Fairy Lights

About this board game

Fairy Lights is a push-your-luck card game for 2-6 players that takes about 20 minutes to play. Reveal colorful bulb cards, decide when to stop, and build collections that can score points.

Each card shows one or two bulbs in one of five colors and is worth 0-2 points. Cards are revealed into the central shop, where the growing line creates a tension between taking a safe collection and drawing for more.

• With 1-4 cards in the shop, you may draw from the deck or take cards.
• With 5 cards in the shop, you must take cards rather than draw.
• If the shop is empty, you must draw.
• If a revealed card matches the color of the last card in the shop, your turn ends immediately.

When you take cards from a shop containing 1-4 cards, choose one color and take all cards of that color. If the shop contains five cards, choose two colors instead. Add the selected cards to your collection, then check each color: collections totaling a multiple of three bulbs can be scored and placed face down in your playing area.

Small collections of one or two bulbs remain in front of you, while four or more unscored bulbs of a color are discarded. This makes timing essential: drawing may improve your next collection, but a risky reveal can end your turn before you take cards.

When the final deck card is revealed, the active player finishes the turn and the game ends. Add the points on your scored cards, then subtract the points on cards still in your playing area. In Fairy Lights, the highest final score wins.