Ways to Play
To use a Puzzle Map as a study game, players must first determine a tell-order, after which they begin by racing to place pieces down onto the mapping mat, just as with any other puzzle:
- Place: confirm your piece fits where you have carefully placed it. (When a piece is successfully emplaced within the Puzzle Map, all other gameplay activity must pause.)
- Tell: recite a key statistic, producer, story or feature about the puzzle piece-in-question.
Opponents will quickly judge whether the recitation was acceptable. If a player cannot fulfill step-(2) to the consensual satisfaction of opponents or cannot demonstrate any familiarity with the piece, she must leave the piece in place and allow for the next player in the order to have a go at it.
(The tell-order will have been determined by tossing a coin or, for groups larger than two, spinning a bottle, pen, wine key or cocktail skewer as many times as there are opponents. Once the first two pieces have been conjoined, they may need to repositioned atop the mapping mat as the map grows in variable directions.)
Each piece, successfully used, is worth one puzzle-piece point. When there are no more loose puzzle pieces, the player with the most puzzle-piece points wins.
Additional gameplay resources exist for Puzzle Mappers in need of hints or those wanting to tighten the recitation rules. As such, during a game, players may use the QR-code found on the box to navigate hints, piece shapes and piece indices.
Whether playing an introductory or master-level, Puzzle Maps TM rules are ultimately adjustable to the mood and studiousness of the group.