Set — three that all match or all differ
Twelve cards lie face up. Everyone looks at once for three cards where every feature is either the same on all three or different on all three. Whoever sees one first and calls 'Set!' takes it. There are no turns.
From SET, a card game designed by Marsha J. Falco.
What it shows a designer
Everyone looks at the same cards at once, with no turns, so perception wins over planning. It shows simultaneous play, and how a single matching rule can carry a whole game.
Credits
- Made by
- Marsha J. Falco, 1974; published by Set Enterprises
- This version
- Homemade and without shading: 27 cards instead of 81
- Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(card_game)
What you need
- 27 paper cards you draw: one for every mix of number (1, 2 or 3), shape (diamond, oval, squiggle) and colour (red, green, purple)
- red, green and purple pens
How to play
- Make 27 cards. Draw one card for every mix of number (1, 2 or 3), shape (diamond, oval, squiggle) and colour (red, green, purple), with every shape filled in. The published game adds a fourth feature, shading, and has 81 cards.
- Lay out twelve. Shuffle and lay twelve cards face up.
- Find a set. A set is three cards where, for each feature, the three are all the same or all different. Everyone looks at once.
- Call it. Say 'Set!' and point to the three cards. If you are right, take them and lay three new cards. If you are wrong, give back one set you hold, or pay another penalty agreed before you start.
- End. If nobody can find a set, lay out three more cards. When the cards run out and no set is left, whoever has the most sets wins; equal counts are a draw.
After playing, talk about
- How did you look: card by card, or at the whole table?
- Did you learn to check one feature at a time?
- How did it feel when someone else kept calling first?
Its blocks
How its blocks were checked against BoardGameGeek
- SET: partly checkable, nothing against it. most points: not checkable. indirect via board: not checkable. mostly skill: not checkable. full information: not checkable. abstract: not checkable. no turns: confirmed (Real-Time).
In boardgameBuilder, Open game puts its blocks on the canvas. Changed, the same file can come back here from Propose a game.