This article explains the rules of Coindrel. You can also find them in the app: choose How to Play from Home, or Rules on any match setup page.
The Board
- Entries: eight openings across the top. Each turn, you drop one coin into one of them.
- Switches: five rows of switches that catch coins or flip over.
- Exits: sixteen exits along the bottom, each with a point value for the current round.
Switches
Each switch has a pad on one side and a lever on the other.
- An empty pad catches one coin, which rests there.
- Extra coins, or any coin reaching a pad that is already full, bounce across to the lever side.
- Every coin passing the lever flips the switch once. An odd number of coins flips it; an even number leaves it as it was.
- When a flip tips out a resting coin, that coin falls too and can set off more switches.
Scoring
A coin that reaches the bottom scores the number under its exit for the player who dropped, no matter who originally put that coin on the board. Everything your drop knocks loose counts for you, even after the round's target has been passed.
This is the heart of the strategy: a drop that scores well now can leave coins and switches set up for a big cascade on your opponent's next turn.
Turns and Rounds
Player 1 drops first, then turns alternate for the whole match. A match has four rounds:
- Round 1: target 10. Every exit pays 2.
- Round 2: target 40. The edges pay the most and the center pays the least.
- Round 3: target 20. Values rise steadily from the center to the edges.
- Round 4: target 80. The edges pay the most of any round.
The target is measured in points earned during that round, not your match total. Round scores reset between rounds, but resting coins, switch positions, and match totals carry over. The new exit values are shown before the next turn's clock starts.
The Last Drop
When a player first reaches the round's target, their opponent gets exactly one more drop, even if that drop overtakes them. The status line shows Last drop of the round. That response cannot earn another response. Then the round ends.
Winning
After round 4, the player with the higher total wins. Equal totals are a draw.
The Turn Clock
Each turn has a clock: 30, 60, or 120 seconds, or 5 seconds in Turbo. When the clock runs out, your coin drops in a random entry. The clock never runs while coins are falling or while a new round's values are being revealed.
Optional Rules
Matches can also use Holes, a Halved final round, and Shuffled Exits. These are explained in the Rule Variants and Turn Timers article.
Interactive Lessons
Choose How to Play > Learn by playing for five short lessons on the real board:
- Drop a coin
- Levers flip switches
- Knock coins loose
- Every coin scores
- One last drop
Two extra lessons, Think ahead and Holes, are available from the Extras section of How to Play. Lessons have no clock and never affect a saved match. Choose Replay to try a step again.