Tantrix

---

title: "Tantrix" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["board-games-introduced-in-1988", "tiling-puzzles", "tile-based-board-games", "abstract-strategy-games", "logic-puzzles", "tabletop-games"] description: "Abstract strategy game" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantrix" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Abstract strategy game ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox game"]

Field	Value
subject_name	Tantrix
image_link	[[Image:TantrixBagandTiles200.gif
image_caption	Players place hexagonal tiles to create the longest line or loop.
players	1–4
setup_time	1 minute
playing_time	30 minutes
random_chance	Medium
skills	Strategic thought
date	1988
<!--	ages
<!--	complexity
<!--	strategy
::

| subject_name = Tantrix | image_link = [[Image:TantrixBagandTiles200.gif|200px|Tantrix]] | image_caption= Players place hexagonal tiles to create the longest line or loop. | players = 1–4 | setup_time = 1 minute | playing_time = 30 minutes | random_chance= Medium | skills = Strategic thought | footnotes = | date = 1988

Tantrix is a hexagonal tile-based abstract 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.

Gameplay

In the multiplayer version of the game, each player chooses a colour, so there are between two and four players. Each draws one tile from the bag, and the person who draws the highest number goes first.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Essen08_-_Tantrix.jpg" caption="Playing ''Tantrix''"] ::

Each player then takes five more tiles from the bag, and places all six tiles face up in front of them. The first person plays one tile, usually with their colour on it. Play then rotates clockwise. After playing a tile, each player takes a replacement tile from the bag, so that they always have six in front of them. Tiles played must match the colour of the edges adjoining it.

When three tiles surround an empty space so that it is effectively half covered this is called a forced space. If the person whose turn it is has a tile that fills that space they must play it. The player repeats this process until there are 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 given below. Once they have had a free move, they must then fill any more forced spaces that they can. Thus one player's turn can consist of several moves.

The three restriction rules are: | You cannot create a forced space with the same colour leading into it three times. | You cannot create a four-sided forced space. | 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.

Online play

Although quiet and underpopulated compared to the standards of Yahoo! Games and the like, playing Tantrix online has gained a dedicated following with players from all over the world competing against each other or against computer robots. Players are rated out of 1000 points according to their wins and losses and taking into account of their opponents rank. The aim of top players is to get to 1000 points (which only three players have managed so far). The goal of a regular player is to reach the score of 950 which is difficult to reach. Once this score has been attained the player can gain Tournament Rankings (ELO) and eventually earn the title "Master". Masters can then play "master games" which have a different scoring system. Only a few players achieve master status, with a limit of 120 total imposed.

Serious players of Tantrix 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 seriously, and are the ultimate challenge for tantricists.

The WORLD TANTRIX CHAMPIONSHIP begins every August, and takes nearly four months to complete. Only 47 competitors took place in the second WTC in 1998, but that number had grown to 200 by 2006. The tournament starts in a qualifying round, where the lower-ranked players compete for selection into the main draw (128-player knockout tournament).

There are three other "world-wide" tournaments held online each year:

:* The World Team Tantrix Championship (WTTC) involving teams of five from one country or region, first in held in 2002 :* The World Junior Tantrix Championship (WJTC) a world championship for players under 16, first held in 2002 :* The World Doubles Tantrix Championship (WDTC) first played in 2005

There are also three continental tournaments each year:

:* 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 Afro-Asian Championship (AsAf) the African Championship was first held in 1999 once, then re-established in 2004, incorporating Asian competitors at the same time

And many national online tournaments: :* The New Zealand Tantrix Championship first held in 2000 :* The Australian Tantrix Championship first held in 2001 :* The Hungarian Tantrix Championship first held in 2002 :* The Hungarian Masters Tournament first held in 2002 :* The Swedish Tantrix Championship first held in 2003 :* The French Tantrix Championship first held in 2007 :* The Dutch Tantrix Championship first held in 2008 :* The German Tantrix Championship first held in 2008 :* The Spanish Tantrix Championship first held in 2008 :* The Polish Tantrix Championship first held in 2008 :* The Norwegian Tantrix Championship first held in 2009 :* The Czech Tantrix Championship first held in 2010

Face-to-face play

In addition to these online tournaments, offline tournaments (referred to as 'Table Opens') are growing in popularity. The first Table tournament was the 2002 British Open and was mostly a local affair with 13 of the 14 entrants from Britain. As the player base widened, players started traveling more. Table Opens in Europe soon became the most popular because of the larger playing population. By 2009 there was enough demand to hold a World Tantrix Open.

