s i*X*O

A  Tile - laying Boardgame 

Fred Horn  25/11/2016

Introduction On SPIEL’16 in Essen I did meet Mr. Christer Ekberg from Sweden who was presenting a newly published game TREXO by Förlago AB.  The material to play the game reminded me strongly of something I did invent in the last part of the 70’s nearly forty years ago. Looking through my historic files I found the Notes for a game on a 8x8-board, using domino-like game-pieces with the symbols of ‘noughts and crosses’: an X  and an O. It was easy to see that this game (it never got a name!) with a few adapted rules could be played on the Board and with the Tiles of the TREXO-game.

Aim of the Game

• To be the Player with more “lines” with six of his symbols on a ‘line’.

Material

• Board with 10 x 10 squares
• 45 Tiles – two squares with on one square an X and on the other square an O

Start

• The Board is placed between the two Players on the Table.
• All Tiles are placed in a “Stock” next to the Board.
• One Player picks 1 Tile and place it anywhere, according to the grid, on the Board.
• The other Player choses his symbol:  X  or  O .
• The first Player do have two options: or to start play or to let his opponent start.
• When the starting Player’s Tile is West/East, than the other Player places his Tiles North/South and in reverse when the first Player does have North/South the other places West/East.

Play

• After ‘start play’, Players’  Turns alternate.
• In his Turn a Player takes a Tile from the “Stock” and places it to his wish anywhere on the Board according to his orientation (North/South or West/East).
• Players try to get 6 (exactly 6!) of their symbol on a straight ‘line’ on the Board.
• The symbols do not need to be adjacent, other symbols or open squares in between are allowed.
• If a Player makes a ‘line’ with 6 of the opponents symbols that does not count.
• When a Player has made a ‘line’ (if possible to make 2 or more -‘lines’ with 6- in the same Turn, each ‘line’ counts) with 6 of his symbols, he end his Turn by picking a Tile for each ‘line’ from the “Stock” placing it “blind” in front of him to mark his “Score”.
• When the “Stock” is empty game ends.
• Each Player counts his “Scored” Tiles. Player with the highest sum wins.
• When it is an equal sum the game ends in a Draw.