Game Instructions for Qwirkle Cubes

If you like the tile-laying and point-scoring of Scrabble but struggle to think of useful words, then Qwirkle Cubes might be just the game for you. Qwirkle Cubes was released by MindWare in 2009 as a follow up to the original Qwirkle game. You can play Qwirkle Cubes with two to four players aged 6 and up. The game of Qwirkle Cubes consists of 90 cubes. Each cube has six different shapes of the same color. Players build the game’s grid by laying rows of cubes that match either the color or shape of an existing row.

Place all of the cubes into the included bag.

Draw six cubes and roll them to create your hand. Player’s hands stay visible at all times during the game.

Begin with the oldest player, laying down as many cubes as he has that either share the same color or shape. The first player must re-roll his cubes if he cannot lay down more than one cube to begin. Play continues clockwise around the table.

Choose which cubes, if any, to re-roll at the beginning of your turn.

Place cubes in lines on the play area according to the color or shape of the existing line. You may place multiple cubes in a single line if they all share the color or shape of that line. You can only add cubes to one line at a time, but the cubes do not have to touch each other. Each line may have only one of a given shape or color. For example, a line of squares can only contain one blue square.

Keep score with the pencil and blank paper. Score one point for each cube in a new line that you create. If you add to an existing line, score one point for each cube in the line, including cubes that were there at the beginning of your turn. Score an additional six points for placing the sixth cube in a line, making that cube worth a total of 12 points. Score two points for a cube that is part of two different rows.

Draw and roll new cubes at the end of your turn to bring your hand back to six cubes.

End the game when one player uses all of his cubes and the draw bag is empty. The player who ends the game receives an additional six-point bonus.

Add up all of the points scored during the game. The player with the highest total wins the game.