Gingham Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Center Setup
  • Player Setup
• Structure of Play
  • The Game Board
  • Flow of Play
  • Turn
• Effects
  • 1) Connecting Sweets
  • 2) Claiming a Stockpile
  • 3) Getting Sugar
• Abilities
• Game End & Final Scoring
• Get the Travel Case
• Credits

Components

• 2 Cloth boards
• 1 Ability board
• 5 Ability tiles
• 41 Sweets (5 lollipops and 9 each of cookies, cherries, cupcakes, and pies)
• 35 Sugar cubes
• 20 Claim tokens (5 per player)
• 104 Ants (26 per player)
• 8 Queens (2 per player)
• 4 Score dials (1 per player)

Assemble before your first game.

Setup

Center Setup

1. Place the cloth board for the correct number of players in the center of the table: a. 3-4 players: 10x10 grid b. 2 players: 8x8 grid
2. Shuffle the sweets facedown: a. 3-4 players: 9 each of cookies, cherries, cupcakes, and pies b. 2 players: 5 each of cookies, cherries, cupcakes, pies, and lollipops Note: Lollipops are not used for three- or four-player games.
3. Draw and place one sweet face-up on each circular intersection of the grid. All the sweets will be placed.
4. Place the ability board next to the central board.
5. Shuffle the ability tiles and place them at random on the ability board.
6. Place the sugar cubes near the cloth board, within easy reach.

Player Setup

1. Each player takes the following in their chosen player color: a. 26 ants b. 2 queens c. 1 score dial (set to 0 and kept facedown so other players cannot see) d. Claim tokens: i. 3-4 players: 4 (no lollipops) ii. 2 players: all 5

Note: Each player's score dial is kept facedown so other players cannot see it.

Structure of Play

Gingham is played over a series of rounds, with each player taking two turns each round. At the end of a round, if a player has 40 or more points (in two- or three-player games) or 32 or more points (in four-player games), they must declare this to the table, ending the game immediately. Players then perform final scoring, and the player with the most points is declared the winner.

The Game Board

The board is split into a grid with four sides, each with 10 rows (or 8 rows in 2-player games). Running diagonally through the center of the board is the stitch. Each row includes all the spaces up to and including the stitch. For example, all four of the rows furthest from the star contain 10 spaces, and all four of the rows closest to the star contain only one space. In this way, the closer the row is to the star, the fewer spaces in the row.

Flow of Play

In the first round of the game, play will proceed clockwise starting from the player who was most recently on a picnic. Each player will take one turn at a time until each player has taken two turns. After the first round, however, turn order is constantly in flux.

Turn

Each turn, you will place your queen along the outer border of a row and then deploy an ant in that row. The first queen of each round may be placed on any row of the grid. Each subsequent queen must be placed on an open row on the same side of the board as the first queen.

After placing your queen, place an ant onto any space of its row that is either:

• Empty (without an ant).

OR

• Occupied by another player's ant. This bumps the other player's ant, sending it off the board and back to them. At the end of your turn, they will place their bumped ant onto any empty space on the board, triggering any effects as normal.

Remember: The row includes all the spaces up to and including the stitch. You may not place a new ant beyond the space with the stitch.

After all players have taken two turns (both their queens are on the active side of the board), the next round begins. The queen closest to the star at the end of the current side is the lead queen and may be placed on any other side (the same side may not be active twice in a row). Turn order continues from the next queen closest to the star, down to the queen farthest away.

Example: Alex (orange) is first, and he selects a row on the bottom side of the board, placing an ant in that row. All other queens this round must be placed on the same side of the board.

Note: Since you may not place an ant onto a space that contains one of your own ants, if you select a row that contains only your ants (and no empty spaces), you may not place an ant in that row (unless you are using one of the abilities described later).

Example: All the other queens follow in turn order, placing ants in spaces of the rows their queens select. Sahil (blue) decides to bump Ameya (green). He returns Ameya's green ant to her, and she places it on any open space at the end of Sahil's turn.

For the next round, turn order will be Green ▸ Orange ▸ Orange ▸ Blue ▸ Green ▸ Blue.

Effects

After placing your ant, you may trigger some of the following effects. If multiple effects are triggered by an ant placement, perform them in any order.

1) Connecting Sweets

• If an orthogonally connected chain of your ants now connects two like-sweets, score 1 point per ant in your shortest path connecting the two like-sweets. Then, you must select one of the sweets to move on top of the other, creating a stockpile.
  • You may connect two stockpiles to each other, in which case you move one entire stockpile on top of the other.
• Place one or two sugar cubes in the now empty circular intersection, as denoted by the graphic in the now empty space.

Note: If the placement of an ant results in the connection of more than two like-sweets or results in multiple connections, simply resolve each connection one pair of sweets/stockpiles at a time. The active player decides the order these connections are resolved.

Example: Alex (orange) connects the two cookies with his ant placement this turn, scoring 2 points because the length of his connection is two ants. Then, he moves one of the cookie stockpiles on top of the other, revealing two sugar symbols in the now empty space and places two sugar cubes in that space.

2) Claiming a Stockpile

• After placing your ant, if a stockpile (or single sweet) is completely surrounded by your ants, you may claim the stockpile so long as you have the corresponding claim token off the board. You are never forced to claim it, but you must decide on the turn it is surrounded (meaning the ant that you placed this turn must be one of the surrounding ants).

  Claiming stockpiles in the center is the most difficult, as they require four ants to surround. Claiming stockpiles on the edge is easier, with only two ants needed, while claiming them on the corners is the easiest with only one ant needed.

