Tamz has really wanted to play the abstract game Qwirkle for a while now. We have just decided to leave it in the shop as it comes in a huge box. So we decided to make our own ‘travel’ version. Nice and compact so we can play games on the go! (oh, and it might just fit on our boardgame shelf)
I found these extra scrabble tiles for sale on Ebay, I got 200 for about £5 with free postage. You only need 108 tiles, but this will give you a few spares 🙂 The first thing I did was to sand off the letters so I was just left with the wooden tile. These tiles are a lot smaller than the original Qwirkle tiles, but that is great for a ‘travel’ version of a game.
Next step was to go crazy with some Sharpie felt tip pens! You need three of each symbol in each of the six colours. We named the symbols Ninja Star, Square, Star Burst, Bubble Circle, Circle and Diamond. As you can see I chose slightly different colours from the original game. I decided the yellow was not going to show up very well on these wooden tiles (the original game has black tiles) so I swapped it out for a very violent pink colour!! The only downside is that our DIY game is not very good for colourblind players 🙁
Now I had all 108 tiles decorated I needed to protect them. I chose this sealer as it left a gloss finish matching the other sides of the tiles. It took quite a few coats to get it really glossy and it also made the colours of the green and red sharpies run slightly. However, it also made the colours ‘pop’ so it was easier to distinguish each one after the protective coating.
Being a quilter I could not just dump all the tiles in a box, oh no, I decided to make a little patchwork bag to hold my new DIY game! I chose fabric colours to match the tiles and embroidered little matching symbols into the squares! This bag is super easy to make, just squares sewn together with the lining folded over and pretty piece of ribbon round the top to make it a drawstring bag.
Its all very well having a lovely little patchwork bag and homemade tiles if you have no idea how to play the game. Have no fear, I also made a basic rulesheet for you to refer to whilst playing. You can download your own copy of the rules here – qwirkle-rules
Once you have played the game a few times you will know the scores come pretty fast and in Tamz’ case, pretty high. So it can be a challenge to keep track of them. Again, have no fear, I also designed a score track to match the rules!!! You need one for each player, with a 1-100 track, so if you go over 100, go around again and remember where you are. I even took some spare tiles and coloured them in for players to choose from. You can download your score tracker here – score-track
So there you have it, Board Togethers DIY Qwirkle. Why not have a go yourself, even if you have the game, this makes a great travel version for you. The colours can be mixed and matched to suit your needs. Then again, if you keep the three of each symbols in the six different colours you could also make up your own symbols!
If you like the game and want to play on the go even when no one else wants to, check out the App in the Apple Store for about £2.50. Great fun, although as with most computer games I swear the Computer Player cheats!!! You can play with other people that have the app or a pass and play local game. To be honest, I play the apps until I get really good so I can beat Mike!! It was a great tactic for Splendor!
For more information check out –
Qwirkle on Board Game Geek
Publisher – MindWare
Be First to Comment