Juxtabo
Juxtabo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's in the Box?
- 105 playing pieces. Each piece is comprised of two disks of different colors. Overall, there are 21 color combinations of 7 colors.
- 1 bag for the Juxtabo pieces
- 125 Challenge Cards (75 with 3-color patterns, 50 with 4-color patterns)
- 1 sand timer
- 8 card stands
- 1 rules booklet
Object of the Game
By placing their Juxtabo pieces on top of existing pieces, players aim to replicate on the board the color pattern shown on their secret Challenge Card. For each match, they win a point. The first player to achieve a predetermined number of points (depending on the number of players) wins the game.
Game Set-up
Determine the size of the board you want to play on (4x4, 5x5, 6x6) and create your board by placing Juxtabo pieces accordingly on the table. Avoid placing several pieces of the same colors adjacent to each other. Place all the remaining pieces in the bag.
Each player draws 7 Juxtabo pieces from the bag and places them visibly next to them or holds them in their hand.
Give 2 card stands to each player.
There are 3-color and 4-color Challenge Cards in the deck. The 3-color Challenge Cards are easier to play with, and a good option for beginners and younger players. Decide which Challenge Cards you wish to play with (3 colors, 4 colors, or both) and create a deck made of these cards. Deal 2 Challenge Cards per player. The remaining cards are kept in the deck, face down. Each player's Challenge Cards are placed in their card stands and kept hidden from the other players.
Place the timer near the center of the table.
How to Play
Play consists of placing Juxtabo pieces on top of existing pieces (or stacks). The bottom color of each placed piece must match the top color of the piece on top of which it is being placed. The color on top of a stack determines the stack's color.
Players decide who starts.
On their turn, each player must place Juxtabo pieces on 2 locations on the board. They may place several pieces on top of each other (following the color flow rule) in order to arrive at the desired stack color. A player may use between 2 and 7 pieces on 2 board positions during their turn.
Example (illustration): By stacking these Juxtabo pieces you have changed the purple on the board to pink.
Example (illustration): By stacking these Juxtabo pieces you have changed the yellow on the board to red.
A Juxtabo piece is made of two colors with one on each side.
TIP: If you look at your Juxtabo pieces from the side, it will be easier to create the Juxtabo stacks.
By changing the color of stacks on the board, each player aims to create a color pattern of Juxtabo pieces that matches one of their Challenge Cards. For each successful match, the player declares 'Juxtabo', shows the match, and wins the Challenge Card. Each card is worth one point.
Illustration: Challenge Card A and Challenge Card B shown beside the game board.
Once a player successfully makes a match, they draw a new Challenge Card and may continue their turn and place additional pieces in up to two new locations on the board provided these placements create a new pattern match. If no new pattern match is possible, the player's turn ends, and they replenish their reserve of playing pieces back to 7.
Players may agree on a reasonable amount of time for each player to play their turn. At any time during the game, if a player identifies on the board a match to one of their Challenge Cards, they may declare 'Juxtabo', show the match, and win the card. The declaration does not end the other player's turn.
Adjusting the Play Level
Players may adjust the play level as follows:
When starting to play, players may decide to play using only 3-color pattern cards and later add the 4-color ones.
Using the sand timer is optional. For a more frenzied play, each player has 90 seconds to finish their turn. Once the time has elapsed, if the player has placed pieces on two locations on the board their turn ends, and they replenish their reserve of pieces back to 7. If the player has placed only one or no pieces, they take 7 new pieces from the bag and discard all of their existing pieces into the bag. The timer is flipped, and the turn moves to the next player.
Vary the playing field size. Reducing the playing field makes it easier to grasp the board but less likely to find target areas to achieve a match. Also, when playing 3-4 players a larger playing board is recommended.
Losing Your Turn Penalty
Players may lose their turn in the following 3 ways:
- Declaring Juxtabo on their turn and not being able to show a valid match to their challenge - the player leaves their pieces on the board and loses their turn.
- Declaring Juxtabo out of turn and not being able to show a match - the player loses their next turn.
- If a player's color transition from one color to another is flawed, the player retrieves the badly stacked pieces and loses their turn.
Ending the Game
As soon as a player accumulates 10 (2 players), 8 (3 players), or 7 (4 players) Challenge Cards, the game ends and victory is handed to that player. In the rare situation where all the Juxtabo pieces have been drawn from the bag and none of the players have managed to win, players add up the number of Challenge Cards they have won and the player with the most cards wins the game. In case of a tie, victory is shared.
Special Cases
In the very rare case that no location is found on the board that allows the player to place their Juxtabo pieces, they exchange all their pieces and the turn moves to the next player.
Playing Juxtabo Solitaire
The perfect color matching game for one player!
Using 25 Juxtabo pieces, form a 5x5 board.
Draw 7 Juxtabo pieces from the bag and place them in front of you.
Separate out twenty-five 3-color Challenge Cards, shuffle them and place them in a pile face down.
Turn over the top Challenge Card.
Try to create the card's pattern by placing Juxtabo pieces on 1 spot on the board - you can use up to 7 Juxtabo pieces during one turn by placing them all on the 1 spot.
Illustration: 5x5 board.
If you succeeded creating or identifying a pattern then you have won that Challenge Card - place it to your side, replenish the number of Juxtabo pieces back to 7, and turn over another Challenge Card from the pile.
You may exchange all 7 of your Juxtabo pieces once during the game.
You win Juxtabo Solitaire if you win all 25 Challenge Cards.
If you cannot identify or create the pattern of the card, then discard the Challenge Card face-up beside the draw pile and turn over the next Challenge Card.
When there are no more cards in the draw pile:
- if you managed to win at least one Challenge Card from the deck, take the discard pile, turn it over and continue playing;
- if you went through the entire deck of Challenge Cards without winning a single card, then you are done.
If you run out of Juxtabo pieces, then you are also done.