the beginning, both players are just getting their boards started. You roll, claim a few easy tiles, and see what kind of shape your board is taking. It’s mostly about opening things up and seeing where the numbers fall.

As the game settles in, you’re making small adjustments based on what the dice give you. The doubles effects add a little movement, but most of the time you’re just trying to keep your board flexible and avoid boxing yourself into a corner.

Toward the end, there are fewer open spots and each roll gives you a couple of decisions to think through. The Stalemate Release rule helps keep things moving, and you’re mostly trying to keep the board workable long enough to reach your goal.

5 game ideas that revolve around a single theme of of your choice. if your theme is time traveling ducks, then all five ideas need to be different games that utilize the same time traveling ducks theme any idea off theme will not earn a point. continue to follow the idea formatting rule:

I accidentally already covered this topic in week 3, regarding games revolving around color. One of the ideas morphed into the original concept for A Game About Color, More Or Less. The original rules of that game were as follows:

A Game About Colors, More or Less… — Version 1 Rules

SETUP

1. Place the 12×18 game mat in the center. It shows rectangles A, B, C, and a color key.
2. Shuffle the 48-card Solid Color Deck and place it color side up on rectangle A.
3. Leave room for each player’s personal pile and a discard pile.

GAMEPLAY

1. Youngest player goes first, clockwise afterward.

Player Turn Sequence:
a. Move the top two cards from Pile A: one to B, one to C, both color side up.
b. Roll the six-sided die to determine the active color using the board’s key.
c. Compare the two revealed color sides on B and C, declaring which is more/less of the rolled color.
d. Flip both cards to reveal numeric values for C, M, Y, R, G, and B.
Higher number = more. Lower number = less. Matching values = Good Luck (automatic win).
e. Correct or Good Luck → player keeps both cards. Incorrect → both to discard pile D.
f. Turn ends; next player draws new cards to B and C and repeats.

END OF ROUND AND WINNING

1. Round ends when all 48 cards from Pile A have been used.
2. Players count only cards in their personal piles and record scores.
3. Shuffle all cards and start a new round.
4. A game can only be won at the end of a round. First to reach 50 total points wins.

Example of Gameplay

It’s Maya’s turn, and she’s the active player.

She takes the top two cards from Pile A and places one on B and one on C, both color side up.

She rolls the die and gets a 2.
According to the color key, a 2 means she has to compare the cards for magenta.

Maya looks at the two color swatches on B and C. After studying them, she decides that the card on B looks like it has more magenta than the card on C. She says, “B has more magenta.”

Now she flips both cards over to check their values.
Card B shows a magenta value of 58.
Card C shows a magenta value of 42.

Her guess was correct, so she takes both cards and adds them to her personal pile.

Her turn is over, and the next player repeats the same steps with two new cards.

Created by: Harmony & Bryce

Players: 2-4

Age: 10+

Objective: 

The goal of Chef Check is to be the first chef to reach the winning score by creating complete meal “runs” and earning points each round.

During each round, players race to get rid of all their cards by forming as many runs as possible, each run scoring valuable points. The round ends when one player plays or discards their last card, and everyone adds up their total points from completed meals.

Keep track of your points throughout the game.

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Setup

• You need a score sheet and a pencil.
• Shuffle the Food Cards and deal all players 7 cards, and place the rest face down in the center as the Draw Pile.
• Turn the top card face up beside it — this is the Food Discard Pile.
• Create a separate space for the Sabotage Discard Pile, where used sabotage cards will go (they can’t be reused or picked up later)

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Gameplay

• Any player can go first, and game continues clockwise
• To start your turn you must pick up a card from the discard pile or the draw pile. 
• During your turn, you then have freedom to then lay down any meal runs you may have and/or use a sabotage card.
  • When you use a Sabotage card, place it in the sabotage discard pile.
• Then to end your turn you have to discard one of your cards from your hand
  • IF you picked up from the discard pile to BEGIN your turn, you CANNOT discard that card during the same turn. 
  • When discarding your card, place it on top of the previous card so that the previous card is no longer visible.
• IF the deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the food discard pile and take the top card and flip it over to begin the new discard pile and continue play.

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Points

Players add up their points at the end of each round. These are the values of cards/runs:

• Chef Meals: 20pts 
• Regular Meals: 10pts 

IF you have cards remaining in your hand after a player has run out of cards, you subtract the point value of what is in your hand from your current points. Each card left in your hand is -5 points.

