Every card carries four features, and each feature has exactly three possible values. Three cards make a set when, for each feature taken on its own, the three cards are either all the same or all different. The features are judged separately: they never have to agree with each other.
One, two or three symbols.
Diamond, squiggle or oval.
Solid, striped or open — the one most people forget.
Red, green or purple.
Each row above is also a set, since one feature runs through all three of its values while the other three hold still.
Four valid sets, and they look nothing alike — which is the thing to take away. There is no shape a set has.
A set — number all different, shape all different, shading all different, colour all different.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 123 | all different |
| Shape | diamondsquiggleoval | all different |
| Shading | solidstripedopen | all different |
| Colour | redgreenpurple | all different |
Nothing is repeated anywhere. Every feature takes all three of its values, which is as valid as a set gets — and the easiest kind to walk straight past.
A set — number all different, shape all the same, shading all the same, colour all the same.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 123 | all different |
| Shape | ovalovaloval | all the same |
| Shading | solidsolidsolid | all the same |
| Colour | purplepurplepurple | all the same |
The opposite extreme: only the number moves. Three features are all the same, and "all the same" passes just as cleanly as "all different".
A set — number all the same, shape all different, shading all the same, colour all different.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 222 | all the same |
| Shape | diamondsquiggleoval | all different |
| Shading | openopenopen | all the same |
| Colour | redgreenpurple | all different |
A mixture. Two features hold still and two run through all three values — features are judged one at a time, so they never have to agree with each other.
A set — number all different, shape all the same, shading all different, colour all different.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 123 | all different |
| Shape | squigglesquigglesquiggle | all the same |
| Shading | stripedopensolid | all different |
| Colour | greenredpurple | all different |
The one that hides. The shared shape makes these look like they belong together for the wrong reason, while the three shadings — the feature people check last — are what actually carry it.
These are not sets. In each one the offending value is boxed in red: it is the value that turns up once where the other two agree. Two the same and one different — two and one in the tables below — is the only way a feature can fail, and one failed feature is enough to sink the whole thing.
Not a set — on colour, two are red and one is green.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 123 | all different |
| Shape | diamonddiamonddiamond | all the same |
| Shading | solidsolidsolid | all the same |
| Colour | redgreen, the odd one outred | two and one |
Three features are impeccable, which is exactly why this one gets claimed. Getting most of the way there is worth nothing: one bad feature is enough.
Not a set — on shading, two are solid and one is striped.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 123 | all different |
| Shape | diamondsquiggleoval | all different |
| Shading | solidstriped, the odd one outsolid | two and one |
| Colour | redgreenpurple | all different |
Compare this with the first set above — only the last card changed, from open to solid. Shading is the feature that slips past you, so make it the one you check on purpose.
Not a set — on number, two cards show 1 symbol and one shows 2; and on shape, two are ovals and one is a squiggle.
| Feature | Across the three cards | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Number | 112, the odd one out | two and one |
| Shape | squiggle, the odd one outovaloval | two and one |
| Shading | openopenopen | all the same |
| Colour | greengreengreen | all the same |
Two features broken at once. Nothing here is close, but it reads as tidy because the two features that do pass are the loud ones.
Four cards, exactly three of which make a set — and there is never more than one answer. Pick three and the same table appears, so a wrong guess tells you which feature you missed.
Pick the three that make a set — 3 to go.
Pick the three that make a set — 3 to go.
Pick the three that make a set — 3 to go.
Twelve cards are dealt face up and everyone plays at the same time — no turns. Click three cards to claim a set. A correct claim scores a point and those cards are replaced from the deck; a wrong claim costs a point. If someone beats you to a set you were partway into, you lose nothing. When no set is on the table, three more cards are dealt.
One fact worth carrying to the table: any two cards have exactly one card that completes them. So instead of testing triples, pick two cards, work out the card they need — its number, shape, shading and colour are each forced — and look for it.
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