Gameplay

The goal is to find as many sets as possible. At the start of the game, twelve cards are laid out. Everybody tries to find a set as quickly as possible - when somebody thinks they have found a set, they announce this and must then point out the cards that make up a set. If it is indeed a set, that person gets a point and the cards are removed. If it is not, they lose a point and all players must continue to search for a set.

What is a set?

Each card in the game has four distinct characteristics:

• the number of symbols on it (1,2 or 3)
• the shape of those symbols (rectangle, oval or wiggle)
• the colour of the symbols (red, green or purple)
• the fill pattern of the symbols (empty, dotted or solid)

There are 81 cards in total, to cover all possible combinations of these properties.

A set consists of three cards. On those cards, each of the four properties (number, colour, shape, fill) must be either all the same or all different

The three highlighted cards form a set. This is because: All three have three symbols All three have rectangles All three are red All three cards have different fills - one solid, one dotted and one empty. All properties are either all the same or all different, therefore this is a set. However, this is not the only set to be found among these cards.

These three cards are also a set because: All three have different numbers of symbols All three have rectangles All three have different colours All three have different fills All properties are either all the same or all different, therefore this is a set.

These three cards are not a set. They all have the same colour and the same number of symbols, and all have different fills. So far so good. However, two of them have rectangles and one is an oval. So the shapes are not all the same or all different. If for a particular property, two of the cards are the same but the other one is different, the cards do not form a set.

Playing online

All games are open - anybody can join in any game at any time.

At the start of the game, twelve random cards are dealt. If there are no sets, more cards are dealt, three at a time, until there is a set.

When you've found a set

When you see a set, click the 'SET' button. Whoever gets to the button first, will be able to select their set.

Claiming a set

If you beat everybody else to the SET button, you've been allowed the set and now have five seconds in which to click on the cards that make up your set. If you successfully select a set within this time, you gain a point. Otherwise, you lose a point.

Somebody else got there first

If somebody else got to the SET button before you, you will not be allowed to select your set. The other person may have seen the same set as you, or a different one. Either way, you will have to wait until they have finished (whether successful or not) before you can try again. If their set was the same as yours, or uses some of the same cards, you will have to look for a new set.

When somebody has found a set, three more cards are dealt to replace the ones taken away. If there is no set, cards are dealt three at a time until there is one.

End of the game

The game ends when there are no more cards to deal, and no more sets in the visible cards. A winner is announced, and the game will restart after a short delay.

Keyboard control

You may prefer to use SET with the keyboard. You can hit the space bar when you have seen a set, and then select/unselect cards using the key corresponding to the letter on the card.