Tantrix.com - How to play online

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HOW TO PLAY ONLINE

	Log in to play There are three ways to play: For those in a hurry or just wanting to have a look, sign in as a guest - no registration required. For all new players, we recommend you read the introduction below and then register. As soon as registration is complete, you can play under your own name. If you are a registered player already, use the login buttons located in the top right corner of every page with your login details for immediate access.

Step One: The Tantrix game lobby and how to use it

The first step is to enter the Tantrix lobby - a virtual room in which people meet to play Tantrix and chat. You can enter anonymously as a guest or register your own player name.

Once in the lobby, you can talk to other players by typing in comments, you can spectate on games being played or you can play games yourself. To spectate, find a game in progress and press the "Spectate" button. To play, choose a colour by clicking on an empty coloured slot in a game. Decide on who your opponent is going to be: it can be a Robot game (computer logic) or a game against another player.

Robot game: Choose your colour then press "Play Robot".
Human game: Choose your colour, encourage other players to join your game, press "Start".

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Step Two: The Tantrix game room and how to use it

As soon as you pressed "Start", a game will load in a separate window. Each player receives a hand of six tiles. Your objective is to make the longest possible line or biggest loop of your chosen colour.

The first player plays a tile in the middle (click, drag and drop). To confirm a move, click on the dot which appears in the now empty spot in your hand. Play continues with the next player, who connects a tile to the tile already played, always making sure that all colours match. To rotate a tile click on it before confirming your move. You will receive a replacement tile for each tile you play.

Each player has one free move per turn.
All tiles must always be placed next to tiles already played.
All touching tiles must match colour.

Colours of touching links must match

When it's your turn

Start by filling every Forced Space that you can.
Make your free move.
Finish by again filling every Forced Space that you can.

What is a Forced Space?

Any empty space which is surrounded by three tiles is called a Forced Space (they are indicated by a coloured dot). Each player must start their turn by filling Forced Spaces whenever possible. A little arrow next to a tile tells you this tile fits into a Forced Space! Forced Spaces become more common as the game progresses and allow a player to play a number of tiles in one turn. It is a normal procedure to create Forced Spaces deliberately, especially when you're forcing yourself to fill the just-built space.

A Forced Space and a tile which fits

Restriction rules

There are 3 restricted moves which are not allowed! However, once there are no tiles left in the bag, the restriction rules no longer apply.

Do not build a Forced Space with three links of the same colour. There are no tiles which could ever fit such a space. If filling a Forced Space would create another with three links of the same colour, then the Forced Space must not be filled.
Do not surround a Forced Space with a fourth tile. This would inevitably lead to blocked games. The more sides a space has, the harder it is to fill this space. Wait for the Forced Space to be filled before placing tiles around it.
Do not place a tile along a "controlled side". The Forced Space at A must be filled before you can play a tile at B. The two sides along a Forced Space are called controlled sides and are indicated in the game as greyed out spaces.

The Winner

The game ends when all tiles have been played. Each player scores one point per tile in their longest line, or two points per tile in their longest loop, ie loops score double. Only each player's best score counts and the winner is the player whose score is the highest.

An example: In this game (see diagram), the Green and Blue player are currently tied. Green has a line of eight, while Blue has a loop of four, both players scoring eight points. However, Green is in a much better position to win the game from here, as an unblocked line can be extended, whereas a loop is closed forever. Blue's loop of eight points won't be enough to win the game - the average winning score in a game is around 23. Blue would be well advised to start working on a new line, as well paying attention to the loop threat Green developed. With only one more tile, Green could close a loop of 11 tiles, scoring 22 points - most likely, enough to win this game.

You'll need a combination of careful analysis and devious tactics to win. There is also a bit of luck involved, since everyone draws their tiles at random from the set. This combination of skill and luck makes Tantrix fun for both new and experienced players.

Enjoy playing !