Every year I stand in line at Gen Con to get the opportunity to purchase some games from their flea market. People from all over bring in their extra games to sell and price them according to the day. If you are buying on the first day, it will be more expensive than the third day. However, if you wait until to end to save yourself some money, there’s a very good chance the item you wanted will no longer be available.

I usually end up purchasing a handful of games and have never had any issues about missing pieces or being overly worn. This year was a little different though. I waited until the last day, mostly because we were too busy on the earlier days, and stopped in to try to find some bargains. I ended up purchasing three games for a grand total of $11.50. Because of my past experiences, I didn’t even bother to have them examined by a volunteer for completeness – I just assumed that anyone who submitted to the sale would be honest enough to note if there were pieces absent. I was wrong.

Of the three games I acquired, two of them were incomplete. And not just a little incomplete, but missing quite a few pieces each. In both instances it made the game completely unplayable. One of them had been on my wish list for quite some time! Fortunately, the copy of Quivive by Gigamic was almost complete and just missing the internal rule sheet. Some digging online yielded enough information to figure out the game play. Hopefully someone out there will have a digital copy of the official rules they can point us to!

Quivive is another wooden abstract game like Squadro or Pylos. Designed for two to five players, you are trying to be the last person standing by moving your pawns across the play area, eliminating wooden discs along the way.

To set up a game of Quivive, place the wooden board in the center of the play area and fill all 37 of the recessed areas with a wooden disc. The remaining twelve discs (total of 49 in the game) are divided up between the players and each takes turns placing one on the board, creating a double stack of discs. Once the ninth one has been placed of the remaining twelve, the last three are put on top of one of the nine double stacks, converting it into a triple stack. Players then finish the setup by placing their personal pawn on top of any unoccupied stack.

In turn order, each person moves their pawn to an adjacent unoccupied space that contains a disc. Pawns may be moved orthogonally or diagonally and the height of the stack does not make a difference. Remove the disc from the space where you end your turn, then play passes to the next person in clockwise order.

Participants take turns moving their pawn, removing a disc each time they land. If your pawn cannot legally move onto an unoccupied disc on your turn, you are eliminated from the game and your pawn is removed from the board. Turns continue until there is only one player remaining, who is crowned the winner of Quivive!

Quivive has a reputation among abstract game lovers of being a classic and must-have. It is no longer being published, but copies do occasionally pop up at thrift. If you need one right away, check out eBay. There are a number in the $35-$50 range, but cheaper copies do exist if you’re patient! This is also one that would be quite easy to make at home if you have leftover Othello tokens, or any thicker round chips for that matter, and some rudimentary woodworking skills!

What is your favorite wooden abstract game?