Stix is a simple card game manufactured by Piatnik, a German company, and also sold under the names Digit and Pick-It. In 1999, Stix was listed in Games Magazine's top 100 games of the year. Stix has few rules and is a good game for developing spatial awareness as players try to visualize how to move one stick to change the current arrangement into that shown on one of the cards they are holding.
Number of Players
Stix is played with two to four players. It is also possible to play it as a solitaire game.
Deal
Each player should be dealt five cards at the beginning of the game, which the player should hold facing himself. The remainder of the deck should be placed face down in the center of the table.
Center Card
To start each round, the top card remaining in the deck is turned up. One player arranges the enclosed five sticks into the orientation shown on the card and then turns the enclosed sand timer over.
Play
All players have until the timer runs out to play one card from their hands. The only cards that can be played during each round are those that have pictures of arrangements of sticks that the player can make by moving only one of the sticks in the center of the table to a new location. Cards can be played even if they are mirror images of an arrangement that can be made out of the center sticks. Players that cannot play a card before the timer runs out are penalized and must draw another card from the deck and add it to their hands.
Winning the Game
The winner of Stix is the player who gets rid of all his or her cards first. Most games will only take about 20 minutes to play.
Variations
For a more challenging game, the rule can be added that players can play as many cards from their hands as they want in each round. At the end of each round, players draw enough cards to return their hands to five cards. When the deck is exhausted, the player who has played the most cards wins the game.
Number of Players
Stix is played with two to four players. It is also possible to play it as a solitaire game.
Deal
Each player should be dealt five cards at the beginning of the game, which the player should hold facing himself. The remainder of the deck should be placed face down in the center of the table.
Center Card
To start each round, the top card remaining in the deck is turned up. One player arranges the enclosed five sticks into the orientation shown on the card and then turns the enclosed sand timer over.
Play
All players have until the timer runs out to play one card from their hands. The only cards that can be played during each round are those that have pictures of arrangements of sticks that the player can make by moving only one of the sticks in the center of the table to a new location. Cards can be played even if they are mirror images of an arrangement that can be made out of the center sticks. Players that cannot play a card before the timer runs out are penalized and must draw another card from the deck and add it to their hands.
Winning the Game
The winner of Stix is the player who gets rid of all his or her cards first. Most games will only take about 20 minutes to play.
Variations
For a more challenging game, the rule can be added that players can play as many cards from their hands as they want in each round. At the end of each round, players draw enough cards to return their hands to five cards. When the deck is exhausted, the player who has played the most cards wins the game.