カードツイクスト (Card Twixt)
カードツイクスト (Card Twixt) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Card Twixt is a variant rules set for TwixT built around playing with cards. It is intended mainly as a practice aid for learning TwixT.
Card Twixt is meant to help beginners learn the common shapes used in TwixT (the basic forms), and to practise finding places to link within a restricted set of shapes. It is also meant to let a stronger player face a weaker one with less of a skill gap.
How to Play Card Twixt
Basically, play is the same as ordinary TwixT. There are some differences.
On your turn, draw a card, place your peg according to that card, bridge a link with it, and end your turn.
Starting the Game and When a Card Cannot Be Applied
The pie rule does not apply. Decide who moves first by any suitable means and start the game.
Even at the start, on every turn you always draw a card and use it to decide where to place your peg.
Not only at the start: whenever there is no peg or link on the board that a card can be applied to, you may place your peg freely on the board.
* In other words, the first player's first move is made by drawing a card and then placing the peg freely. For the second player's first move, a blue card (a card based on the opponent's peg) is applied to the first player's peg; with any other card, place the peg freely. Also, if the Bridge-Removal card (橋はずし) is drawn while no links are on the board, the peg may likewise be placed freely on the board.
Differences in Linking
Basically, you may only make links to the peg you placed on that turn. The difference from ordinary TwixT is that a link in a knight's-move shape (ケイマ) may be made even on a later turn.
As in ordinary TwixT, the rule that lets you remove your own link during your turn is kept. However, a link you removed yourself cannot be made again on a different turn.
Cards
There are three kinds of card: cards based on your own peg, cards based on your opponent's peg, and the Bridge-Removal card.
Cards Based on Your Own Peg
For a card based on your own peg, use your own peg as the reference point.
Use the diagram on the card as a guide for where to place the peg. You may change the direction freely. For example, from a single peg, the knight's-move card (ケイマ) has 8 possible placements, and the Beam card (三間ビラキ) has 4.
If there is no peg to use as the reference point, you may place a peg freely.
Cards Based on Your Opponent's Peg
For a card based on your opponent's peg, use your opponent's peg as the reference point.
Use the diagram on the card as a guide for where to place the peg. As with cards based on your own peg, the direction may be changed freely. Try to get in your opponent's way by basing your placement on their pegs.
If there is no peg to use as the reference point, you may place a peg freely.
The Bridge-Removal Card
The Bridge-Removal card (橋はずし) is a special card. When you draw it, you do nothing else: the opponent removes one of the links that the player who drew the card has bridged. Then the turn passes to the opponent. In other words, the drawing player loses a link and also loses their turn.
A position from which a link has been removed cannot be bridged again during the game.
If there is no link to use as the reference point, you may place a peg freely.
Running Out of Cards
When the cards run out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile.
Ending the Game
The first player to bridge a link across to the opposite shore wins.
Because of the Bridge-Removal card, a Card Twixt game can turn around until the very end, so do not resign; keep playing to the finish.
Optional Rule: Handicap Between Players of Different Strength
This rule may be adopted when players of different strength play each other.
* If a weaker player draws the Bridge-Removal card, discard it, draw a new card, and use that new card as the card for this turn. Basically, the Bridge-Removal card is not applied to a weaker player.
If a stronger player draws the Bridge-Removal card, apply its effect normally.
Card List
Card faces are labelled with the card name (Japanese name, with the English name in brackets where one exists), the total number of cards of that type, and the reference-point text: "based on your own peg" (自ペグを基点とし) or "based on opponent's peg" (相手ペグを基点で), followed by "the direction is chosen by you" (方向は自ら選びます). On the cards, cards based on your own peg are printed in red and cards based on your opponent's peg in blue.
Basic Forms (4 copies each, based on your own peg)
- Tilt (ナナメ二間): 4 cards.
- Short (コスミ): 4 cards.
- Mesh (一間ビラキ): 4 cards.
- Beam (三間ビラキ): 4 cards.
- Coign (オオゲイマ): 4 cards.
Tilt and Short are symmetrical to each other (対象の関係). Mesh and Beam are symmetrical to each other. Coign's symmetrical counterpart is itself, so there is no other basic form for it.
Knight's Move and Special Cards
- Knight's Move (ケイマ / 桂馬): 8 cards, based on your own peg.
- Zeus (ゼウス): 2 cards, based on your opponent's peg.
- Poseidon (ポセイドン): 2 cards, based on your opponent's peg.
- Apollon (アポロン): 5 cards, based on your opponent's peg.
- Bridge-Removal (橋はずし): 3 cards. Special card; see "The Bridge-Removal Card" above.
Total: 40 cards (20 basic forms, 8 Knight's Move, 2 Zeus, 2 Poseidon, 5 Apollon, 3 Bridge-Removal).
Card Notes
Card Twixt was created to help beginners learn the basic forms commonly used in TwixT. Some points that may be hard to follow are explained here.
Card Anatomy
- Card name: the name of the card. If there is a Japanese name, the English name is printed alongside it.
- Diagram: a guide shape showing the positional relationship in simple form. Because it is only a guide, it does not restrict direction (see "Simplified Diagrams" below).
- Card count: the total number of cards of that kind. For basic forms, this is printed as 4.
- Reference-point text: for cards based on your own peg, the text is printed in red; for cards based on your opponent's peg, it is printed in blue, with explanatory text.
The Basic Forms
The key property of a basic form is that placing one peg connects two pegs at once, which is powerful. Moreover, the place to make the second link always exists in two positions, so it cannot be blocked easily. It is important that you can use this form yourself, and that you can spot it when your opponent uses it. Once you can do both, you have learned the technique of the basic forms.
- Tilt (ナナメ二間) and Short (コスミ) are symmetrical to each other.
- Mesh (一間ビラキ) and Beam (三間ビラキ) are symmetrical to each other.
- Coign (オオゲイマ) is symmetrical to itself; there is no other basic form for it.
Simplified Diagrams
Card diagrams are simplified. In practice, you may also place a peg in a positional relationship that is rotated, or in one that is mirrored.
Making the Cards
Print the cards on a printer and cut them out. Either mount them on card stock, or put playing cards into card sleeves and use those as the cards.
The rulebook's closing feedback and contact paragraph is omitted here as it is not part of the rules.