Gingham (Spanish)

In *Gingham*, players take on the role of ants that have stumbled upon an abandoned picnic blanket. By cleverly positioning their queens around the blanket, they deploy ants to connect sweets and claim the resulting stacks. The player who achieves the longest connections and the tallest stacks scores the most points and wins the game!

Designed by Robert Hovakimyan and illustrated by A. Giroux, *Gingham* (named after the lightweight cotton fabric featuring a small-scale checkered pattern) is an ingenious sweet-connecting game that blends auction and route-building mechanics. It can be played by two people or in groups of up to four players (ages 12 and up), with sessions lasting between 20 and 40 minutes.

The starting player determines which edge of the play area everyone must play on for the round. Then, each player places their queen next to a row along that edge and deploys an ant into that row. The challenge lies in the fact that ants cannot be deployed beyond the blanket's seam; furthermore, rows closer to the end offer fewer options but grant the player the first-turn advantage in the next round. Do you prioritize a better turn order for the next round or greater flexibility for ant placement in the current one?

Players earn points by connecting matching sweet tiles with a line of ants and by surrounding and claiming reserves. Sweet tiles stack upon one another after being connected, leaving sugar cubes behind; place a tile next to a sugar cube to claim it, as these can be used to unlock powerful abilities. Spread your ants across the blanket and secure the largest stacks of sweets to lead your colony to victory!