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Winning

Once a player reaches 100 points after a few rounds of play, wins the game and the game ends. 

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Card Types:

There are 4 types of cards in Chef Check: Entree cards, Side cards, Drink cards, and Sabotage cards. Three cards of all food types make up a set:

Example: (Fillet Mignon [Entree], Rice [Side], Water [Drink]). 

Entree cards are distinguished by the image of a plate with utensils, side dishes have an image of a bowl, and drinks have an image of a glass. Sabotage cards can be played once during a player’s turn, which can affect themselves or other players. 

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Chef Meals

Chef meals are special card sets that yield extra points when played. Instead of receiving 10 points for a set of 3 unrelated food items, completed chef meals yield 20. Cards in the same meal set are color coded below. 

•  High Class  –  Filet Mignon, Mashed Potato, Red Wine  
•  Pescitarian  –  Salmon, caesar salad, lemonade 
•  Meal prep  –  Roast Chicken, Rice, Water
•  Cookout   – BBQ Ribs, Mac and Cheese, Beer 
•  Red lobster – Lobster tail, Veggies, Dr. Pepper

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Sabotage Cards: ( ! symbol on each card )

• Mice Attack: Your target has to get rid of ONE of their runs and put it in the discard pile.
• Kitchen Fire: You burnt one of your food items, discard a useless card from your hand. 
• Food Swap: Swap one random card with another player.  

Introduction:

Quads is a fast-paced card game that blends the style of Poker with the mechanics of Spoons. Players pass cards between themselves, aiming to collect a winning hand to bet on. After a timed card-passing phase, players bet on their hands for the chance to win the pot.

What you will need:

• 3-6 players 
• 1 deck of cards that includes Jokers
• A 30-second timer 
• Betting chips in at least two different colors (or denominations), with enough for multiple rounds.

Game Setup

1. Shuffle the deck of cards. Remember to include the jokers. 
2. Pass 1 card to each player. The player with the highest card becomes the “Passer”, who will cards from the deck during the Passing Phase. If two players tie, repeat this process between the players who tied until a tiebreaker is reached. If a joker is drawn, discard it and draw another card. 
3. The winner chooses the direction for passing cards: clockwise or counterclockwise. All players must pass cards in that chosen direction. (If you’d like, you can alter the direction of play after every round)
4. Deal a number of chips depending on the difficulty you choose to play the game:
   • Easy: Deal 5 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (21 points to start)
   • Normal: Deal 4 green chips and 3 red chips to each player (15 points to start) 
   • Hard: Deal 2 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (12 points to start)

Green chips will be counted as 3 points, and red chips will be counted as 1. Extra chips should be made accessible if players run out of certain chips, and wish to exchange for chips of an equivalent value. If new to the game, play the game with a Normal level of chips. 

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Hand Rankings

This game borrows the hand ranking system from Poker, but removes some of the winning hands. Familiarize yourself with the ranking of hands below. Players with the highest ranking hand will claim the pot, or all chips in play. In the event of a tie, players must split the pot evenly, regardless of any extra cards (unless you are playing the Advanced Edition). When ready, start the passing phase. 

Here are some examples of the hands you should be looking for. 

1. Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) – 4 cards of the same number (all suits): (4♠,4ç,4♦,4♣)
2. Straight Flush – 4 sequential cards of the same suit: (2♠,3♠,4♠,5♠)
3. Three-of-a-Kind – 3 cards of the same number (regardless of suit): (3♣,3♥,3♠,1♥)
4. Two Pair – 2 pairs of cards with the same number (regardless of suit: (6♥,6♦,8♣,8♠)
5. Pair – A pair of cards that share the same number (regardless of suit): (7♦,7♠,2♦,6♦)

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Passing phase

1. Shuffle the deck and deal 4 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in an accessible place, this will become the draw pile. If a player receives a joker, reshuffle the joker back into the draw pile.
2. When ready, the Passer will begin by drawing a card and discarding a card in their chosen direction. The player who received the card from the passer must collect the card and discard a card in the direction of the passer.
3. When the last player in the cycle receives a card, they must discard a card in a pile adjacent to the draw pile. You should maintain a hand of 4 cards at all times.
4. At any point during this process, players can “lock-in” their hand by placing their cards face-down and announcing it to the table. Locked-in players can no longer receive or discard cards. Players must pass around the locked-in player, and can draw if the previous passer locks-in.
5. Continue this process until the first player locks in, or a Joker is drawn. If a Joker is drawn, the Passing Phase ends immediately and the betting phase begins.
6. After the first player locks in a 30-second timer will begin. All other players must lock in their hands before the countdown ends to continue to the Betting Phase. When all but one player lock-in their hand, the passing phase ends immediately.
7. Players who are holding more than 4 cards by the end of the Passing Phase are disqualified from the betting phase. Move quickly.

