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Tantrix
Players place hexagonal tiles to create the longest line or loop.
Players	1–4
Age range	8 +
Setup time	1 minute
Playing time	30 minutes
Rules complexity	Low
Strategy depth	High
Random chance	Medium
Skills required	Strategic thought

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 a 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 and 4 players. Each draws 1 tile from the bag, and the person who draws the highest number goes first. Play then rotates 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 adjoining 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. 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 can hold has its own tournament:

• The European Championship (Euro) - the major dedicated continental tournament, first run in 1999
• The Pan-American Tantrix Championship (Pan-Am) - first held in 1999
• The Swedish Tantrix Championship (STC) - first held in 2003
• The Australian Tantrix Championship (ATC) - first held in 2001
• The New Zealand Tantrix Championship (NZTC) - first held in 2000
• The Hungarian Tantrix Championship - first held in 2002
• The Hungarian Masters Tournament - first held in 2002
• The Afro-Asian Championship - the African Championship was first held in 1999 once, then re-established in 2004, incorperating Asian compeditors at the same time
• The Pacific Championship - a regional tournament for players in Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding pacific region, it ran between 1999-2001, but is currently not held due to an apparent lack of demand

There are also four international tournaments each year:

• The Blitz Championship (players play to a much tougher time limit) - first held in 2003
• The World Team Tantrix Championship (WTTC) - involving teams of 5 from one country or region, first in held in 2002 (but not held in 2005)
• The World Junior Tantrix Championship (WJTC) - a world championship for players under 16, first held in 2002
• The World Tantrix Championship (WTC), and the major tournament of each year, the first ever tournament, started in 1998
• The Doubles World Tantrix Championship (DWTC) - first played in 2005

The WTC begins every August, and takes nearly 4 months to complete. Only compeditors took place in the 2nd WTC in , but that number had grown to 190 BY 2005. The tournament starts in a qualifiying round, where the lower ranked players fight for spots in the main draw (128 player knockout).

In addition to these online tournaments, the number of offline tournaments is also growing. The first offline tournament was the British Open, played in 2002 in Cambridge, England. In 2005 offline events took place in France (first ran in 2005), Germany (2005), Sweden (2004), Britain (2002), Spain (2005), Hungary (2005) and New Zealand (2004). More of these offline tournaments begin every year as the Tantrix player base widens. Tournaments in Europe are especially popular because of the accesability for a large number of the playing population.

External links

• Tantrix.com
• Tantrix Tournaments!

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