Two players compete to build the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) box of chocolates on a personal 9x9 game board. To start play, lay out all of the pieces at random in a circle and place a marker directly clockwise of the 2-1 patch. Each player takes five pralines (the currency/points in the game) and someone is chosen as the start player.
On a turn, a player either purchases one of the three patches standing clockwise of the marker or passes. To purchase a patch, you pay the cost in pralines shown on the patch, move the marker to that patch's location in the circle, add the patch to your game board, then advance your time token on the time track a number of spaces equal to the time shown on the patch. You're free to place the patch anywhere on your board that doesn't overlap other patches, but you probably want to fit things together as tightly as possible. If your time token is behind or on top of the other player's time token, then you take another turn; otherwise the opponent now goes. Instead of purchasing a patch, you can choose to pass; to do this, you move your time token to the space immediately in front of the opponent's time token, then take one praline from the bank for each space you moved.
In addition to a praline cost and time cost, each patch may also feature 1 or more pralines, and when you move your time token past a praline on the time track, you earn "praline income": sum the number of praliness depicted on your personal game board, then take this many from the bank.
What's more, the time track depicts five 1x1 petit fours on it, and during set-up you place five actual 1x1 petit four pieces on these spaces. Whoever first passes one on the time track claims this piece and immediately places it on his game board.
Additionally, the first player to completely fill in a 7x7 square on their game board earns a bonus tile worth 7 extra points at the end of the game. (Of course, this doesn't happen in every game.)
When a player takes an action that moves his time token to the central square of the time track, he takes one final praline income from the bank. Once both players are in the centre, the game ends and scoring takes place. Each player scores one point per praline in their possession, then loses two points for each empty square on their game board. Scores can be negative. The player with the most points wins.
