TwixT

Game of the Year 1979 shortlist

TwixT is a board game with strategic and tactical elements, which was invented in 1957 by the American game inventor Alex Randolph in Viennese coffee Hawes as a paper - and - pencil game. The first edition took place in 1962 by the Minnesota Mining Company 3M, today is a coveted collector's item. 3M After the games line 1976 sold to Avalon Hill, the game was then produced by Avalon Hill. Some of the strongest players live in Germany, including the multiple world champion Klaus Hussmanns. Among the most prominent TwixT friends is one of the comedian Herbert Feuerstein.

TwixT belongs to the group of the compound games and is closely related to games such as Hex, Havannah and Y. Two players try the opposite sides of a game board with a square grid together. The default is a 24 × 24 grid is used, in which the vertices are missing. A player must be from top to bottom connect, the other from right to left. If that succeeds first wins. Per train, each player places a tile in its color. Match stones of the same color that stand apart in Rösselsprung are connected by bridges. Enemy bridges can not be built. Each player may remove any number of bridges in front of his own train. In this way, the likelihood of mutual blocking and thus an undecided game output is reduced. A draw is theoretically possible, in practice but not even one percent of all consignments before.

Despite its simple rules of this game has an amazing depth of gameplay. There are currently no computer program with significant skill level.

Notation

TwixT trains are listed with train number, letters, numbers and connection identifiers. The letters denote the column numbers the ranks. L1 would be a train in the middle of the top row, A12 a train in the middle of the leftmost column and M13 a train in the middle of the game board. Caused by the train a connection to another own game piece, which is indicated by a minus sign: K12. A train sequence could therefore be something like this: 1.I11 ( white), 2.I13 ( Black ) 3 - K12, - 4.K13. If a player removes a bridge in his own train, this is indicated by the bracketed position description of the bridge before the train actually: 5 (I11 - K12) M13.

Strategy

Central to the gameplay is the opening, which comprises approximately the first seven trains. Both players must try with their start trains to control as large a part of the game board. TwixT is usually played with the so-called cake rule, ie the second player must decide whether he wants to change after the train the first player with this. The first train will therefore almost always placed at the edge of the game board in order to give the opponent in a possible exchange not to great advantage. Already 1.D3 is now considered strong opening move and traded by many experienced players.

Skill level compensation

TwixT is considered very "hard" game. A single wrong train can be much faster leading to a defeat than in most other games. For this reason it can easily lead to frustration experiences especially in TwixT beginners: You lose every match, but ultimately do not know why. Unlike some Go there is no established procedure, with the differences between various strong opponents were outweighed. One suggestion is to reduce the crossing distance for the weaker players from 24 to, for example, 22 or 20. The stronger the weaker player can also grant one or two moves ahead. But even with a default of three trains even the most experienced players should have no chance of winning more.