World Opens :* 2014 World Tantrix Table Open (Bischoffen, Germany)http://www.spiel-tantrix.de/turniere_go2014.php :* 2013 World Tantrix Table Open (Trosa, Sweden)http://www.tantrix.com/english/tournaments/Tantrix2013WorldOpen.html :* 2011 World Tantrix Table Open (Almere, Netherlands)http://www.tantrix.com/english/tournaments/Tantrix2011WorldOpen.html :* 2010 World Tantrix Table Open (Budapest, Hungary)http://www.tantrix.com/english/tournaments/Tantrix2010WorldOpen.html :* 2009 World Tantrix Table Open (Edinburgh, United Kingdom)http://www.tantrix.com/english/tournaments/Tantrix2009WorldOpen.html

National Opens :* The British Table Open, first held in 2002 :* The New Zealand Table Open, first held in 2004 :* The Swedish Table Open, first held in 2004 :* The German Table Open, first held in 2005 :* The French Table Open, first held in 2005 :* The Spanish Table Open, first held in 2005 :* The Hungarian Table Open, first held in 2005 :* The Dutch Table Open, first held in 2006 :* The Polish Table Open, first held in 2007 :* The Australian Table Open, first held in 2007 :* The Israeli Table Open, first held in 2007

History

The first version of Tantrix was created by Mike McManaway in 1988 and was called Mind Gamehttp://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixHistory.html. It used 56 cardboard pieces with only two coloured lines, red and black.http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixHistory.html Owning a games shop, McManaway sold the game directly and following customer feedback continued to change the rules and design. In 1991, the tiles were changed to plastic and two more colours were added, allowing for four-player games.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Tantrix_tiles_ryg.svg" caption="necklaces]]) with the colours red, yellow and green – on the right the triple intersections, which were taken out of the game"] ::

The tiles were (and still are) hand-painted, featuring different colours to those now used, including pink. The early form of the game featured eight "triple intersections" (tiles with three lines connecting opposite edges), but these were found to slow the game play as they only fit into three different forced spaces (compared to six for all other tiles). So, in 1993, the triple intersections were removed from the game.

Along with the multiplayer version of the game, McManaway created smaller solitaire puzzles using 10 or 12 tiles that required the player to put the tiles together to create loops of certain colours.

McManaway has also created many solitaire puzzles, including 3-D versions, match only versions (requiring players to colour match tiles within a confined space) and loop and line versions (requiring players to use all the nominated tiles to complete a loop or line in a specific colour). However many of the editions are no longer available.

The main versions sold in most countries are:

1. : A solo version, consisting of 10 tiles, where players attempt puzzles that take between 30 seconds and 45 minutes.
2. : A set of 14 tiles designed to play Tantrix Solitaire combined with expanded Tantrix Discovery puzzles.
3. : Tantrix meets sudoku. A number of pre-placed clues controls the difficulty of each puzzle.
4. : A bag with all 56 Tantrix tiles, with which players can play all editions of Tantrix. Tantrix got its first big contract in 1994 when Air France bought the game to give to children on its flights. In 2003 Tantrix was named Toy of the Year in Hungary and won the British National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries gold award in the games category.

Tileset

::data[format=table title="style="font-size:125%;" | Tantrix Tiles{{cite web |url=http://www.van-ness.com/Kurt/Serpentiles/Tantrix/TantrixTiles.htm |title=Tantrix Tiles |author=Van Ness, Kurt N. |website=van-ness.com |access-date=8 October 2017}}"]

