Game rules

Pixies rules: how to play and how to score

Reviewed on 13 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check

Pixies plays 2 to 5 players (up to 6 with Flower Power) over 3 rounds: everyone fills a square of nine spaces with cards that score for their numbers, colors and symbols. Here are the essential rules, setup and scoring, based on the official rulebook.

Players: 2 to 5 (up to 6 with Flower Power)
Play time: About 30 minutes
Winner: Highest total after 3 rounds; ties share the victory

Pixies quick rules

The goal: Pixies is played over three rounds. Each player fills a playing area of nine spaces in front of them, three rows of three, numbered 1 to 9 left to right and top to bottom. Each card shows a number from 1 to 9, a color, and sometimes spirals or crosses. The most points after three rounds wins.
A turn: The first player reveals as many cards from the deck as there are players. Starting with them, each player takes one and places it right away in their playing area. The last player takes the card that’s left, and starts the next turn. With 2 players, four cards are revealed and each of you takes two, one at a time.
Placing a card: A card goes on the space matching its number. If you don’t have that number face up yet, place it face up, on top of a face-down card if there is one. If you do, choose which card stays face up; the other slides face down underneath, and the top card is validated. If that number is already validated, place the new card face down on any empty space.
The end of a round: The round ends at the end of the turn in which a player has filled all nine spaces, face up or face down: always finish the current turn. With 2 players, it ends as soon as you’ve both played the same number of cards. Everyone scores, then all the cards are reshuffled, and the last player to play starts the next round.
Scoring: Each validated card scores its number. Each spiral scores one point and each cross loses one; some special cards give one spiral per face-up card of the indicated color. Finally, your largest color zone (at least two cards touching along a side) scores 2 points per card in round 1, 3 in round 2 and 4 in round 3.
The end of the game: The game ends after scoring the third round. Everyone adds up their points from the three rounds, and the highest total wins. On a tie, the victory is shared.
Beginner traps: Only a validated card earns its number, not every face-up card. Crosses count on all your face-up cards, validated or not. Never slide a face-down card under a card already in place: it goes on an empty space. And a face-down card scores nothing, but it fills a space and brings the end of the round closer.
Flower Power: This expansion adds 14 two-color cards, marked with a small flower, and allows up to six players: a blue and yellow card counts as both blue and yellow. Each face-down card not covered by a face-up card earns 5 spirals, and some cards give more. New special cards make you count one cross per face-up card of the indicated color.
Little Giants: This expansion adds 14 Giant cards, which don’t go on the nine spaces: depending on its arrow, a Giant goes at the top of a column or on the left of a row, only one per column and per row; otherwise, it goes face down on an empty space. It counts for colors and gives a bonus based on its row or column, and some cancel the crosses in their row.

How to score Pixies

Validated cards: The sum of the numbers on your validated cards: the face-up cards that cover a face-down card.
Spirals: 1 point per spiral on your face-up cards, validated or not, plus spirals from your special cards: 1 per face-up card of the indicated color.
Crosses: −1 point per cross on your face-up cards, validated or not.
Largest color zone: Each card in your largest zone earns 2 points in round 1, 3 in round 2 and 4 in round 3. A zone: at least 2 face-up cards of the same color touching along a side.
Uncovered face-down cards (Flower Power): Each face-down card not covered by a face-up card earns 5 spirals.
Giant card bonuses (Little Giants): The spirals your Giants earn based on their row or column. Crosses a Giant cancels aren’t counted.

Worked example

In round 1, Emma has three validated cards, a 6, a 4 and a 9 (19 points), 3 spirals, 2 crosses and a green zone of 4 cards (4 × 2 = 8): 19 + 3 − 2 + 8 = 28 points for the round.

Common mistakes

Scoring the number of a face-up card that isn’t validated: it only scores its symbols and color.
Forgetting crosses on cards that aren’t validated: they count too.
Using the same zone value every round: 2, then 3, then 4 points per card.
Counting diagonals in a color zone: only sides count.
Forgetting that a multicolor card is every color at once, for zones and special cards alike.

How to set up Pixies

Setup takes a minute. Add the expansion steps if you play with them; the number of cards revealed depends on the number of players.

The cards

Gather the 70 cards of the game.
With Flower Power: add the 14 expansion cards to the base deck.A small flower makes them easy to spot. With Flower Power, you can play with up to 6.
With Little Giants: add the 14 Giant cards to the base deck.Little Giants can be played on its own or together with Flower Power.
Shuffle all the cards face down into a deck in the middle of the table.

Each player

Keep room in front of you for a 3 by 3 square of cards: this is your playing area, empty at the start.Its 9 spaces are numbered left to right and top to bottom: 1, 2, 3 on the top row, 4, 5, 6 in the middle, 7, 8, 9 at the bottom.
With Little Giants: also keep room above and to the left of your playing area, for the Giant cards.A Giant goes at the top of a column or on the left of a row, never in one of the 9 spaces.

Let’s go

Choose the first player at random.
The first player reveals as many cards from the deck as there are players, face up in the middle of the table.With 2 players, they reveal 4 each turn, and each of you takes 2, one at a time.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards are revealed each turn in Pixies?

As many as there are players: each takes one. With 2 players, 4 are revealed and each of you takes 2, one at a time.

When is a card validated in Pixies?

When a face-up card covers a face-down card. Only validated cards score their number.

How much is the color zone worth in Pixies?

Each card in your largest zone is worth 2 points in round 1, 3 in round 2 and 4 in round 3.

Ludingo’s Pixies sheet was last reviewed on 13 October 2026, based on: studiobombyx.com 1, studiobombyx.com 2, studiobombyx.com 3, studiobombyx.com 4, BoardGameGeek.