Cornerstone

Components

• 1 standard 52-card deck. Ranks matter; suits are decorative.
• 24 Blocks: 6 in each player color.
• Scorepad and pencil.

Setup for four players

1. Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player.
2. Deal 4 cards face up as the Cornerstones. The 4 positions between them begin as open Footings.
3. Each player sits at one Footing, between the two Cornerstones on that side.
4. Put the remaining cards face down as the Quarry.
5. Give each player a Stockpile of 6 Blocks in their color. Choose a starting player; play proceeds clockwise.

Objective

Be the first player to lay every card in your hand. This is called Topping Out. When you Top Out, claim every Block remaining in every player’s Stockpile, including your own, as your score for the round.

The Foundation

The Foundation has 8 positions: 4 Cornerstones and 4 Footings. Each position shows only its top card, or is an open Footing.

You may lay a card from your hand onto any position where the position is open, or its top card is exactly one rank higher, one rank lower, or the same rank as the card you are laying. Laying a card covers the previous top card. Only the top card matters for future legal plays.

Block actions

Before or instead of laying a card, you may spend Blocks in any order, as often as you can pay for them. Block actions do not end your turn.

Break · 2 Blocks

Remove the top card of one position from the game. If another card remains underneath, it becomes the new top card; otherwise the position becomes an open Footing. You may immediately lay a card into that position.

Shift · 1 Block

Move the top card of one position to another position where it is legal to lay: an open Footing, or a position with a top card one rank higher, one rank lower, or the same rank. If nothing remains at its old position, that position becomes an open Footing.

Stretch · 1 Block

For your next single card lay this turn, widen the legal range from one rank away to two ranks away. Stretch does not stack.

Quarrying

If you cannot legally lay a card, even after any Block actions you choose to spend, draw one card from the Quarry. This ends your turn.

If the Quarry is empty, spend Blocks to create a legal lay. If you have no Blocks left, or no Block action can create a legal lay, you are Walled Off for the rest of the round and skip your turns.

Turn summary

1. Lay a legal card, optionally using Block actions first.
2. If no legal lay is possible and the Quarry has cards, draw one card and end your turn.
3. If no legal lay is possible and the Quarry is empty, spend Blocks to create one or become Walled Off.

Scoring and end of round

The round ends immediately when a player Tops Out, or when every remaining player is Walled Off.

• Normal end: the player who Topped Out claims every Block remaining across all Stockpiles.
• Stalemate: if all players are Walled Off, the player with the fewest cards in hand wins the round. Ties split the remaining Blocks as evenly as possible; any leftover Blocks are unclaimed.
• All other players score 0. Reset every Stockpile to 6 Blocks before the next round.

Agree before play whether the game ends after a fixed number of rounds or at a fixed score target. The highest total score wins; ties share victory.

Variants for testing

Test these one at a time. Each changes the timing of the Quarry running dry.

Smaller hand

Deal 8 cards rather than 10 at four players. This leaves 16 cards in the Quarry instead of 8, giving the game more runway before players must spend Blocks.

Multi-Lay

You may lay up to 2 cards per turn for free, on the same or different positions. A third card may be laid by spending 1 Block. You are never required to lay the maximum.

Three-player variant

Use a triangular Foundation of 6 positions: 3 Cornerstones and 3 Footings, with 2 positions on each side. Each player sits between the two positions on that side. Cornerstone is being balanced primarily for four players.

Open testing questions

• Does the Quarry run dry at a satisfying late-round moment?
• Does Walled Off trigger in actual play, or remain merely theoretical?
• Does Multi-Lay create runaway leads at four players?