Yellow-Red-Blue-(Green)	Yellow-Red-(Blue)-Green	(Yellow)-Red-Blue-Green	Yellow-(Red)-Blue-Green	No.	VN	Pattern	Image	No.	VN	Pattern	Image	No.	VN	Pattern	Image	No.	VN	Pattern	Image
3	003	abbcca
YRRBBY	[[File:Tantrix tile 3.svg	30px]]		23	003	abbcca
GYYRRG	[[File:Tantrix tile 23.svg	30px]]
				21	003	baaccb
YGGRRY	[[File:Tantrix tile 21.svg	30px]]
				31	021	accbab
YGGRYR	[[File:Tantrix tile 31.svg	30px]]
1	021	baacbc
RYYBRB	[[File:Tantrix tile 1.svg	30px]]	17	021	baacbc
RYYGRG	[[File:Tantrix tile 17.svg	30px]]
												52	021	bccaba
BGGYBY	[[File:Tantrix tile 52.svg	30px]]
12	021	cbbaca
BRRYBY	[[File:Tantrix tile 12.svg	30px]]	20	021	cbbaca
GRRYGY	[[File:Tantrix tile 20.svg	30px]]					56	021	cbbaca
GBBYGY	[[File:Tantrix tile 56.svg	30px]]
2	102	caacbb
BYYBRR	[[File:Tantrix tile 2.svg	30px]]	22	102	caacbb
GYYGRR	[[File:Tantrix tile 22.svg	30px]]
												44	120	abcacb
YBGYGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 44.svg	30px]]
9	120	bcabac
RBYRYB	[[File:Tantrix tile 9.svg	30px]]									50	120	bcabac
BGYBYG	[[File:Tantrix tile 50.svg	30px]]
								28	003	abbcca
RBBGGR	[[File:Tantrix tile 28.svg	30px]]
								25	003	baaccb
BRRGGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 25.svg	30px]]
11	021	abbcac
YRRBYB	[[File:Tantrix tile 11.svg	30px]]	19	021	abbcac
YRRGYG	[[File:Tantrix tile 19.svg	30px]]					55	021	abbcac
YBBGYG	[[File:Tantrix tile 55.svg	30px]]
								29	021	baacbc
BRRGBG	[[File:Tantrix tile 29.svg	30px]]	53	021	baacbc
BYYGBG	[[File:Tantrix tile 53.svg	30px]]
10	021	caabcb
BYYRBR	[[File:Tantrix tile 10.svg	30px]]	18	021	caabcb
GYYRGR	[[File:Tantrix tile 18.svg	30px]]	27	021	caabcb
GRRBGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 27.svg	30px]]	54	021	caabcb
GYYBGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 54.svg	30px]]
				16	102	abbacc
YRRYGG	[[File:Tantrix tile 16.svg	30px]]	30	102	abbacc
RBBRGG	[[File:Tantrix tile 30.svg	30px]]
5	102	bccbaa
RBBRYY	[[File:Tantrix tile 5.svg	30px]]	15	102	bccbaa
RGGRYY	[[File:Tantrix tile 15.svg	30px]]	24	102	bccbaa
BGGBRR	[[File:Tantrix tile 24.svg	30px]]	48	102	bccbaa
BGGBYY	[[File:Tantrix tile 48.svg	30px]]
								26	102	caacbb
GRRGBB	[[File:Tantrix tile 26.svg	30px]]	49	102	caacbb
GYYGBB	[[File:Tantrix tile 49.svg	30px]]
4	120	cabcba
BYRBRY	[[File:Tantrix tile 4.svg	30px]]									51	120	cabcba
GYBGBY	[[File:Tantrix tile 51.svg	30px]]
14	003	baaccb
RYYBBR	[[File:Tantrix tile 14.svg	30px]]									43	003	baaccb
BYYGGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 43.svg	30px]]
8	021	accbab
YBBRYR	[[File:Tantrix tile 8.svg	30px]]					41	021	accbab
RGGBRB	[[File:Tantrix tile 41.svg	30px]]
7	021	bccaba
RBBYRY	[[File:Tantrix tile 7.svg	30px]]
13	102	abbacc
YRRYBB	[[File:Tantrix tile 13.svg	30px]]
6	120	abcacb
YRBYBR	[[File:Tantrix tile 6.svg	30px]]					42	120	abcacb
RBGRGB	[[File:Tantrix tile 42.svg	30px]]
								40	120	bcabac
BGRBRG	[[File:Tantrix tile 40.svg	30px]]
								39	120	cabcba
GRBGBR	[[File:Tantrix tile 39.svg	30px]]
												45	003	abbcca
YBBGGY	[[File:Tantrix tile 45.svg	30px]]
								37	021	abbcac
RBBGRG	[[File:Tantrix tile 37.svg	30px]]
												46	021	accbab
YGGBYB	[[File:Tantrix tile 46.svg	30px]]
				33	021	bccaba
RGGYRY	[[File:Tantrix tile 33.svg	30px]]	36	021	bccaba
BGGRBR	[[File:Tantrix tile 36.svg	30px]]
								38	021	cbbaca
GBBRGR	[[File:Tantrix tile 38.svg	30px]]
												47	102	abbacc
YBBYGG	[[File:Tantrix tile 47.svg	30px]]
				35	120	abcacb
YRGYGR	[[File:Tantrix tile 35.svg	30px]]
				34	120	bcabac
RGYRYG	[[File:Tantrix tile 34.svg	30px]]
				32	120	cabcba
GYRGRY	[[File:Tantrix tile 32.svg	30px]]
Triple intersections removed from the set
61	300	abcabc
YRBYRB	[[File:Tantrix 061x 300 abcabc (YRBYRB).svg	25px]]		57	300	abcabc
YRGYRG	[[File:Tantrix 057x 300 abcabc (YRGYRG).svg	25px]]		63	300	abcabc
RBGRBG	[[File:Tantrix 063x 300 abcabc (RBGRBG).svg	25px]]		59	300	abcabc
YBGYBG	[[File:Tantrix 059x 300 abcabc (YBGYBG).svg	25px]]
62	300	acbacb
YBRYBR	[[File:Tantrix 062x 300 acbacb (YBRYBR).svg	25px]]	58	300	acbacb
YGRYGR	[[File:Tantrix 058x 300 acbacb (YGRYGR).svg	25px]]	64	300	acbacb
RGBRGB	[[File:Tantrix 064x 300 acbacb (RGBRGB).svg	25px]]	60	300	acbacb
YGBYGB	[[File:Tantrix 060x 300 acbacb (YGBYGB).svg	25px]]
::

Notes

References

1. From the [http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixUseful.html FAQ on tantrix.com]: So, since triple intersections only have half the chance of being "forced", they easily clog up players' hands as the game progresses. The negative consequences of this caused the removal of the triple intersection tiles from the game in 1993.
2. Law, Tina. (8 Mar 2008). "Mind game became way of life". The Press.
3. (5 Dec 2003). "Game wins award". The Nelson Mail.
4. Van Ness, Kurt N.. "Tantrix Tiles".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::