Quicksand

Categories: Real-time

Mechanics: Cooperative Game

Players: 1–7

Ages: 8+

Playtime: 15 Min

Quicksand is a real-time cooperative game where players work together to deactivate a dangerous trap composed of gears and sand. The challenge is to manage the sand timers and avoid triggering the trap as you race against the clock.

To set up, choose from over 20 scenarios, lay out the gear tiles according to the specified path, and place the appropriate sand timers on the starting gears. Each gear has a color (orange, yellow, gray) and a shape (square, circle, crescent). Players begin with three cards in their hand: one for each color, shape, or a sand timer.

During gameplay, players take turns playing cards to advance the sand timers and prevent them from running out. When you play a color or shape card, you flip all sand timers on gears of that color or shape, moving them one space forward if the next space is empty. Playing a sand timer card lets you flip any one timer, advancing it if possible. If no timers match the played card, nothing happens.

If a sand timer runs out, place it next to the gear it was on. You can recover a timer by playing a sand timer card to flip and reposition it on the gear, but only if that space is empty. If a set-aside timer runs out again, the game is lost.

The goal is to prevent timers from reaching the last open space on the path. If a timer reaches this point and runs out, the game is lost with no chance of recovery. If you can fill the final gear tiles without this happening, you win!