QWIRKLE- a new family favorite 50% off now at Amazon

We received the game Qwirkle as a Christmas gift this year. It has already been played many times with many people ranging in age from toddler to grandparent.  Usually, we follow the rules. Other times, the kids make up their own games using the tiles.

The game comes with 108 square tiles which are larger than scrabble but the same idea.  There are 3 of each tile, a combination of 6 colors and shapes.  There are 3 red squares, 3 purple squares, 3 purple stars, and so on.  Each player may create or add to one row at each turn.  The object is to make a row of six tiles that are the same color or the same shape, appropriately named a "QWIRKLE".  One challenging part is that a row of blue needs to have a blue tile of every shape, yet may only have 1 of each blue heart.

Qwirkle is great for the whole family, as it is not so fast paced as other shape and color sorting games, which can be hard for younger children to keep up. We all enjoy the game.  Naomi is 5 1/2 and easily understood the rules, whereas Samuel usually partners with another player.  He likes to match colors, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

The scoring is a little complicated to explain until you have actually seen the game, but by the second game Naomi could figure out how many points she scored.  This game allows for developed strategy but can easily be played by younger children who do not understand that aspect of the game.  Naomi has easily (and fairly) won.

I have also used these tiles with Samuel outside of the official Qwirkle rules.  Samuel likes to make a row of color or a row of shapes.  Last night, he was my partner when playing with my parents and kept saying "Grandpa, look at my cirdle (circle),"  That doesn't help Mommy win the game, but I am glad that he is learning.  There are many other ways that these tiles could be used. The lack of an official game board allows for easy storage without the box, a bonus as many parents have noticed that many games are useless once the gameboard becomes worn or lost.

My children have also had the opportunity to play Qwirkle Cubes .  The game has similar rules, but you roll dice rather than pick tiles.  The children all liked that game also.

Qwirkle is available at Amazon and is on sale right now.  We really like this game and at 50% off, it is definitely a great deal.  We opened this present shortly before Christmas day and it has been out multiple times everyday since.

DISCLAIMER: According to the company description, this game contains small parts which may be a choking hazard for children under 3 years old. Samuel won't be 3 until February 8, but as he has never put any toy in his mouth in his life, we took the chance.

Educational value
Identification of colors and shapes.
Pattern recognition.
Counting (all players) and addition (scorekeeper)
Great for math manipulatives.