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Betting Phase

Once the Passing Phase ends, all players (that are not disqualified) enter the betting phase. Given their current hand, players can choose to:

• Bet High – Place one green chip worth 3 points.
• Bet Low – Place one red chip worth 1 point
• Fold – Place your hand face down and disqualify yourself, making no bet.

The player who is locked-in first must start the betting phase, and the order of betting will follow the order of passing. After all decisions have been made, players enter the Reveal Phase. 

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Reveal Phase

Once the Betting Phase ends, all betting players must reveal their hand to the table. The player with the highest ranking hand will take the entire pot. If two players tie, and no other hand outranks them, they must split the pot as evenly as possible (Exchange chips if needed). If all players but one fold, the winner can take the pot “uncontested” and does not need to reveal their cards (It would make the game funnier if they did though). Players who run out of chips are eliminated from the game unless house rules state otherwise. 

Collect the cards, shuffle the deck, then restart the Passing Phase. Continue until a Win Condition is reached. 

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Win conditions

Players can decide a winner using points, rounds, disqualification, or some mixture of the 3. Here’s some standard examples to provide a framework, but feel free to create your own:

1. After 5/10/15 rounds, count the value of the chips. The player with the highest number of points wins. To start, play between 5-8 rounds and choose the winner based on chips. 
2. Given the number of points each player starts with, set a winning number of points players must reach to win. 
3. The last player to be disqualified wins the game. 

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Advanced Edition (Optional Rules): Read if you’ve played Quads enough

If you’ve played enough Quads to understand the game, and want more complexity/challenge, feel free to add some bonus rules: 

• No betting limit: Players can bet as many or little points as desired (be sure to adjust the points/starting chips to account for this) 
• Add more winning hands to the game
  • Straight – Any hand of cards that progress in numerical order, regardless of suit
  • High Card – If two players tie with the same hand rank, the player with the highest unmatched card wins the pot.
• Add 1-2 more decks to the original to increase complexity
• Expand the hand limit from 4 to 5
• Play with more players (alter time and decks for extra players)

Chef Check

Created by: Harmony & Bryce

Players: 2-4 

Age: 10+

Objective: 

The goal of Chef Check is to be the first chef to reach the winning score by creating complete meal “runs” and earning points each round.

During each round, players race to get rid of all their cards by forming as many runs as possible, each run scoring valuable points. The round ends when one player plays or discards their last card, and everyone adds up their total points from completed meals.

Keep track of your points throughout the game.

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Setup

• You need a score sheet and a pencil.
• Shuffle the Food Cards and deal all players 7 cards, and place the rest face down in the center as the Draw Pile.
• Turn the top card face up beside it — this is the Food Discard Pile.
• Create a separate space for the Sabotage Discard Pile, where used sabotage cards will go (they can’t be reused or picked up later)

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Gameplay

• Any player can go first, and game continues clockwise
• To start your turn you must pick up a card from the discard pile or the draw pile. 
• During your turn, you then have freedom to then lay down any meal runs you may have and/or use a sabotage card.
  • When you use a Sabotage card, place it in the sabotage discard pile.
• Then to end your turn you have to discard one of your cards from your hand
  • IF you picked up from the discard pile to BEGIN your turn, you CANNOT discard that card during the same turn. 
  • When discarding your card, place it on top of the previous card so that the previous card is no longer visible.
• IF the deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the food discard pile and take the top card and flip it over to begin the new discard pile and continue play.

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Points

Players add up their points at the end of each round. These are the values of cards/runs:

• Chef Meals: 20pts 
• Regular Meals: 10pts 

IF you have cards remaining in your hand after a player has run out of cards, you subtract the point value of what is in your hand from your current points. Each card left in your hand is -5 points.