• If you claim a stockpile, score 1 point per sweet in the stockpile and then place your claim marker on top of the stockpile. If another player has their claim marker on this stockpile, count their marker as one of the sweets in the stockpile when you score, then return their claim marker to them before placing yours on top. Your stockpiles are never safe!

Note: If two claimed stockpiles are connected to each other, no points are awarded and neither stockpile moves. However, a claimed stockpile may be connected with an unclaimed stockpile. A claim marker is always placed at the top of the stockpile it is in, even if another stockpile is moved on top of it from a connection.

Example: Sahil (blue) surrounds the stockpile of cherries on the edge and chooses to claim the stockpile as his own, since his cherry claim is still off the board. He scores 3 points (because it is a stockpile of three cherries) and places his cherry claim on top of the stockpile.

Example: In a later round, Ameya (green) moves Sahil's claimed stockpile by connecting it with a cherry in the middle, then proceeds to surround it. Since her cherry claim is off the board, she decides to claim Sahil's stockpile as her own. She scores 5 points for the five tokens in the stockpile (including Sahil's claim) and returns Sahil's claim back to him, placing her own in its place.

3) Getting Sugar

• If you place your ant adjacent to a circle with any number of sugar cubes in it, take one of those sugar cubes. These are used to perform special abilities, which are described in the next section.

Example: Ameya (green) places her ant next to two sugar cubes, then takes one. The next ant placed next to the remaining sugar cube will take it, leaving the spot empty for the rest of the game (since the sugar cubes are never refilled).

Example: Alex (orange) places an ant to surround the cookie on the edge and connect it to a larger stockpile in the middle. First, he decides to claim the stockpile. He scores 1 point because the stockpile contains one tile. Next, he scores 6 points for the connection and decides to move the smaller stockpile on top of the larger one, making it more difficult for others to surround and claim. Finally, he places one sugar cube on the empty spot.

Abilities

On each of your turns, you may use one ability. You may not use more than one ability each turn and may not use an ability when placing a bumped ant. To use an ability, return a number of sugar cubes to the supply according to the ability tile's position on the ability board. Then, place the ability tile in the topmost spot (three-sugar cost) and slide everything else toward the bottom to fill the gap. The costs of the abilities are constantly shifting, such that the most recently used ability is the most expensive while abilities that haven't been used as recently are cheaper.

The five abilities are:

• Select the same row as yourself: When placing your second queen in a round, you may select the row that contains your other queen.

  Note: There may only be two queens per row maximum, which means you cannot use this ability to select a row that already has two queens.

• Select the same row as an opponent: When placing your queen, you may select a row that contains an opponent's queen.

  • Place your queen further outside your opponent's. For turn order next round, your queen will go after the queen that was originally there.

  Note: There may only be two queens per row maximum, which means you cannot use this ability to select a row that already has two queens.

• Place your ant across the stitch: When placing your ant, you may select any square that is in the same row as your queen, ignoring the restriction of the stitch.

• Score a connection 1.5x: When making a connection, you score 1.5 times the normal number of points, rounded down. (Score the full amount as normal and an additional bonus of half that amount.)

  Example: Alex (orange) scores 9 points for his connection that is 6 ants long (6x1.5).

• Move your ant instead of placing a new one: Instead of placing an ant in your queen's selected row, move one of your ants from that row (from any space up to and including the stitch) to any open space on the board. Using this means you will not place a new ant that turn, but when used wisely, it can open up clever opportunities.

Game End & Final Scoring

At the end of a round, if any player has 40 or more points (or 32 or more in a four-player game), they must announce this to the table, and the game immediately ends. Players proceed with final scoring.

• Each player scores 1 point for each sweet in their claimed stockpiles, with the claim token also counting.
• For each sweet type, the player with the tallest claimed stockpile of that type scores 5 bonus points. If players are tied for the tallest stockpile, they each score 5 points.
• Finally, each player scores 1 point for each of their leftover sugar cubes.

The player with the most points wins! If there is a tie, enjoy a nice picnic together and discuss something more important than a tiebreaker for a quick board game.

Example: At the end of the round, Ameya (green) reveals that she has 52 points. Alex (orange) also has more than 40 points (42), so the end of the game would have been triggered by either player. Players proceed to final scoring.

Sahil (blue) has three claimed stockpiles, each of which have four sweets in them (including his claim tokens) for a total of 12 points. His cookie and cupcake stockpile are the tallest of each type on the board, so he scores an extra 5 points from each of those for a new total of 22 points. He adds these 22 points to the 35 he gained during the game, ending with a total of 57.

Ameya (green) only has one claimed stockpile on the board, which is also the only claimed pie and thus the tallest, scoring her 4 points for its size and an extra 5 for being the tallest. She adds these 9 points to her 52 and ends with 61 points.

Alex (orange) also only has one claimed stockpile on the board, the cherry stockpile with six sweets in it. He scores a total of 11 points (6 for the size of the stockpile and 5 for it being the tallest of its type). He adds these 11 points to his 42 for a total of 53.

The winner is Ameya with 61 points! Sahil is in second place with 57, and Alex is close behind with 53.

Get the Travel Case

Wanting to travel with Gingham? Pick up the custom travel case and carabiner directly from our shop at www.BitewingGames.com.

Credits

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Game by Robert Hovakimyan

Artwork & Graphic Design by Alisha Giroux

Editing by Scott Darrington

Published by Nick Murray & Kyle Spackman

© Robert Hovakimyan, 2025. All rights reserved. © Bitewing Games LLC, 2025. All rights reserved.

Thank you to all of my playtesters, without whom this game would not exist. Thank you to Nick and Kyle from Bitewing Games for having faith in this game and bringing it to life. The biggest thank you goes out to my wife, Priscila, whose support for my game design endeavors never falters.

— Robert Hovakimyan