Round & Revel / Spatial packing
The Spare Squares
Four pieces need twelve cells. Give the four empty spaces their room.
Original printable party game. Timing is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: A relaxed family game night or a small-group spatial puzzle.
What you need
- A 4×4 grid with columns A–D left to right and rows 1–4 top to bottom
- Four pieces on the same cell scale: I has three squares in a row; L has three in an elbow; D has two in a row; O is a 2×2 square
- Four spare markers, the 12 challenge cards, separate solutions, and a turn counter
How to play
The empty spaces are part of the puzzle
Your group covers exactly twelve cells with four rigid paper shapes, leaving four marked cells empty. Every challenge supplies the empty-cell locations. The shapes may rotate or turn over, but cannot stretch, fold, split or overlap. A perfect packing uses every shape once and covers every unblocked cell. Several packings may work; you do not have to reproduce the answer appendix.
Make a matching board and set
Draw a 4×4 grid with cells 3 cm wide, or print the board and pieces at one consistent scale. Label columns A–D and rows 1–4. Make I from three joined cells in a straight line, L from a 2×2 square missing one corner, D from two joined cells, and O from a complete 2×2 square. Cut only around the outer edges of each whole piece. Write its letter on the face and back. Check the scale by placing O over four grid cells before playing.
Set out a challenge
Shuffle the 12 cards, choose three, and keep the solutions hidden. Reveal the first card and mark its four blocked cells. A blocked cell stays empty for the entire puzzle. Put all four pieces beside the board. Agree which edge is the top, choose a starting player and a turn recorder, and set the turn count to zero. The recorder also plays; move that job after each board.
Look together before placing
Allow up to one minute of discussion and pointing before the first turn. You may rotate pieces in the air or beside the board, but do not test-fit them on the board until a placement turn. Talk about useful corners, narrow gaps and how the straight I piece could fit. The planning period is for the whole group; invite each person to offer an idea before accepting a complete arrangement from one solver.
Sixteen shared turns
Take turns clockwise. On your turn, either place one unplaced shape legally, remove one placed shape to the side, or pass. Moving an already placed shape costs two separate turns: one to remove it and a later turn to place it again. A legal placement covers whole empty grid cells, touches no blocked cell, and stays inside the grid. You may rotate or flip the selected shape before releasing it. Discussion remains allowed, but the current player chooses their own action. Count every action and pass toward sixteen.
Correct an illegal placement
Check a newly placed shape immediately. If it crosses a boundary, overlaps another piece or covers a blocked cell, return that newly placed piece to the side; the turn is still used. Never slide earlier pieces to make room during somebody else’s turn. An accidental nudge is restored by agreement without using a strategic turn. If the previous arrangement cannot be recovered, reset the current board and its turn count, keeping the same starting player and recording no score for the interrupted attempt.
Stop and score
As soon as all four shapes are legally on the board, stop: because they cover twelve cells, every unblocked cell must now be covered. Score 3 shared points. If turn sixteen finishes first, count legal shapes on the board: three shapes earn 2, two earn 1, and zero or one earn 0. A shape on the side scores nothing. Do not count how beautiful or fast the arrangement was. Unused turns do not add bonus points.
A small placement example
An L covering A1, A2 and B2 is legal only if all three cells are unblocked and empty. Rotating that L to cover A1, B1 and A2 is another legal orientation. It cannot cover A1, B1 and C1: that is the straight I shape. If A2 is blocked, the first two L placements are both invalid, even if most of the piece lies in free cells. Pieces are identified by their joined-square shape, not only by their letter.
Finish, access and replay
Record the score, clear the pieces and move the starting turn to the next player who would have acted. After three challenges, add 0–9 points. Everyone shares the result; there is no individual winner. Open a solution only after scoring. Use thick outlines and letters instead of relying on color; a helper can place a piece in cells named by another player. For relaxed play, remove the turn limit and record completed boards rather than points. Cards can be replayed to find different valid packings; this edition has checked solutions but no live-group difficulty rating.
Board and shape reference
Draw every square at the same size. A 3 cm cell makes the board 12 cm by 12 cm. The diagrams below show the board and four whole pieces. Cut only around each piece’s outside edge. The PDF kit provides a matching-scale sheet.
Printable cards and components
Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.
Spare Squares 01
BLOCK these four cells: A4, B2, B4, D3.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 02
BLOCK these four cells: A1, B1, D1, D2.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 03
BLOCK these four cells: B1, C1, C4, D1.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 04
BLOCK these four cells: A2, A3, C1, D1.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 05
BLOCK these four cells: A1, A3, C4, D4.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 06
BLOCK these four cells: A1, A2, D1, D2.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 07
BLOCK these four cells: A4, C2, C3, C4.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 08
BLOCK these four cells: A3, A4, C2, D4.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 09
BLOCK these four cells: C2, C4, D1, D4.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 10
BLOCK these four cells: A3, C4, D1, D4.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 11
BLOCK these four cells: A2, A3, A4, B3.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Spare Squares 12
BLOCK these four cells: C3, D1, D2, D3.
Fit I (three in a row), L (three in an elbow), D (two in a row), and O (a 2×2 square) into all remaining cells. Rotate or flip pieces; never overlap, fold or cover a blocked cell.
Answer notes: open only when the rules tell you to check
Keep these notes away from players during a puzzle or writing round. This section is excluded from the website print view. The PDF player kit includes a separate answer appendix.
SQ-01
One packing: I: A3, B3, C3; L: A1, A2, B1; D: C4, D4; O: C1, C2, D1, D2. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-02
One packing: I: C1, C2, C3; L: C4, D3, D4; D: A4, B4; O: A2, A3, B2, B3. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-03
One packing: I: D2, D3, D4; L: A1, A2, B2; D: C2, C3; O: A3, A4, B3, B4. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-04
One packing: I: B2, C2, D2; L: A4, B3, B4; D: A1, B1; O: C3, C4, D3, D4. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-05
One packing: I: B1, C1, D1; L: A2, B2, B3; D: A4, B4; O: C2, C3, D2, D3. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-06
One packing: I: B3, C3, D3; L: A3, A4, B4; D: C4, D4; O: B1, B2, C1, C2. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-07
One packing: I: D2, D3, D4; L: A3, B3, B4; D: C1, D1; O: A1, A2, B1, B2. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-08
One packing: I: B1, C1, D1; L: A1, A2, B2; D: D2, D3; O: B3, B4, C3, C4. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-09
One packing: I: A1, B1, C1; L: C3, D2, D3; D: A4, B4; O: A2, A3, B2, B3. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-10
One packing: I: B3, C3, D3; L: C1, C2, D2; D: A4, B4; O: A1, A2, B1, B2. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-11
One packing: I: B4, C4, D4; L: A1, B1, B2; D: C1, D1; O: C2, C3, D2, D3. Other legal complete packings count.
SQ-12
One packing: I: B4, C4, D4; L: A3, A4, B3; D: A1, A2; O: B1, B2, C1, C2. Other legal complete packings count.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.