Gamehelpmicrochip

Goal

Microchip is a spatial abstract strategy game for 2–5 players designed by Néstor Romeral Andrés. Draft circuit tiles from a shared pool and arrange them on your personal 5×5 circuit board. Build the highest-scoring closed microchip: each connection in your microchip scores 1 point, while every tile outside your microchip costs 2 penalty points.

Components

Component	Icon	Connections	Description
Cross		4 connections	1 copy per colour (5 total). Connects in all 4 cardinal directions.
T-Junction		3 connections	3 copies per colour (15 total). Branches into 3 directions.
Corner		2 connections	2 copies per colour (10 total). Turns 90°.
Straight		2 connections	2 copies per colour (10 total). Runs straight through.
Terminal End		1 connection	4 copies per colour (20 total). Caps and closes a path.
Circuit Board	—	—	Personal 5×5 grid per player (25 spaces: 5 each of blue, red, green, yellow, pink).

Setup

• Shared Pool: 60 tiles (12 of each of the 5 colours: blue, red, green, yellow, pink) arranged in a grid:
  • 2 players: 50 tiles (5 rows × 10 columns; 10 tiles removed at random).
  • 3–4 players: 60 tiles (5 rows × 12 columns).
  • 5 players: 60 tiles (6 rows × 10 columns).
• The rightmost column with remaining tiles forms the active draw column.
• Each player receives a unique 5×5 circuit board (5 spaces of each colour) and a tray.

Your turn

1. Draft a tile (mandatory): On your turn, take one tile of your choice from the active draw column into your tray. When a column is exhausted, the next column to the left becomes the new draw column.
2. Arrange your board (free action): You may place, rotate, move, swap, or return tiles from your tray to your board at any time, even during other players' turns.

Placing circuit tiles

A tile may be placed on your board only when all conditions are met:

• The space is empty.
• The colour of the tile matches the colour of the space.
• No connection may point off the edge of the board.
• Where two tiles touch, their paths must match (wire meets wire, or blank edge meets blank edge). Mismatched paths or paths pointing off-board show a red `!` error badge. A path pointing to an empty space shows a yellow warning triangle until closed.

End of the game and scoring

• When the shared pool is completely empty, all players finalize their circuit boards and press Finish.
• Closed Microchip: Your scored microchip is your single most valuable connected group of tiles that has zero open connections (no wire pointing to an empty space, off-board, or to a mismatched edge). Any group with an open wire is invalid and scores 0 points.
• Scoring:
  • +1 point for each connection point on tiles within your closed microchip.
  • -2 points for each tile remaining in your tray or placed outside your closed microchip.
• The player with the highest score wins!
• Tie-breaker: Most tiles in the winning microchip. If still tied, victory is shared.

Controls on BGA

• Drafting: Click any tile in the active rightmost draw column to take it.
• Placing: Click a tile in your tray, then click an empty matching-colour space on your board.
• Rotating: Click a tile already on your board to rotate it 90° clockwise, or select it and press Rotate.
• Moving & Removing: Click a placed tile to select it, then click another cell to move or swap, or press Remove to return it to your tray. Press Deselect to clear your selection.
• Finish: Once all pool tiles are drafted, click blue Finish. If you need to make changes before everyone finishes, click Resume building.
• Badges: A red `!` badge indicates an invalid placement (path running off-board or mismatched edges). A yellow warning triangle indicates an unclosed path.
• Preferences: Colourblind support (Preference 100, default: Off): displays geometric symbols on board spaces and tiles.