Project L is a game that drew me in with it’s tetris like pieces. The game doesn’t really play like tetris at all, but it does have puzzle quality to it. The components of the game are great, I love the recessed boards and the plastic shapes. It’s very sleek. The game itself is pretty straight forward you are grabbing pieces and trying to fill in puzzles so it is easy to teach but also a bit repetitive. I like that you gain your resources back after a puzzle is complete. However, if you don’t like puzzle games you may find a lack of replay-ability with this one. There is a solo mode and an option for more players so you will have that flexibility.

Project L was designed by Michal Mikes, Jan Soukal and Adam Spanel and the game was published by Boardcubator. The game is for 1-4 players ages 8 and up and takes about half an hour to play.

COMPONENTS

• 32 White Puzzles
• 20 Black Puzzles
• 135 Shape Pieces, 9 different shapes 15 of each
• 5 Player Mats
• 4 Markers
• 1 Bag
• 1 Rulebook

In Project L players compete to solve puzzles and earn points.

Setup

Separate the white puzzles and shuffle to form a deck and place face down on the table. The puzzle colour will be on the back. Shuffle the black puzzles and take the appropriate number for the amount of players and place those face down next the white deck.

Black deck puzzles per player count

• 2 players, 12 puzzles
• 3 players, 14 puzzles
• 4 players. 16 puzzles

Reveal the first 4 puzzles from each deck and leave the puzzle pieces on the table where everyone can reach.

Each player takes a player mat. Give each player 1 one level piece and 1 two level piece.

How to Play

On your turn you will perform 3 actions and you can choose to do any multiple times. Options include:

1. Take a puzzle from the table and place it above your player mat or take a puzzle from the face down decks. You can have up to 4 unfinished puzzles at a time.
2. Choose a row and remove all the puzzles and place them on the bottoms of their decks. Then reveal 4 new puzzles.
3. Either take a new level 1 piece or replace a piece it can be from the same level, any level lower or one level higher.
4. Place a piece from your supply into a puzzle. It cannot overlap other pieces but you can flip or rotate as needed. Once it is placed it cannot be moved until the puzzle is complete.
5. Place a piece on each of your puzzles. This action can only be done once per turn.

Pieces

There are 4 levels to pieces based on their size. Work to build your supply with higher level pieces to help with the harder puzzles.

Completing Puzzles

Once you’ve filled in a puzzle return the pieces to your personal supply. Pick a new piece as seen on the completed puzzle to add to your inventory. Place the puzzle face down, near you will get the points listed on it at the end of the game.

End Of Game

The game ends when the black puzzle deck is empty. Finish the current round and play a final round. During this time only one black puzzle can be taken on a player’s turn.

After the final round each player can place as many pieces from their supply that they can to finish the puzzles in front of them. Each piece they play deducts 1 point from their final score. You do not gain back any pieces by finishing a puzzle this way. You also don’t get any bonus points from these puzzles.

Final Scoring

Add up the points from your victory pile. Deduct points for incomplete puzzles equal to its point values. Deduct a point for any piece placed after the final turn. The player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player with the most left over pieces wins.

Project L also has a solo mode and a 5 to 6 player varient.