Quatrefoil

Overview

Quatrefoil is a cooperative puzzle game for four players that can be played in 5-10 minutes. It is intended for players who are at least eight years old.

During the game, you will work together to solve a puzzle. Communication is limited, so you will need to be creative and attentive to coordinate your efforts.

You can end the game whenever you think that you have solved the puzzle. If you are right, everyone wins. If not, everyone loses.

Components

• Tokens (5) -  one circular token in five colours: blue, green, purple, red, yellow.
• Colour Cards (5) - one for each colour.
• Position Cards (4) - one for each of the ordinal directions: northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast.

Set Up

1. Arrange any four of the tokens in a square in the play area. This is the quatrefoil. The fifth token is the free token and should be placed nearby.
2. Deal one colour card and one position card face down to each player. Players may look at their own cards, but not those dealt to other players.
3. Place the remaining colour card face down in the play area to one side of the quatrefoil. This card indicates which direction is north.

Player turns

On your turn, take one of three possible actions:

• Push - Place the free token next to any row or column of the quatrefoil. Slide that entire row or column by pushing on the free token until it is part of the quatrefoil. Notice that this will also eject a token from the quatrefoil. The ejected token becomes the free token for the next player's turn.
• Twist - Rotate the quatrefoil by ninety degrees in either direction (clockwise or anticlockwise).
• Stack - Place the free token on top of the quatrefoil. The game ends immediately after any player takes this action.

Turn Order

Play procceeds to the left (clockwise). That is, after you finish your turn the player to your left will go next.

Correct Positions

The colour cards and the position cards together specify the correct position for each token.

The correct positions of four of the tokens are specified by the cards held by the players. These tokens should be in the quatrefoil. Your position card specifies the correct position in the quatrefoil for the token specified by your colour card.

The remaining token should be the free token. Because it should not be in the quatrefoil, it does not have an associated position card.

Communication

During the game, communication between players is strictly limited. At any time, you may only indicate whether your token is in the correct position or not.

This should be done using a simple nonverbal signal. Many players like to give a "thumbs up" gesture when their token is in the correct position.

Winning the Game

The game ends when anyone takes the stack action.

Everyone wins if all of the tokens are in their correct positions when the game ends. If any token is not in its correct position, then everyone loses.

Fun Facts

The word quatrefoil means "four leaves", from the Latin quattuor, "four", plus folium, "leaf". The term refers specifically to a four-leafed clover, but applies in general to four-lobed shapes in various contexts.