Easy to learn, with endless opportunities to develop higher level skills and strategies, Shifting Stones is great fun for 1-5 players, aged eight and above. Shifting Stones is a fantastic choice for those just starting to explore board games, or for those looking to take their abilities to the next stage. In Shifting Stones, players swap tiles on a 3×3 grid in order to score points by recreating the different patterns pictured on cards in their hand, with various point values and difficulties involved. By using strategy and a sharp eye, try and outwit your opponents each turn to score the most points before someone activates the end game trigger. Will you work fast and furiously to secure lots of ‘easy’ points, or carefully plan ahead and surprise your opponent with a big score? The game ends when the end game trigger requirements are met, meaning players can control and adjust the speed of the game by the moves they make. To find a winner, players add up the total score of the pattern cards they completed and the player with the most points wins. But be careful, there are several ways to score points in Shifting Stones!
How to Play
Pieces:
- 77 pattern cards
- 9 two-sided tiles
Setting up:
To begin, orient the board in a direction that all players agree on, this is important as the game won’t work if players are working to complete patterns from completely different points of view or perspectives. Arrange 9 coloured tiles in a 3×3 grid, making sure all of the images are facing the same direction (it might help call the agreed top of the grid North as ‘up’ will look differently to each player around the board).
Next, each player recieves one of the two-sided tile guide cards. These cards show what is on the other side of the stones currently facing up and have a description of the different turn actions. This card is helpful in developing strategies.
Shuffle the deck of pattern cards. Place the deck at the top (north) of the 3×3 grid face down and leave a space next to the deck for a discard pile. Deal each player a hand of four pattern cards.
Playing:
Starting with the player who was dealt the reference card with the black background, each play takes their turn trying to create one of the patterns in their hand on the grid. On their turn, players can:
- Swap a stone tile with the one next to it either horizontally or vertically (left and right or up and down), but not diagonally. For example, a player could shift the orange stone shown in the example 3×3 grid with either of the blue stones, but they cannot shift the orange stone with the purple stone.
- Flip one of the stones on the grid to reveal the stone on the other side of the tile (this is where that tile reference guide really comes in handy!)
Players can repeat these moves however, every time a player shifts or flips a stone tile, they must place one pattern card from their hand in the discard pile.
Once a player has taken all the actions they want to, they collect points by placing the completed pattern cards down on the table. Alternatively, players may choose to skip a turn in order to pick up two additional pattern cards.
Scoring:
The game ends when a player reaches the “End-Game Trigger”. The trigger depends on how many people are playing. To find out who has won, each player adds up the total value of their completed pattern cards. The person who completed the most cards worth one point gets a bonus of three points!
Teaching Resources
Below are resources for you to adapt for your classes. Each lesson plan highlights mathematical processes to focus on, questions for reflection and a worksheet for the students to complete following their game. Holding space for class discussions is encouraged and when possible, include pictures from your students’ game boards to prompt discussion in the class.