Confetti 2012

Designer Sergey Machin has created a game in a completely new genre – the active party game – with the name coming from a traditional Russian new year's entertainment for kids and adults alike: Confetti.

The point of the game is simple. We toss half the deck on the table, sit down, then while the hourglass runs try to create different card combinations that bring us victory points (VPs).

One side of a Confetti card shows three differently sized and colored circles; by collecting cards with a small, medium and large circle of the same color, the player receives 1 VP. The other side has different shapes, but the idea is the same; a small, medium and large shape of the same color is worth 1 VP.

What makes the game tough is that you can take cards from the table only by using the fingers on your right hand and sliding them across the table. You'll also need to use your left hand to hang on to cards already taken or else other players can steal them from you. Finally, any cards you collect that aren't used in a combination with others cost you 1 VP at the end of the game. (Bear in mind that any shape on a card can be used in only one combo!)

Confetti lasts three rounds. During the first and second rounds you can collect and keep six cards in your play area; during the third round nine cards. In between rounds, you can keep some previously collected cards, specifically a number of cards equal to the number of VPs you scored in the previous round.