# Set — three that all match or all differ

- From: SET, a card game designed by Marsha J. Falco
- Players: 2–6 players
- Time: 8–10 min
- Made by: Marsha J. Falco, 1974; published by Set Enterprises
- This version: Homemade and without shading: 27 cards instead of 81

Made with boardgameBuilder 0.14.4. To design from it, open boardgameBuilder and choose Open game: its blocks go on the canvas, and the feelings are left for you to pick.

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.

## 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.

## 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

1. **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.
2. **Lay out twelve.** Shuffle and lay twelve cards face up.
3. **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.
4. **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.
5. **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?

## Where the rules are written down

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(card_game)

## Its blocks

- Victory condition: most points
- Player interaction: indirect via board
- Chance or skill: mostly skill
- Theme: abstract
- Information visibility: full information
- Timing: no turns

## Saved state

boardgameBuilder reads this part back when the file is opened.

```json
{"mechanics": {"victory-condition": "most-points", "player-interaction": "indirect-via-board", "chance-skill": "mostly-skill", "information": "full-information", "theme": "abstract", "timing": ["no-turns"]}, "chosenFeelings": [], "previousMechanics": {}, "previousFeelings": [], "turnNumber": 0, "locked": false, "turnHistory": [], "answers": {}, "tests": {}}
```