No, Tantrix is not a colourful combination between a tantra masseur and a dominatrix, but a lot more innocent. In fact, it is a colourful combination between a puzzle and a family game, where players have to connect the coloured lines on the black tiles in the correct, appropriate way. Will you go straight for victory or will you end up in a circle?
Tantrix is a game that can be played in several ways on your own or with other players, but there are some rules and concepts that are common to all variants. You need to correctly connect the lines on the tiles against other tiles and empty spaces between tiles (‘Gobbles’, free to the sound of a turkey?) need to be filled before you can place other tiles (in most variants).
Tantrix includes a solo mode and a speed game, as well as a family game variant. You can play the puzzle variant on your own or cooperatively with other players. In the puzzle variant, you need to place the tiles correctly. The numbers on the back of the Tantrix tiles help you explain and solve the puzzle. Do you like puzzling? Then you can also add an expansion set with even more puzzles (Tantrix Match).
In the speed variant, players should play out their tiles and solve Gobbles as quickly as possible. The most substantial variant, however, is the family game. Each player has six tiles open in front of him each time, and players’ goal is to make the longest line or loop in his colour. Players place a tile at the Tantrix tableau each turn, but must first solve Gobbles that they can solve by placing tiles. By the way, players are not allowed to make certain moves if this (may) create duplicate Gobbles or holes.
Tantrix is a puzzle game that oddly enough consists largely of luck. The makers, by the way, see this as a key point: an abstract game like chess, where players do not win solely through tactics, but can turn the tide through luck. Incidentally, if there are a lot of Gobbles, it can sometimes feel like the game is partly playing itself, since you have to solve the puzzle. At least for puzzle freaks, there is plenty to Gobble.
