I assumed the name of this game is supposed to be pronounced like Elmer Fudd trying to say "craze" or "crazy." Turns out it's pronounced "quahz", meant to evoke the quadrants of the cards used in KWAZ, an abstract strategy game which relies a little too heavily on the luck of the draw for my taste. A shame, too, since otherwise the mechanics are intriguing and the scoring system unusual.
The game comes in a red drawstring bag containing a bunch of Pente stones in three colors: red, white, and black. A cloth board depicts a simple 6x6 grid. Players take turns placing stones on the board until all spaces are full. Each stone must be placed adjacent to another stone, so players can't concentrate their efforts in opposite corners from the outset. The object is to form patterns depicted on the cards in your hand. There are 24 cards in all, each depicting a unique arrangement of beads in a 2x2 grid. Each player holds four of these cards at a time, giving you four possibilities to shoot for. When a pattern you hold is formed— on any player's turn— you set the matching card aside and draw a replacement.
The only problem is that all combinations are not created equal. Most notably, the cards where all four beads are the same color are much harder to score than cards with three bead colors. Why? It's very hard to set up a board situation which will allow you to create a solid block of the same color. Other players, holding different cards, will subvert the arrangement to match their own patterns. The result is that the more colors in the pattern, the easier it is to score. If, as I did, you get dealt two of these cards in your initial hand, your scoring options are severely restricted and you're pretty much hosed for that round.
There are ways around the problem— increasing the value of these cards, allowing players to discard patterns and draw replacements, etc.— but none are suggested by the rules as given.
When the board is full, players score points for the patterns they claimed. This is the truly confusing part. First, you have to lay your cards on top of the beads they match. If there's more than one occurance of a pattern on the board, you can choose which one to use. By the time you're done, your cards will be overlapping each other— in some cases, cards might be completely buried by other cards. Scores are talled by removing cards one at a time and looking at each card's overlaps. If a card overlaps another by one quadrant (that is, one bead on each card overlaps), that overlap is worth three points. A two-quadrant (half the card) overlap is worth only two points. And every card earns one point just for being claimed.
This is an interesting but clumsy scoring system. When cards get buried under other cards, it becomes very difficult to see which cards overlap each other. The accounting— and game board— gets messy. Unfortunately, given the scoring system there's really no better way.
The designers do offer a couple of variant scoring systems which simplify the procedure, as well as suggestions for increasing the strategic element of play (increasing the number of cards in each player's hand, dividing the beads at the beginning of the game so that players may only place beads from their own stash, etc). Also included are puzzles and solitaire activities using the game's equipment, a very nice touch which adds value at little cost to the manufacturer. Kadon Enterprises does this for virtually all of their games, and I'm happy to see the trend grow.
Because cards are held secretly, there's less scope for strategic play than there might otherwise be. The standard scoring system is somewhat opaque, which may disenchant some players, but more obvious schemes are thoughtfully offered for such cases. You'll want to adjust the rules to factor in the difficulty of the solid color cards.
KWAZ plays briskly and pleasantly enough. Serious connoisseurs of abstract strategy games may bristle at the amount of luck involved, but more casual players will find an enjoyable, portable entertainment.