Designer game
Collapsi
- Players
- 2–4
- Duration
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- 1/3
- Deck
- 16 cards from a 52-card deck (25 with three or four players) + one pawn each
Chapter 1 of 4
How to set up
A positioning game for 2 players, up to 4 on a bigger board, with 16 cards laid out in a grid. Each turn you move your pawn as many spaces as the card you start from, and that card collapses. The last player able to move wins.
Official Collapsi page on itch.io (free rules) (opens in a new tab) Publisher: Mark S. Ball
Collapsi is a game by Mark S. Ball, released for free in 2025 on his YouTube channel Riffle Shuffle & Roll.
Objective
Be the last player able to make a legal move. Every time a pawn leaves a card, that card collapses, and the grid shrinks until someone is stuck.
Setup
- Deck
- 16 cards: two Js, four As, four 2s, four 3s, two 4s
- On the table
- 4×4 grid of face-up cards, one pawn on each J
- The pawns Each player takes a pawn: a small object they have on them, different from everyone else's, such as a ring, an earring, an earbud or a coin.
- The first player Decide who the first player is.
- The grid The first player shuffles the 16 cards and deals them face up into a 4×4 grid, row by row from left to right.
- The start The first J revealed is the first player's start, the second the second player's. Each player puts their pawn on their own J.
Variants to agree on first
- Big board. For longer games and up to four players, play on a 6×6 grid of 36 cards: four J and eight A, eight 2, eight 3 and eight 4. A deck has only four cards of each value, so you need two decks. The first J revealed is the first player's start, the second the next player's clockwise and so on, and play follows that order. Leftover J are turned face down before the game begins. If you do not have two decks, playing with one on the 5×5 board described below is fine too.
- 5×5 board. At some tables three or four players use a 5×5 grid of 25 cards: the four J, the four A, the four 2, 3, 4 and 5, and one 6. The J are the starts in the order they turn up, as on the big board, and leftover J are turned face down before the game begins.
- Shifting board (Collapsi Shift). When your move is done, shift the row or column you stopped in by one space, in the direction you like, with all its cards, face up and collapsed, and the pawns on them. The shifted line sticks out of the grid by one card and leaves a gap at its other end. A gap cannot be crossed or landed on and moves with its line; the edges stay joined.
- Player's choice. Once the grid is dealt, turn all the J face down. The first player picks any card to start from, then the others clockwise, and play follows that order.
- Mechanics
Chapter 2 of 4
How to play
- Turn order Whoever's J was revealed first starts, then play goes clockwise.
- How far a pawn moves The card your pawn is on at the start of your turn is your starting card. You move exactly as many spaces as its value: an A is 1, a 2 is 2 and so on. On your first turn the start is the J, which is worth 1.
- How a pawn moves You move horizontally or vertically, never diagonally, and you can change direction during the move. You never pass the same card twice and never stop on another player's card, but you can move over it.
- Past the edge The edges are joined: leave on the right and you come back on the left in the same row, leave at the top and you come back at the bottom in the same column, and the other way round.
- The collapse When your move is done, turn your starting card face down. A face-down card can no longer be crossed or landed on.
- The end If at the start of your turn there is no move of exactly your card's value, you are stuck and the game ends at once. The last player to make a legal move wins.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move over another player's pawn?
Yes. You cannot stop on the card it sits on, though.
Can I change direction during a move?
Yes, even several times, as long as you never pass the same card twice.
Can I end my move on the card I started from?
No. That card collapses at the end of the move, so you always have to end on another one.
If I have several paths, must I take the longest or the shortest?
Neither. You always move exactly the card's value, and among the possible paths you pick the one you like.
Chapter 3 of 4
An example hand
The start
Anna and Bruno play on the 4×4 grid. Anna is the first player and deals the cards. The columns are a, b, c, d from the left, the rows 1, 2, 3, 4 from the top.
Tips
- Before you move, look at where your opponent can land: sometimes it pays to stop on a card that takes away their only good path.
- A high card needs room: Anna got stuck on a 4 with collapsed cards all around.
- The grid wraps around. Always check the spaces on the other side of the grid too, for you and for the others.
Chapter 4 of 4
Table summary
- 2–4 players
- 10 min
- 16 cards from a 52-card deck (25 with three or four players) + one pawn each
Grid
- 16 cards face up in a 4×4 grid: J J A A A A 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4.
- One pawn each: any small object.
- First J revealed: first player, who starts. Second J: second player. Then play goes clockwise.
- Big board (variant): 6×6 with four J and eight each of A 2 3 4 (two decks), up to 4 players.
- 5×5 board (variant): four J, four each of A 2 3 4 5 and one 6 (one deck), up to 4 players.
The turn
- Move exactly the value of the card you start on. On your first turn, from the J, move 1.
- Only horizontally and vertically, changing direction if you like.
- The edges are joined: leave on one side, come back on the other.
- Never the same card twice. You can move over another pawn but not stop on it.
- When the move is done, turn your starting card face down: it has collapsed.
The end
- No possible move: the game ends.
- The last player to make a legal move wins.
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