Looking for specific Piles rules? | Setup | Playing the Game | Exchanging Cards | Completing a Set | Winning the Game | Variant Game |
Setup
All of the cards are divided into sets of four cards of the same clothing. The only difference between cards in each set are their color. The number of the sets you will use in the game depends on the number of players. See the chart below to determine how many sets of cards you will use in the game.
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Number of Sets | 13 | 19 | 25 | 31 | 37 | 43 | 49 |
After you have created the deck of cards that you will use in the game, you will shuffle all of the cards. A dealer deals the cards out to the players. Deal each player six piles of cards. Each pile should have four cards. Deal the cards facedown to the players. Players cannot look at their cards until the game begins.
The remaining four cards are placed facedown in the middle of the table. They should be placed so all of the players can reach them.
How to Play Piles!
When all of the players are ready to begin, they will count down from three. The players will then flip over the four cards in the middle of the table. The game has begun. There are no turns in the game. All of the players play at the same time. You can play as quickly or as slowly as you want.
Each player can grab one of their piles at a time to look at what cards are in it. When they are done looking at the pile, they can put it back on the table facedown. They can then look at another of their piles. Players can swap piles as often as they want, but they can only have one pile in their hand at a time. You can pick up your piles in whatever order you want. You can even rearrange them on the table.
As mentioned above, all of the cards in Piles! belong to one set of four cards. There are exactly four cards of each type in the deck. The cards in a set are all the same type of clothing and they look exactly the same. The only difference between the cards are their color. There are sets that look similar in order to trick players.
The goal of Piles! is to move cards between your personal piles and the middle of the table. You are trying to create a complete set in each of your piles.
Exchanging Cards in a Pile
When you see a card in the middle of the table that you want/need for the pile currently in your hand, you can exchange cards in order to add it to the pile.
First you will choose a card from the pile in your hand and discard it faceup to the table. You don’t have to waste time neatly placing the card next to the other cards already on the table. You should place the card where it doesn’t cover up another card though.
After you discard a card, you can take one of the face up cards from the table. You should grab the card as quickly as you can since otherwise another player may take it. Players can exchange multiple cards from their current pile with the middle of the table. You must discard a card before you can pick up another card though.
You may never steal a card from another players’ piles.
Moving a Card Between Your Piles
As you are creating a set it is likely that there will be a card you need for one pile that is currently in one of your other piles. You cannot directly exchange a card from one of your piles with a card from another of your piles. In order to move a card from one of your piles to another pile, you must follow a process.
- Discard the card you want to move to another pile to the middle of the table.
- Pick up a card from the table that you want to add to the pile that you just discarded a card from.
- Set down the pile you just discarded a card from, and pick up the pile that you wanted to move the card to.
- Discard a card from your new pile. Then pick up the card that you wanted to move between your piles.
Completing a Set
Once all of the cards in a pile are of the same set, you will place the pile in front of you. You will turn the cards face up to show the other players that the set has been completed.
Winning Piles!
The game ends as soon as one of the players have completed six sets (all of their piles are face up). The player that has completed all of their sets yells out “Piles!”
Before the player wins the game, the rest of the players verify that each pile is a complete set. If any of the piles have a card that doesn’t match the rest in the pile, the game continues with the players continuing to swap cards until they complete all six piles.
The first player to create six complete sets, wins Piles!.
Variant Game
If you want a more challenging/chaotic game, you can use to use the variant rules for Piles!. During setup you will add one additional set to the deck above the amount listed in the table for the number of players. For example for a four player game you will use 26 sets instead of the 25 you would normally use. Four additional cards will be dealt to the table, for a total of eight cards. During the game players will have eight different cards that they can choose from to add to their piles.
Components
- 200 card (50 sets of 4 cards)
- Instructions
Year: 2023 | Publisher: Lost Boy Entertainment | Designer: Cameron Ring, Corey Schrimpl, K.C. Schrimpl | Artist: Alex Nikiforov
Genres: Card, Family, Matching, Set Collection, Speed
Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-8 | Length of Game: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate
For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.