Quartz Review

“Break Time you Mining Jerks”

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a miner on the hunt for precious jewels? In Quartz, you play as one of 5 Dwarven miners on the hunt to pull in the most loot possible all the while you try and sabotage your fellow miners before the end of the work week.

How to Play

In Quartz, you begin the game by determining who goes first by whoever has the most epic beard. After you determine your starting player, you will move in a clockwise movement. Then you give each player their starting hand of 5 cards which can range from actions you can take during your turn (blue cards) and counter cards (purple cards) that are meant to stop your opponent from playing a card on you.

When it is your turn, you can choose one of 2 options:

1. Go Mining: you reach into the bag to remove one stone from the bag, Be careful when you get Obsidian (we will explain later)
2. Play An Action: this allows you to play one of the blue cards in your hand. These can range from extending your mining ability to removing Obsidian from your mining cart (be careful because your opponent can play a purple card on you).

However, if you pull 2 Obsidian out of the bag, you will have a “mining accident” and will be ejected from the mine. If you do have an accident, you will receive a Mining For Oafs token which can be used at a later date to remove an Obsidian from your mining cart. If you have mined, lets say Amber, you can move that to your treasure chest to sell on another day (however, do not add any gems to your chest on the final day, that’s just dumb).

Once you have ether mined as much as you want or don’t want to incur another Obsidian (if you already have one), you may chose to leave the Mine. Once a player leaves the Mine, that’s it for you, however all the other players continue and as each player leaves, they can take a Bravery Bonus as they leave. The last player in the mine gets one last run through before being taken out (you can still incur the Obsidian penalty).

After each day, you count your treasure. Each Gem has a value attached to it:

• Quartz – $1
• Amethyst – $2
• Emerald – $3
• Sapphire – $4
• Ruby – $6
• Amber – $8

Also on your Mining Cart, you have bonuses you can receive. Now you continue throughout the days, until the final day. Once you have completed the final day, it is time to tally your earnings. This is the time to take any gems you added to your chest from round 1 to 4 out. You count the amount of gems you have earned (and make sure you remember the bonuses on your board) and then you count the same amount on each card you have remaining in your hand. After every player has received their final totals, the winning player is whoever has earned the most money.

Final Thoughts

Quartz is a great party game for those looking for a game that gives you nothing more than sabotaging your opponent with cards and the anxiety of what gem you may find in the bag. But regardless of the way your game may turn out, Quartz is a game you can comfortably add to your next game-day. I give Quartz, an 8.5 out of 10.

Want to buy a copy of Quartz for yourself? Click here to get yourself a copy today!