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- BGG rating
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Crack the Code
- 1–4 players
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Grackles
2018
Rules assistance for Grackles
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 20–30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.5/5
Rules assistant for Grackles
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Grackles is a board game released in 2018 for 2–4 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by John Shulters and Sarah Graybill and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence and Tile Placement.
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About the game
Grackles are noisy, iridescent birds that love to gather on telephone wires at sunset throughout the southwestern United States. In the lightly-themed abstract strategy game Grackles, you line up your birds on the telephone wire to score as many points as possible. Each turn, players choose between drawing and placing a tile, connecting two spots on the telephone wire with their birds, extending a line of birds, or rotating an empty tile. After the board has been built to five tiles by five tiles and all available pairs of spots on the telephone wire have birds on them, the player with the most birds on the telephone wire wins. —description from the publisher
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Fireside Games
Questions and answers
Grackles supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Grackles is 20–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Grackles for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Grackles has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Grackles belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence and Tile Placement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Grackles are: John Shulters and Sarah Graybill. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Grackles as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.