Col-Or-Form
Col-Or-Form Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 36 figure cards
- 30 task cards
- 1 rulebook (in Polish)
Goal of the Game
Figure cards, showing shapes in different colors, are laid out so that they form a 3x3 layout (3 rows of cards in 3 columns; see the illustration below). Using their own figure cards, the players will try to change this layout so that it fits the revealed task cards. They will do this SIMULTANEOUSLY, and they may turn the task cards over only in their minds.
The winner is the player who collects the greatest number of points.
Example layout of cards for 2 players at the start of the game.
Setup
- Lay out 9 figure cards on the table. Shuffle all the figure cards (there are 36) and form them into a face-down pile. From the top 9 cards of this pile, form a 3x3 layout (3 rows of cards in 3 columns). Place these 9 cards face up in the middle of the table, with the shape-and-color side facing up.
- Each player draws 4 figure cards. Now each of you draws 4 cards from the pile of figure cards and places them face up in front of yourself.
- Each player draws 2 task cards. Shuffle the task cards, form them into a face-down pile and place it beside the pile of figure cards. Then each of you draws 2 cards from the pile of task cards and places them face down above your own figure cards (see the illustration).
How to Play
- Reveal the task cards. On an agreed signal, all players simultaneously reveal the 2 task cards lying in front of them.
- Play simultaneously! Each second counts. Once the task cards are revealed, all players simultaneously try to score points by matching the figures on their figure cards with the figures on the chosen task card.
- Stop! You have 10 seconds to solve the task. If one of the players is sure they have found a solution, they call "STOP" and quickly reach for the task card they need. The game is then paused (nobody may call "STOP" any more), and the player must show the solution to their opponents within 10 seconds.
When Do You Score Points?
That is: either SHAPE, or COLOR, or SHAPE and COLOR.
A solution is correct (you score points) when every figure (circle, square, triangle, etc.) shown on the task card you chose has the same shape, color, or shape and color as the card in the same position in the 3x3 layout in the middle of the table (examples are given further below in the rulebook). If the solution is correct, the player takes the task card and places it face down beside themselves, forming their own victory point pile.
Rules for the Cards
- White spaces. White spaces (empty places) on task cards have no meaning when searching for a solution. Wherever they appear, there may be a figure of any shape and any color.
- Whose task cards are they? Task cards do not belong to any player. While searching for a solution you may also choose ANY revealed task card lying in front of an opponent.
- Do not touch the task cards! While searching for a solution you must not touch any revealed task card. If you want to turn it (for example, to rotate it), you may do so only in your mind.
- Do not touch the figure cards either! Figure cards may not be touched either. You may take them from the table only in order to show the other players your solution (after you have said the word "STOP").
Using Figure Cards
Once the task cards have been revealed, you may (but do not have to) use any number of your own figure cards to find the solution. You may use any number of them, again only in your mind. For this purpose you should look carefully at your figure cards. You may place them over the cards of the 3x3 layout in the middle of the table, so as to find the solution.
Examples
Example 1. Ania noticed that one of the task cards could easily be completed. The red star on the task card matches the blue star in the 3x3 layout by shape. The black triangle on the task card matches the black circle in the 3x3 layout by color. In turn, the purple moon on the task card matches the purple moon in the 3x3 layout by color and shape. Task completed!
Example 2. Mateusz tries to solve a slightly harder task. In his mind he rotates the task card 90 degrees to the right. He notices that the correct layout is already on the table. The red star on the task card matches the red triangle in the 3x3 layout by color. The black triangle on the task card matches the yellow triangle in the 3x3 layout by shape. The purple moon matches the purple moon in the 3x3 layout by color and shape. Task completed!
Example 3. In this case Julia would like to complete a task on one of the task cards lying in front of her. In her mind she rotates this card 90 degrees to the left. She sees that the red moon on the task card matches the blue moon in the 3x3 layout by shape. The blue circle on the task card matches the blue square in the 3x3 layout by color. Unfortunately, the green star on the task card matches the red triangle in the 3x3 layout neither by color nor by shape. At this point the task cannot be solved, unless Julia places a card with a star in any color, or with any green figure, in the place of the red triangle.
