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- BGG #10,059
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- 6.7
Circle of Life
- 2 players
- 20–40 min
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- 2015
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- 6.4
Strands
2022
Rules assistance for Strands
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 15–30 min
- 4+
- Complexity 2.0/5
Rules assistant for Strands
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Strands is a board game released in 2022 for 2 players, 15–30 minutes per game, and ages 4 and up. It was designed by Nick Bentley and its main mechanics are Tile Placement and Pattern Building.
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About the game
Strands is a hard-to-master 2-player puzzle game with rules that fit in two tweets: 1. To start, Black covers any space marked “2”. 2. From then on, starting with White, the players take turns. On your turn, cover up to X empty spaces marked “X”. For example, you could cover any 3 empty spaces marked “3”. 3. The game ends when the board’s full. The player with largest contiguous group of stones wins. If tied, compare the players’ second-largest groups, and so on, until you come to a pair which aren’t the same size. Whoever owns the larger wins The numbers on the board make the game's interface clear and intuitive, and they balance the value of the board's spaces. The board's center is the most powerful place to put pieces, but you can place more pieces per turn near the edge. You must navigate this tradeoff to win. Read the Strands Strategy Primer here. Read the Strands page at the designer's site here here.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
Questions and answers
Strands supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Strands is 15–30 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 Strands for ages 4 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.
Strands has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Strands belongs to these categories: Territory Building, Abstract Strategy, and Puzzle. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement and Pattern Building. 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 Strands are: Nick Bentley. 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 Strands 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.