Tantrix

Template:Infobox Game

Tantrix is a hexagonal tile strategy game invented by Mike McManaway from New Zealand. Each of the 56 different tiles in the set contains three lines, going from one edge of the tile to another. No two lines on the one tile have the same colour. There are four colours in the set; red, yellow, blue, and green. No two tiles are identical, and each is individually numbered from 1 through 56.

Contents

1 How To Play 2 Tantrix History 3 Other Forms Of Tantrix 4 Playing Online 5 External links

How To Play

In the multiplayer version of the game, each player chooses a colour, so you have between 2-4 players. Each draws 1 tile from the bag, and the person who draws the highest number goes first. They will then rotate clockwise. The first person plays one tile, usually with their colour on it. The next player then plays a tile and so on and so forth. As more tiles are played, there are aspects of the game that make tantrix unique.

There are few rules to the game but it can be very complex.

The first and foremost rule is that whenever a tile is played, it must match the colours of the edges ajoining it.

Secondly, each person gets one free move per go.

Thirdly, after playing a tile, the player picks up another, so they always have six tiles in front of them, face up.

Fourthly, when three tiles surround an empty space, so that it is effectively half covered, if a player has a tile that fills that space, they must play it. This is called a forced space. They repeat this process until there is no more forced spaces that they can fill, at which stage, they make a free move, where they can play any tile, as long as they don't breach the three restriction rules, which will be covered soon. Once they have had a free move, they must then fill any more forced spaces that they can.

The three restriction rules are:

1. You cannot create a forced space with the same colour leading into it three times
2. You cannot create a four sided forced space
3. You cannot play along an edge that, when forced spaces are filled, will create a four sided forced space.

Once there are no tiles left in the bag, the three restriction rules do not apply.

The aim of the game is to get the longest line or loop in your colour. For each tile in a line, counts as one point, and in a loop is two points. Only the highest scoring line or loop counts.

Tantrix History

• 1987 - Originally called "Mind-Game", it contained 64 square cardboard pieces with red and black lines.
• 1991 - Became known as Tantrix and the tiles became hexagonal.
• 1996 - www.tantrix.com is launched, a site where tantrix enthusiasts can meet and play online
• 1998 - Tournaments began on Tantrix.com

Other Forms Of Tantrix

• 10 Tile Discovery - Is the one player version, where players take on puzzles that take between 30 seconds and 45 minutes
• Super 5 Puzzles - 5 Puzzles, ranked from Student through to Genius.
• Tantrix Game Pack - Bag with all 56 tantrix tiles that allows players to play all forms of tantrix

Playing Online

Although quiet and under-populated compared to the standards of Yahoo! Games and the like, playing Tantrix online has gained a dedicated following with many players from all over the world taking part in matches at any one time, both against each other or against computer robots. Players are rated in a system that gains a player points for winning, (and subsequently losing points for losing,) the highest score possible being 1000, and the aim of players is to get as close to that as possible. The goal of a regular Lobby player is to reach the score of 950 which is difficult to reach, and once achieved can earn the player the title "Master". Masters can then play other ranked games, called master games, that have a different scoring system. Only a few players achieve master status - less than 50 each year.

Serious players of tantrix (most of whom are still only playing for fun) take part in a number of structured tournaments each year. Although the winners only play for bragging rights, and in the major tournaments a small trophy to keep for a year, these events are taken very seriously, and are the ultimate challenge for tantracists.

Tantrix Tournaments begun in 1998, with the first tournament, the World Championship, which was not a structured tournament, but the prize awarded to the player who finished the year with the highest ranking. The next year structured tournaments begun.

Every year various regional and international tournaments are held online in the "lobby" Each region or country has its own tournament:

• The European Chamionship (Euro)
• The Pan American Tantrix Championship (Pan-Am)
• The Swedish Tantrix Championship (STC)
• The Australian Tantrix Championship (ATC)
• The New Zealand Tantrix Championship (NZTC)
• The Hungarian Tantrix Championship
• The Hungarian Masters Tournament
• The Afro-Asian Championship

There are also four international tournaments each year:

• The Blitz Chamionship (players play to a much tougher time limit)
• The World Team Tantrix Championship (WTTC) - involving teams of 5 from one country or region
• The World Junior Tantrix Championship (WJTC) - for players under 16
• The World Tantrix Chamionship (WTC), and the major tournament of each year!

The WTC begins every August, and takes nearly 4 months to complete. Over 150 compeditors take part every year, and start in a qualifiying round, where the lower seeded player fight for spots in the main draw, which is a simple Knock Out format.

In addition to these online tournements, the number of offline tournements is also growing. The first offline tournement was the British Open, played in 2002 in Cambridge, England. In 2005 offline events will take place in France, Germany, Sweden, Britain, Spain, Hungary and New Zealand.

External links

• Tantrix.com (http://www.tantrix.com)
• Tantrix Tournaments! (http://tournaments.tantrix.co.uk)de:Tantrix