Calico

What is the Calico Game?

Calico is a charming puzzle game that turns quilt-making into a clever test of strategy. Arrange colorful hexagonal fabric tiles on your board, match patterns to attract adorable cats, and connect matching colors to earn buttons. Every patch you place brings your quilt closer to completion, but it can also open up or block valuable scoring opportunities.

The challenge lies in balancing three different goals at once. You need to satisfy design requirements, create matching color groups, and arrange patterns that appeal to specific cats. With limited space and a changing selection of tiles, thoughtful placement matters more than speed.

What Makes This Puzzle Game So Engaging?

• Colorful Quilt Building: Arrange hexagonal fabric patches featuring different colors and patterns.
• Three Scoring Systems: Earn points through design goals, cat tokens, and colorful buttons.
• Strategic Tile Drafting: Choose new patches from a changing market after each placement.
• Relaxing Puzzle Experience: Focus on planning and pattern recognition without fast-paced action.

How to Play Calico

The objective is to fill your quilt board while creating as many valuable color combinations, pattern groups, and design arrangements as possible.

Place Tiles and Build Your Quilt

Start by selecting a fabric patch from Your Tiles. Hover over an empty space to preview its position, then click to place it permanently.

After placing a patch, choose a replacement from the three tiles available in the market. The remaining tiles shift left, and the cat beneath the board takes the leftmost leftover tile before the market refills.

Repeat this process until every available space on your quilt has been filled. Since placed tiles cannot be moved, consider how each new patch connects with its neighbors.

Three Ways to Score Points

1. Complete Design Goals

Each quilt contains three design goal tiles surrounded by six patch spaces. Arrange the surrounding tiles to match the required color or pattern distribution. You can satisfy a goal using colors, patterns, or both. If both conditions are met, only the higher point value counts.

2. Collect Colorful Buttons

Connect at least three patches of the same color to earn a button worth 3 points. Select the matching button token and place it on the completed group. A larger connected group does not earn additional buttons automatically. To collect another button of the same color, create a separate qualifying group. Collecting one button of every color also unlocks a rainbow button worth 3 points.

3. Attract Cats with Matching Patterns

Each cat prefers two fabric patterns and requires a particular group size or arrangement. Create the correct combination, select the corresponding cat goal, and place its token on a matching patch. Different cats award different points, so planning around higher-value cat goals can improve your final score.

Game Controls

• Mouse: Navigate the game and interact with tiles.
• Left Click: Select a patch, place it on the quilt, or draft a replacement.
• Mouse Hover: Preview a tile's position before placing it.
• Left Click on Button/Cat Token: Select a completed scoring token, then click a matching patch to place it.

Tips to Create a High-Scoring Quilt

• Plan around design goals: Check the six surrounding spaces before committing to a patch.
• Match colors and patterns together: Look for placements that contribute to buttons and cat goals simultaneously.
• Use the board edges: Preprinted edge patches can help complete matching groups.
• Watch the tile market: Draft patches that fill gaps in your current scoring plans.

Play Calico, create a beautiful patchwork quilt, and see how many points your design can earn!