Knitting Circle Preview: A Cozy Twist on Calico
Knitting Circle
Flatout Games
2025
A preview copy was provided to us
Emily Vincent
Beth Sobel
1–4 Players
Cozy puzzle games
Knitting Circle, the spiritual successor to Calico, is less of a brain-burner than its predecessor but still proves to be an enjoyable puzzle to untangle
If you loved the brain-bending puzzles of Calico, then Knitting Circle will feel both familiar and new, like a sweater sewn from your favorite yarn. This standalone sequel swaps the merciless spatial puzzle of its predecessor for a smooth pattern-building experience that remains engagingly puzzly while being even more accessible and family-friendly. We got a chance to play a nearly-finished copy, so if you want to learn more, join us as we untangle our preview of Knitting Circle!
In this beautifully designed game, you’re competing to knit the coziest, most stylish collection of garments. Each turn, you’ll choose yarn from a central basket and carefully stitch it into place, aiming to nail those color combos and patterns that will score big. Some garments are more complex (which is to say larger) than others and will take more yarn to complete, but with that risk comes the reward of more potential points and piles of bonuses!
Quick Overview:
In Knitting Circle, your objective is to score points by crafting garments that meet specific color and pattern goals. The catch? Any mismatched items earn you an “ugly sweater” pin, which docks your score. Each player starts with a personal board, a selection of buttons (for colors, patterns, and garment types), a garment card, and a “grabby paw” to snag a crucial yarn piece when needed.
Each round has two phases:
- Drafting Phase: Players use their cat helpers to move around a central yarn selection rondel, picking yarn tiles with specific colors and sides (knit or purl) to match their garments.
- Action Phase: Players place yarn tiles to knit garments, flip tiles from knit to purl or back, draw new garment cards, and complete garments to score buttons.
The game continues for six rounds, with players earning points based on buttons, finished garments, and bonus goals.
Gameplay & Strategy:
The rounds flow smoothly as you strategize on colors and patterns while eyeing bonus goals. There’s a lot of satisfaction in watching your knitted masterpiece take shape, and the variety of template cards and scoring goals keeps each game fresh. And, of course, a helpful feline companion adds a dash of whimsy by fetching you the perfect yarn when you need it most!
The strategy of the game really centers around the challenge of getting exactly the yarn tiles you need to not only complete your garments, but to do so in patterns that match the scoring conditions for the various button bonuses you’re trying to get. You can only work on 2 garments at a time, and the yarn rondel mechanic means you won’t always be able to get exactly the yarn you need. Grabby paws will help alleviate that, as they let you go straight into the yarn bag and snag exactly the tile you want, but they’re a limited resource that you’ll have to go out of your way to get. So while you absolutely will want to knit that massive sweater in that ‘ABCBA’ pattern and in exactly the right colors to get those bonus buttons, the truth is you probably won’t be able to do that as often as you’d like
Perks & Quirks:
And that brings us to the first of two critiques we have of Knitting Circle – you probably won’t get to finish all the garments you want to, nor will you be able to do them as perfectly as you’d like. The fun of contract/order completion games is all about filling those orders, and Knitting Circle is sometimes over before you know it.
Another thing that is worth noting for would-be knitters is the fact that, especially with more players, the yarn rondel can be a little chaotic. You might be planning on nabbing the perfect tile when suddenly an opponent occupies that space, forcing you to skip over it and adjust your plans accordingly. That’s not a problem really, but it’s worth mentioning since some folks might find it a bit frustrating.
The final quirk we found with Knitting Circle is that finished garment cards, with their yarn tiles and bonus buttons, must be set aside intact for end-game scoring, since the score is affected by how much of the garment you finished, what the pattern was, etc. It can get a little awkward having to manage several completed garment cards per player, especially if you’re not playing on a large surface.
But that’s where our criticisms end because, overall, we really liked Knitting Circle quite a lot. The puzzle of its gameplay is fun and engaging, and while we’ve made some to-do about not getting to do everything perfectly every time you play, that doesn’t mean you’ll be left with your work unfinished. On the contrary – you’ll have plenty of chances to knit your garments together in satisfyingly-scoring ways. It feel awesome when you get that perfect piece of yarn to complete a garment and score a pile of points, and even if you have to take an ‘ugly garment’ penalty here and there, you’ll still score points for the garments themselves, making even imperfect knitters competitively viable.
The puzzle Knitting Circle presents is easy to engage, thematically delightful, and full of little moments of victory that more than offset the occasional moments of frustration, and nothing beats the satisfaction you get when you do manage to knit up the perfect pair of long johns!
Final Thoughts:
Knitting Circle nails the coziness of a night in spent crafting and serves as the perfect “lighter” sibling to Calico. It’s ideal for puzzlers who love an inviting challenge, and we definitely recommend heading over to the Knitting Circle Kickstarter page for a chance to add it to your collection!