Shape Up
Shape Up Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to play and move cards to create a card layout so that your victory card will score the most points at the end of the game.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards and then deal as follows:
- Hidden card: Deal one card face down beside the play area, without looking at it. This card is out of play and will not be used during the game.
- Victory cards: Deal each player one victory card face down. Keep your victory card hidden. It tells you which lines of symbols will score you points at the end of the game.
Place the remaining cards face down beside the playing area to form the deck.
Choose a start player in any way you wish.
Changes for 3 players are at the end of the rules.
Victory Cards
This card shows the symbol: blue hollow circle.
If this card was your victory card, you would score points at the end of the game for each line of blue symbols, for each line of hollow symbols, and for each line of circles.
How to Play
The start player goes first. Then take alternating turns.
At the start of your turn, draw the top card from the deck and look at it.
Then take the following actions, in either order:
- Play your card (mandatory): You must play your card face up into the playing area, adding it to the card layout.
- Move a card (optional): You may move an existing card to a new position within the card layout. If you choose to move a card, you may do so before or after you play your card.
Placement Rules
Every time you play or move a card you must follow both of these placement rules:
-
Adjacency: You may only play or move a card into a position that is orthogonally adjacent to at least one other card already in play. Cards are not adjacent if they only touch at their corners.
On the first turn there are no other cards in play, so ignore the adjacency rule. Simply lay a card in the middle of the play area to begin the layout.
-
Card layout size: After you play or move a card, all of the cards in play must lie within an imaginary grid of cards that is 5 cards long and 3 cards wide (or 3 cards long and 5 cards wide). The borders of the grid are not fixed at the start of the game, so in your first few turns you can play or move cards into any position.
Moving Cards
When you move an existing card, you may break the layout of cards into two or more groups of cards, or leave single cards in positions in which they are no longer adjacent to any other cards. The card you move, however, must follow the adjacency rule.
End of the Game
The game ends when the last card in the deck has been drawn and played, and the grid of cards is complete.
Scoring
Now reveal your victory card and count up your score. The player with the highest total score wins.
You score points for every horizontal or vertical line of symbols within the card layout that matches the scoring opportunities on your victory card. Diagonal lines do not score, but a single card may score twice as part of two overlapping lines of symbols.
This table shows the number of points you receive for each line of symbols that match one of the attributes of the symbol on your victory card. Longer lines score more points. This scoring information is repeated on the top and bottom of every card.
| Attribute on victory card | 1 symbol | 2 symbols | 3 symbols | 4 symbols | 5 symbols |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle, Triangle or Square | – | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Filled or Hollow | – | – | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Red, Green or Blue | – | – | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Scoring Example
In this example, Player A scores 5 different lines for 13pts, and Player B scores 3 lines for 10pts.
Player A's victory card: green hollow circle. Score: 13pts.
- 3 hollows: 3pts
- 3 greens: 4pts
- 2 circles: 1pt
- 3 circles: 2pts
- 3 hollows: 2pts
Player B's victory card: red filled triangle. Score: 10pts.
- 4 reds: 6pts
- 3 triangles: 2pts
- 3 filled: 3pts
Note on the example: as printed, the 3-hollows line in Player A's column and the 4-reds line in Player B's row are labelled 2pts and 6pts. The scoring table above gives 3 points for three hollows and 5 points for four reds. The stated totals of 13pts and 10pts agree with the table values (3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 = 13 and 5 + 2 + 3 = 10), not with the printed labels. The printed labels are transcribed here as they appear in the source.
Playing a Full Game
A full game of Shape Up! is played over four rounds. Alternate the start player and add up the scores from each round to determine the overall winner.
Other Ways to Play
Shape Up! for 3 players
Three players can play the game in exactly the same way, taking turns clockwise. The only difference is that, after dealing the hidden card and one victory card to each player, there will be 14 cards in the deck. This means that the final card layout will have one empty position.
Advanced Shape Up!
In the advanced game, do not deal out victory cards at the start of the game. Instead, you will choose for yourself which of the cards that pass through your hand is your victory card.
At the start of the game, deal each player a hand of three cards.
On your turn, you must play one card from your hand. At the end of your turn, draw one from the deck to replace (skip this step once the deck is used up).
At the end of the game you will have one card remaining in your hand: this card is your victory card.