Reach center with your LIght, or capture your opponent’s Light. These are the two ways to win a game of Quin.

Be careful not to reveal your Light until the moment is right! While it can be hard to corner Light one on one, you’ll find that Time, Resurrection and other powers make it very vulnerable once discovered.

You don't have to play Light on the board, but you'll want to. Sometimes you might wait a few turns to bring it in. But be ready when the opening presents itself, and grab that win!

If it’s your first game we recommend Arcade in Vison Mode. But if you want to know more about the differences before deciding, here are the basics:

The game remains Quin in all modes. Get your Light to First Sight or capture the rival Light. Move, Flash, capture, Swap, Reinforce, Resurrect . . . Everything in the Basics applies to both Arcade and Third Eye modes.

Arcade Mode is streamlined, better for new and casual players, but it shouldn’t be ignored as an awesome experience even for seasoned gamers.

Third Eye is classic Quin, honed for tournament play, with all powers unlocked. You’ll need to pay attention and learn more rules, but the payoff is in a broad and even more varied play experience.

Want to know the finer points? Take a look at the section Arcade vs Third Eye in Detail

All capture rules are on your Quin Key. Pages 14 & 15 in the Rulebook go over the rules of flashing. Then 21-39 are dedicated to the Pieces, each with a section detailing their flash and capture rules, with pictures where needed.

The key for new players to remember is that only the attacking piece’s capture rule matters. The defending piece can’t capture, except for Voids. So if an Artificial Light flashes a Shadow, it will capture the Shadow. But if the same Shadow instead flashes the Artificial Light first, then the Shadow captures instead. Or if a Reflector flashes a Shadow, they just reveal and swap places because Reflectors can't capture, but if the Shadow flashes the Reflector instead, it will capture the Reflector.

Let’s go over some of the most common questions about flashes:

The defender will never capture the attacker outright. In any flash, one of 3 things happens. Either the attacker will capture the defender, or they will reveal and swap places, or they will mutually annihilate. So be in position first, to be first on the attack!

Shadows will flash other Shadows frequently, but can't capture each other. Instead they reveal and swap places. Use this to your advantage to move their Shadows where you want them.

Mutual Destruction will remove both pieces, as captured. In Arcade Mode, there is mutual destruction only when Voids are flashed. In 3rd Eye Mode, any piece that flashes its own same kind will mutually destroy, except for Light and Shadows.

Capturing Light. Light captures Light and wins the game, in the rare case they face off. The game can be won by any piece that captures Light. Reflectors and Memory will never capture Light, but can flash it to reveal and swap places.

Pieces that only flash to reveal will not capture, but instead swap places with the piece they flash. The defender moves to the space where the attacker started on that turn. There are many ways to use this to your advantage. Because there are no flash-backs, Memory or Reflectors can use this to defend themselves.

Voids. When a Void flashes another Void, they both go to the rival Zero G, in mutual annihilation. Voids will mutually annihilate with any piece that Flashes them, other than Light or Artificial Light. Light and Artificial Light can both capture a Void without fear, but they can both also be captured by a Void if it flashes them first.

Any time you like.

Normal moves can happen forward or backward along Sightlines or sideways on Rings. You can’t change direction in the middle of a move (so movement is along either a Line or a Ring at any time, not both, with only the exception of Peripherals in 3rd Eye Mode). And in most cases you can’t jump other pieces if they are in the way.

Only the Peripheral can ever move to the Horizon along a Ring as a normal move. But all others can move sideways, anytime you like within the rest of the playing space.

Any single action will end your turn.

The exceptions in Arcade are the Powers of Time and Resurrection.

The exceptions in 3rd Eye are the Powers of Time, Resurrection, and the Memory Swap.

Any other Power, a Reinforcement, or any movement, flash or capture does always end your turn.

After using the Power of Time or the Power of Resurrection you can follow through with absolutely any other action, including all Powers and all pieces.

After using the Power of Memory in 3rd Eye Mode, the pieces that were Swapped can’t be moved, but your turn is not over. Any other action can still happen, even using the Powers of the Swapped pieces. The Swapped pieces just can’t move that turn, that’s all.

Stack Powers that don’t end your turn, by using them one after the other. Using them with other Powers, with Clones and Resurrections, allows for many agile and dangerous options.

That's really up to you, so long as both players agree.

But if you play with Cloning mandatory, in Tournament Rules, you could still trade a Void for a Void, Artificial Light for an Artificial Light, or even Time for Time or Memory for Memory. This serves as a Bluffed Clone, and is entirely legal.

House Rules: A lighter take is perfectly ok. If you want it to be optional for one or both players, it is not game breaking, and you're not going to offend us by playing that way. Some Clone restrictions can serve as a handicap as well. House rules, because the house rules!

Captured pieces should face toward their own side of the board, so your rival shouldn't be able to see them after the capture. This means that only you can see what pieces of yours have been captured after the flash, and what piece you choose to Resurrect.

House Rules Variant: Players will often bend this rule, and it isn't game breaking. Many play with captured pieces sideways, so both players can see them, and it does make it easier to just ask for the piece you want to resurrect. For game night, this is just fine.

Ring 1 in the center around the Iris is like any other Ring, and it connects to the Horizon in the same way.

Moving onto the Horizon directly via a Ring is only allowed for the Peripheral.

So yes, you can do that with a Peripheral, but it will take 2 moves in Arcade Mode, counting as a change in direction.

In 3rd Eye, this is doable as a single move instead of 2, counting 1 space on the Ring and 1 space on the Horizon (or 1 space on the Iris and 1 space on the Ring, if you're lined up that way).

All other pieces can move sideways along Rings any time they choose, just not to the Horizon. Ring 1 is no different.

In Arcade Mode: The Shadow will be revealed, and the Time Power will fail, rewinding nothing. The player using Time will still get to play their turn.

Any attempted use will result in Time's removal to the rival Zero G, so bluffing with your Shadow is a good way to clear your opponent's Time from the board. Depending on how advanced your Arcade play has become, you may have noticed that Time can be very powerful in the right situations. So any chance to get it off the board should be taken.

In 3rd Eye, Time can be used against Shadows like any other piece.