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Winning

Once a player reaches 100 points after a few rounds of play, wins the game and the game ends. 

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Card Types:

There are 4 types of cards in Chef Check: Entree cards, Side cards, Drink cards, and Sabotage cards. Three cards of all food types make up a set:

Example: (Fillet Mignon [Entree], Rice [Side], Water [Drink]). 

Entree cards are distinguished by the image of a plate with utensils, side dishes have an image of a bowl, and drinks have an image of a glass. Sabotage cards can be played once during a player’s turn, which can affect themselves or other players. 

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Chef Meals

Chef meals are special card sets that yield extra points when played. Instead of receiving 10 points for a set of 3 unrelated food items, completed chef meals yield 20. Cards in the same meal set are color coded below. 

•  High Class  –  Filet Mignon, Mashed Potato, Red Wine  
•  Pescitarian  –  Salmon, caesar salad, lemonade 
•  Meal prep  –  Roast Chicken, Rice, Water
•  Cookout   – BBQ Ribs, Mac and Cheese, Beer 
•  Red lobster – Lobster tail, Veggies, Dr. Pepper

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Sabotage Cards: ( ! symbol on each card )

• Mice Attack: Your target has to get rid of ONE of their runs and put it in the discard pile.
• Kitchen Fire: You burnt one of your food items, discard a useless card from your hand. 
• Food Swap: Swap one random card with another player. 

Below is the main rules that Aleah and I created after test trying the game, and struggling to gain the concept of it.

Go Wish

Goal

Be the first player to collect four matching cards of the same number, person, or suit guided by fate and fortune.

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Materials

• A 52-card deck (or a custom tarot-themed deck with four suits: Cups, Swords, Wands, and Coins).
  
• A fortune teller (paper cootie catcher) with the four suits written inside.
  

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Setup

1. Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player.
   
2. Place the remaining cards face down in the draw pile.
   
3. Place the fortune teller in the center of the table. This represents fate guiding the players.
   

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How to Play

Step 1: Consult the Fortune Teller

1. The player whose turn it is selects a suit Coin, Sword, Cup, or Wand — and spells it out, opening and closing the fortune teller with each letter.
   
2. When finished, the player chooses a number revealed inside (1–6).
   
3. Open that flap to reveal an action prompt — this can determine:
   
   • How many cards to draw (e.g., “Draw 2 cards”),
     
   • Which card to play (e.g., “Play your 5th card”),
     
   • Or a fun fate-based rule (e.g., “Trade hands with another player”).
     (You can write these actions under each flap of the fortune teller.)
     

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Step 2: Make a Wish

After following the fortune teller’s action:

1. The player selects another player and asks if they have a specific number, person, or suit (just like in Go Fish).
   
   • Example: “Do you have any Cups?” or “Do you have any 7s?”
     
2. If the other player has the requested cards, they must hand them over, and the asker gets another turn.
   
3. If the other player does not have them, the asker must draw from the top of the draw pile.
   

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Step 3: Fate’s Consequences

Depending on how the turn goes:

• If successful:
  
  • Keep your cards and continue your turn.
    
  • When you complete a set of four matching cards (by number/person/suit), place them face-up — that’s one fulfilled Wish.
    
• If unsuccessful:
  
  • Discard all but the card you used to make your “Wish.”
    
  • Draw back up to 6 cards.
    
  • The other player also draws 1 new card from the deck to replenish their hand.
    

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Step 4: Refresh the Deck

If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

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Winning the Game

The first player to fulfill three Wishes (collect three complete sets of four cards) wins the game. Their fate is the strongest!

Concept: Compete to fulfill “repair orders” with limited dice rolls

Gameplay:

• Each player runs a workshop.
• Orders (cards) show what dice combos you need (roll a 3 = fix engine).
• You roll up to 3 times per turn (Yahtzee-style) to complete jobs.
• Use “Tool” cards to modify rolls (“Reroll one die,” “Swap with another player,” “Delay order for bonus”).
• Earn money for jobs, lose it for broken tools or failed orders.

Each turn players all choose a new Repair Card each round rolls the device. Collect the money if you ruled the specified number on the card. Choose a Tool card and roll again. Follow instructions on Tool Card if applicable. If there is opportunity, role one last time. Collect all money for complete Repairs.

There are 10 rounds.

Winning:

Richest repair shop after 10 rounds wins