Example 4. This time Mateusz is solving a fairly difficult task. He was the first to call "STOP" and shows the solution to the other players. He places his card with a yellow star on the card with a red circle, and his card with a blue circle on the card with a red triangle in the 3x3 layout, so that they match the chosen task card by color. Next he places his card with a black heart on the card with a blue square, so that the card matches the task card by shape. The cards with a green moon (color) and a blue star (shape) already match the task card, so Mateusz does not need to place his figure cards on them. At the very end he rotates the chosen task card 90 degrees to the left, so that the solution is clearly visible to all players.
Correct Solution
If the solution is correct, the player takes the task card and places it face down on their pile of victory points, and scores as many points as there are figures on that card.
Incorrect Solution
If the solution is incorrect, the player places the task card face up on their own victory point pile. Each such face-up card gives the player negative points at the end of the game (1 figure on the card equals 1 negative point).
Important: Remember that whether you solved the task correctly or not, you always place the task cards in the same pile. Face-down cards are points earned; face-up cards are negative points.
Several Players Call "STOP"!
It may happen that several players call the word "STOP" at almost the same moment. In that case, decide the order in which the players will show their solutions. The slower players (starting from the second one) will not be penalized with negative points for showing an incorrect solution, but only if the 3x3 layout in the middle of the table has been changed by any player who solved the task before them (in the established order). In that case, the task cards chosen by these players must be returned to the place from which they were taken.
Next Tasks
Once a task card has been checked, the game continues and all players again try to find a solution, using the other revealed task cards still on the table.
All the figure cards that were placed in the 3x3 layout while showing a correct solution remain on the table. Play continues with the changed arrangement of cards in the middle of the table. If a player indicated an incorrect solution, then all the figure cards that this player placed in the 3x3 layout return to the place from which they were taken, and the player may use them again after the game is restarted.
Round End and a New Round
- A round ends when a solution has been found for all the task cards lying on the table, or when no solution can be found for any of the revealed task cards.
- At the start of the new round, deal every player enough figure cards so that each has 4 such cards in front of them again. If there are not enough of these cards in the pile, gather all the figure cards that lie in the middle of the table under the cards forming the current 3x3 layout. In other words, leave only the 9 top cards of the 3x3 layout on the table, and gather, shuffle and form a new pile of figure cards for dealing.
- All task cards for which no solution can be found should be placed at the bottom of the task card pile. Then place 2 new face-down task cards in front of each player.
- Now, on the agreed signal, all players again reveal their task cards (simultaneously), and the game continues in exactly the same way as in the previous round.
Note: We suggest that in the first games you remove from the game all task cards that show 4 figures or more.
Game End
The game ends after the round in which the pile of task cards runs out. That round is played to the end, even if, because the pile ran out, not all players received 2 task cards.
Scoring
After the last round has been played, count the points on the cards in your victory point pile. Each figure on a face-down card is 1 point. Remember, however, that each face-up card in that pile gives negative points (each figure on such a card is 1 negative point).
The winner is the player who has gathered the greatest number of victory points. In the case of a tie, the player with fewer cards in their victory point pile wins. If there is still a tie, the players share the victory.
FIKOLO JUNIOR
(A version of the game for 2–6 children aged 8 and up.)
Before you start playing this variant, make the following changes to the setup:
- Remove from the game all task cards that show 5 figures; and if the children do not cope well with the game at first, also remove the cards with 4 figures.
- The layout in the middle of the table stays the same (3x3), but each player now draws 3 figure cards (instead of 4) and places them in front of themselves in exactly the same way as in the basic version of the game.
- Before the start of the game, each player also draws 4 task cards (instead of 2), places them in front of themselves, and forms from them their own face-down pile of these cards.
Changes to the Course of Play in the FIKOLO JUNIOR Variant
- The game is no longer played simultaneously. From now on it proceeds in turns.
- The youngest player starts: they turn over the top card of their own pile of task cards and try to find a solution, exactly as in the basic version of the game:
- if they manage to find a solution, the task card is removed from the game, and the next turn begins with the player sitting to the left of them, and so on;
- if they do not manage to find a solution, they place the task card at the bottom of their own pile of these cards, and the next turn begins with the player sitting to the left of them, and so on.
- Remember to draw figure cards at the end of your turn so that you have 3 of them again. If the pile for drawing these cards runs out, proceed in exactly the same way as described in the basic version of the game (see point 2 under "Round End and a New Round").
- The game ends after the round in which one of the players discarded their last (fourth) card from their own pile of task cards. In that case the round is played to the end (so that each player has taken the same number of turns), and the winner is each player who, during the last round, discarded their last task card from their pile of these cards.