Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
GemPacked Cards is a gem-crafting, color-blending card game for 2-5 players based on the GemPacked iOS puzzle game.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
GemPacked Cards is a gem-crafting, color-blending card game for 2-5 players based on the GemPacked iOS puzzle game. During each round, players use the Gemino Pip Tokens they draw to try to acquire higher level Gemino Squares and Gemino Diamonds (worth victory points) or trade for Sun or Nova cards. All cards are played face up. When the last Gemino Pip Tokens are drawn from the starting pile, each player has one remaining turn before the round ends and players tally their score. In more detail, at the start of a turn, a player draws two Gemino Pip Tokens, then takes any of the following actions in any order and as many times as they like: Trade GPips for GSquares on the card grid (placing pips in the common pool) Trade GSquares for GDiamond on the card grid (placing cards in the discard pile) Discard GSquares for GPip equivalents from the common pool (placing discards in the discard pile) Trade GPips for the Sun card or GSquares for the Nova card At the end of their turn, the player refills the card grid from the draw deck one at a time. If they reveal any Action Cards, those cards are resolved immediately, starting with the active player, then moving clockwise around the table. After the last Gemino Pip Token is drawn and the final player has a turn, players score their hands as well as Sun/Nova points. (GPips are not worth any points, but should be tracked each round as a tie breaker.) Whoever has the most points wins.