Patchwork
60 questions players ask about Patchwork, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-30.
60 questions players ask about Patchwork, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-30.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
It goes just clockwise of the smallest patch, the 1x2, so that patch is the last one in the first three-patch window and the opening choices are the patches after it. The smallest patch is not guaranteed to be affordable on turn one.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
The player who most recently used a needle starts. Groups often just pick someone else, which changes nothing about the rules.
No. The rules only ask for a circle or oval, so any order works, random or deliberate. Only the five special 1x1 patches have fixed spots, on the time board.
No. The player whose time token is furthest back on the time board takes the turn, so one player can take several turns in a row.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
The player whose token is on top. Whoever moves onto the opponent's space places their token on top, so they play again. If that player cannot buy, they advance to just in front of the opponent and the turn passes.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Take the Advance action: move your token to the space directly in front of the opponent and collect one button per space moved, plus any income you pass. If neither of you can buy, you leapfrog each other until both reach the end; there is no discarding.
Yes. Buying is optional, and moving to the space in front of your opponent is always a legal action. Players use it to gain buttons or to wait for a better patch.
One per space you move, which is at least one when you jump past your opponent. If you would pass the last space you stop there and only count spaces actually moved. Button income you cross on the way is paid in addition.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. Per-space buttons come only from the Advance action. Buying moves your time token, but you only get income for button markers you cross.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Only the three patches immediately clockwise of the neutral token. Patches behind the token come back into reach only as the circle gets smaller.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
When you buy a patch it moves next to the patch you chose. The Advance action does not move it. As patches disappear it keeps circling the remaining ones until the time track ends.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Choose a patch, move the neutral token next to it, pay buttons, place the patch on your quilt, then move your time token and resolve any markers you pass. Placement comes before the time move.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. A turn is one action. You can buy several patches in a row only when you remain behind your opponent after the first, which gives you consecutive turns.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Yes. You may turn and mirror a patch any way you like before placing it, as long as it stays on empty spaces.
No. A patch may go anywhere on empty spaces, with gaps around it; the only requirements are no overlap and fully on the board. Compact placement is just good strategy.
The rulebook only says to place the patch on the quilt board, and several experienced players agree this means entirely on it.
No. A patch must lie completely on the quilt board.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. Once placed a patch stays put; no action in the game lets you move or swap placed patches.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. Patches may not overlap, so stacking does not count toward the 7x7 bonus.
No. Taking a patch means placing it, so you may only buy one that you can afford and place. Buying an unplaceable piece to keep it from the opponent is not allowed. If someone does it by mistake, undo it and take another action.
The rulebook has you pay before placing and does not mention testing. Many players allow a trial fit as a house practice, but once the patch is placed on your quilt you are committed. Some tables allow changes until the time token moves.
The publisher answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Only when you move past it. On the standard board the markers sit between spaces, so stopping on the space before one pays nothing. The rulebook's "onto or past" wording is an error from an earlier version, and the German text says to cross the marker.
Yes, editions differ. The original board prints the markers between spaces, while some later boards (such as Americana and Christmas/Winter) put the 1x1 patches on spaces. The publisher says both layouts work, so play the board as printed. Players report that on a space-based board you collect when you move onto or past the patch space.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Yes. You place the patch before moving your time token, so its buttons count for income on that move. You cannot use that income to pay for the same patch.
Yes. Each marker you pass pays separately, whichever action you took.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Yes. Income is paid whenever your token passes a button marker regardless of action, in addition to the per-space buttons of the Advance action.
Several experienced players agree and nothing official contradicts it.
Normally no: you take the income and your turn ends. If your token is still behind the opponent after moving, you take another turn and may buy then, using the quilt as it stands.
Yes. Taking it is mandatory when you pass its marker, it must be placed immediately, and you cannot keep it for later. Only the first player to pass takes it.
It is removed from the game and is not left for the opponent. The publisher said this is how the app handles it, replacing an earlier view that the opponent could take it.
A single player reply says it can happen; it follows from the first-come rule.
Yes. They go to whoever passes each marker first, so one player can take them all.
The publisher answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Every space in some 7x7 area must be covered, but other patches may stick out around it and the area can be anywhere, including a corner. It does not need to be the whole board.
The publisher answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
No. It is worth 7 points at the end of the game only and cannot be spent or used for income.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
The tile belongs to the first player to complete it, whether or not they noticed. If you spot it, point it out.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. They are independent; you can still place a 1x1 patch after taking the tile.
Yes, though rare, and the designer confirms it happens. Filling the board does not win on its own.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
When both time tokens have reached the last space, not when the first one does. A token that would move past the end stops on the last space.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Yes. The token stops on the last space, so overshooting does not stop a purchase.
The publisher answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
One per space actually moved, so you get no extra for the space you could not enter, plus income for any button marker passed. This includes the final button marker.
The publisher treats the central area as the true last space. A token before it can be overtaken, and the overtaking token enters the centre, scoring the spaces and buttons passed. An earlier reply that it would just land on top was superseded.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Yes. Each empty quilt space costs 2, so scores below zero are normal, especially in early games.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
No. Only your button tokens in hand count, plus 7 for the special tile. Buttons on patches only matter as income when your token passes a marker.
The rulebook text settles this directly.
Every uncovered square on your quilt, wherever it is, costs 2 points.
No. It is intentional and costs zero buttons; the Automa deck also includes a zero-cost card.
One forum reply states it.
Yes, they can be used either side up.
Several experienced players agree and nothing official contradicts it.
No. They are open, and the app shows them too.
Several experienced players agree and nothing official contradicts it.
Christmas and Americana are cosmetic. Halloween rebalances some patch costs and times, and that was not carried into other editions.
No. The rule has been the same since the first publication, and players say a different version is most likely a house rule.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Yes, as a player would.
No. It scores only what the scoring section lists. The designer says this was in the prototype but lost in print.
It advances to one space ahead of your token, gaining only income from markers it passes, not a button per space.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Its single tile is the only option; if it is unavailable the Automa passes as usual and collects income it passes.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Yes. Each narrows the remaining patches, but a filter that would leave none is skipped. For the furthest-from-neutral filter with nothing qualifying, the Automa passes rather than taking the third patch.
No, only during setup. The German rules said otherwise, but the designer says either way is fine.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Yes. You move past its token, take a button per space and collect income as in two-player play.
The publisher answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
No.
Yes. Different numbers prevent the backs revealing fronts, but the averages match.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
It is not used by default; you may pick a time-track space where the Automa claims the 5x5 tile, then the normal 5x5 rules apply.
The designer answered this on the forum and the reply is cited below.
Yes. Graphics-only changes do not matter, and the designer expects the price changes to work too, though untested.
Several experienced players agree and nothing official contradicts it.
The Automa's; normal turn order applies.
Two replies argue this; there is no official word.
Probably not; it is balanced for the full game, so a new deck would be needed.