Thoughtwave Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Playing the Game
• Illegal Moves
• Victory
• Tactical Notes

Setup

Each player takes 24 pieces: one player takes the red pieces, the other takes the black pieces.

Each player's 24 pieces come in five types:

• 2 Crosses
• 6 Junctions
• 10 Curves
• 5 Straights
• 1 Termination

Pieces with two or more ends can be connected to several other pieces. Each player also has one piece that has only one edge (the Termination). Only one other piece may be connected to it.

One player must connect two opposite sides of the board, and the other must connect the other two sides. The players agree beforehand which sides each must reach. The Red player starts.

Playing the Game

Players take turns placing one piece on an empty square of the board.

Once placed, a piece can be used by either player. It may even serve both players' lines of thought at the same time.

A piece may be placed anywhere on the board. You are not obliged to touch a piece that is already placed. However, if you place a piece in contact with one or more other pieces, the edges of the pieces must match: white edges must touch white edges, and edges with a wave must connect to a wave.

Illegal Moves

A piece, once placed, may not be moved, unless it is discovered that it was placed illegally (for example, a white edge of a piece touching a thoughtwave of another piece). In that case the piece is removed from the game and returned to the box. The player who placed the illegal piece immediately loses their turn.

Victory

The first player to create a thoughtwave that connects their two opposite sides of the board wins the game. The wave must reach precisely the outer edges of the two opposite sides of the board. The ends do not need to line up exactly opposite one another.

If a player's last piece connects all four sides, thereby completing the waves of both players at once, the victory nevertheless belongs to the player who has just placed the decisive piece.

Tactical Notes

Since each player has one termination piece, a player who builds too simple a wave will see their fate quickly sealed. It is wiser to trace alternative routes, clearly distinct from one another, so as to keep several options open.

For this purpose, pieces with three or four connected sides become more and more useful as the game progresses.

Likewise, the white edges of the pieces are just as important as the edges carrying a wave, particularly in the defensive game.

Another thing to remember is that the player who moves first has a slight advantage (as in Chess and Checkers, for example). The second player must, at the start, mainly defend, to slow the progress of the opponent, if they want to keep a reasonable chance of success.

Several games may be needed before players understand the tactical and strategic possibilities of Thoughtwave. It is by playing regularly that they will improve.