Stick Stack

About this board game

Stick Stack is a colorful balancing game for 2–99 players that plays in about 30 minutes. Take turns placing sticks on a wobble tower while matching the colors that touch, then avoid being stuck with fallen pieces.

At the center of the playing area, the tower waits beneath a crow’s nest. On your turn, draw a stick from the bag or choose one of the sticks in front of you from an earlier turn. Place your chosen stick carefully: the colors on its stack may touch only matching colors on the crow’s nest or on sticks already placed on the tower.

The tower can shift after a stick is placed. If a stick slides onto a different color later as the tower tilts and wobbles, that is allowed—the color match matters when you place it. Any sticks that fall from the tower during your turn go in front of you, where they can add to your score.

• Draw or choose: Take a new stick from the bag or use one you have collected.
• Match colors: Place the stick so touching colors match at that moment.
• Manage the wobble: Collect sticks that fall during your turn.

The round ends when all sticks have been placed or the tower falls. If you caused the tower to fall, you do not collect the fallen sticks, but you receive five points—an unwanted result. Otherwise, players score one point for each stick in front of them.

When anyone reaches 11 or more points, the game ends and the player with the lowest score wins. If nobody has reached that total, play another round. Released in 2016, Stick Stack combines precise placement, changing balance, and an unusual scoring goal in which fewer points are better.