SET

About this board game

SET is a simultaneous pattern-recognition card game for 1–20 players, with a play time of about 30 minutes. First released in 1988, it challenges everyone to identify groups of three cards that form a valid set.

Each card shows 1–3 objects. Every object on a card shares the same color, shape, and shading, with three possibilities for each attribute: green, purple, or red; oval, diamond, or squiggle; and solid, shaded, or outlined.

A set contains three cards whose attributes are either all alike or all different in every category. The number of objects, colors, shapes, and shadings must each follow this rule. If two cards share an attribute while the third differs, the three cards do not make a set.

• Lay out twelve cards face up.
• All players search simultaneously for a valid set.
• The first player to spot one claims its three cards.
• After a set is claimed, three replacement cards are laid out.

If a player makes a mistake, that player cannot claim another set until someone else has done so. When everyone agrees that no set is available, three additional cards are laid out; these cards are not replaced after a set is claimed.

The game continues through a single pass through the deck. Whoever claims the most sets wins. With its clear rules and constantly changing layout, SET turns careful visual comparison into a shared race to see the pattern first.