I played Waterworks this week with two friends, and the whole evening had the gentle feel of tinkering with something old and beloved, the kind of project you return to by lamplight on a calm night. I will show only photos of my pipes because I wanted to give my friends a bit of a break.

The premise of the game is simple. Each of us began with a valve card placed on the right side of our space, pointing left just as the rulebook directed, and beside it sat a spout card waiting for its perfect moment. The goal was to build a complete, leak free pipeline from valve to spout. Since we were a group of three, each of us needed to place at least ten pipe cards between our valve and the final spout. The amount of pipes depends on the number of players.

The box contains a deck of pipe cards along with valve and spout cards for up to four players and a set of eight metal wrenches. In a three player game, each of us received exactly two of those wrenches, which we set aside like tiny tools waiting for the right moment.

On every turn you may place only one card, which creates a quiet, deliberate rhythm to the game. You can extend your own pipeline with a good pipe, which means either copper or a non leaky iron pipe. You can play a leaky iron pipe onto the end of someone else’s pipeline to stall their progress. You can repair your own leak by covering the faulty pipe with a matching good pipe or by using one of your two wrenches. You can also discard a card if you have nothing useful to play.

The rulebook explains that the deck contains both copper and iron pipe cards. Copper pipes feel like old reliable friends since they cannot leak, while iron pipes can leak or even arrive already leaking. There are much more iron pipes, so copper isn’t used as much as I wanted. After giving everyone their valve and spout cards, we drew five pipe cards to begin our hands, set the draw pile in the center, and took turns drawing a new card at the start of each turn. The burst pipe needs to be fixed using a wrench or another card.

A card is laid down every turn, either on my pipes or someone else’s pipes. A “friend” laid down a broken pipe on top of my iron pipe. Now I have to repair it by putting another pipe on top or I have to use one of my wrenches. The wrench is nice because it can not spring another leak.

The diagrams in the rulebook reminded us that all pipes must be placed vertically and must connect properly, and that cap cards, although sometimes necessary for closing off T pipes, do not count toward the number of pipe cards needed to win. It has a cap for every type of pipe, including a leaky pipe.

Watching a pipeline twist across the table feels a bit like watching a story branch and wander through a landscape. One friend immediately placed a leaky pipe onto my just placed iron bend, and the card slid into place with the kind of mischievous satisfaction that only this game can create. I could not extend my pipeline until I repaired the leak, so I spent a turn discarding one of my less helpful cards while deciding whether to use the twin of that pipe or one of my precious wrenches. I chose the matching card, feeling pleased to save my metal tools for a true emergency. 🙂

Our playthrough settled into a comfortable pace. The candle I had set near the corner of the table made the metal pipes on the cards gleam softly, and with three players the table stayed just busy enough to feel lively without ever becoming cluttered. I tried to stick with copper pipes because I only had one wrench left.

Across the table, my other friend found joy in branching T pipes. He let one end sit open for too long, and someone took the opportunity to place a cap card on it. Only the connected end counted, of course, and it happened to be leaky. He muttered under his breath but smiled as he reached for a wrench. The candlelight made the polished metal gleam, and he placed it on the pipe like a tiny promise that the repair would hold. That small act meant he could not play another card that turn, so his pipeline paused again, leaving the rest of us to stretch our lines a little farther. Then Corey

I decided to use my last wrench to fix the leak and the next turn, I attached the spigot and finished my pipe. The room grew quiet for a heartbeat. Then my friends laughed and congratulated me, and we sat back to admire the strange little metal rivers we had built.

Until next time, may your pipes stay copper bright, your leaks be easy to mend, and your evenings filled with gentle surprises. What a better way to spend an evening than a cozy night at home, with friends and a fun game.

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