Patchwork Express
Overall Rating: 9/10
Age: 6+
GLAM Age Range: 6-Adult
Number of Players: 2
Playing Time: 10 min
Publisher: Lookout Games
Complexity: Medium
Available At: Amazon.com
Quick Take: Bless the wonderful people who designed one of my favorite two player games and then adapted it to an Express version that meets my 20 min or less qualifications for this website/life in general right now. I would say this is basically like Tetris meets the Game of Life - get pieces to fit on your quilt board and move around the game board, collecting buttons along the way. The full version is slightly more complex and is a lot of fun and I highly recommend if you like strategy games and don't mind a game that plays in 30-40 minutes. But I love that this express version brings a great strategy game to a younger audience, where I find these kinds of games are few and far between.
How to Play: The player with the highest score (the most buttons) wins. You get points from filling the quilt board and getting buttons as you move around the game board. You lose two points for each empty space on the quilt board. You and your opponent take turns leapfrogging over each other on the game board and along the way you choose the best patches for your quilt board. Some patches are free, most must be purchased with buttons. Once you have selected a patch you place it wherever you like on your quilt board. There's a time token, a neutral token, special patches, and buttons. The patchwork version has some special blue patches that you place into game play once you're down to five of the standard patches left for selection. It all seems complicated but I swear once you get a couple turns in it all makes sense and you get the hang of things. But you certainly have to read through the rules carefully before your first time playing.
Variations: Buy the regular version of Patchwork if you want to play a longer version of the game that includes a bonus for completing a 7x7 grid on your quilt board first. It requires a higher level of strategy to go for the all-important bonus points and for your general strategic play as you move around the game board. There are hacks available to turn Patchwork into Patchwork Express but in my opinion the secondary round of patches you put into game play for Patchwork Express are fairly important for short game play that works well and if you're going to want to play a more simple version of Patchwork on any kind of regular basis you are best served by just getting Patchwork Express.
Similar Games To Check Out: Patchwork, Kingdomino, Latice, Blokus