• One 8x8 playing surface
• 40 Poker chips in 5 colors (e.g. 8 red, 8 yellow, 8 green, 8 blue, 8 white)

Each player selects an "own colour."

The Play

Each player in turn (clockwise if more than 2) places one piece of any colour, on any vacant square, alongside a differently coloured piece or pieces, if any, already in play.

Object

The first straight line of four adjacent pieces with a player's colour at each end wins for that player.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do "alongside" and "adjacent" mean vertically, horizontally or diagonally? Answer: Yes, all three possibilities.

2. Must I have played all the pieces in a winning line? Answer: No. All pieces, no matter who played them, are potentially part of any payers' winning line, including the piece that completes the winning line.

3. What if more than one "winning line" is formed in the same turn? Answer: That wins for the player who completed a winning line in their colour during that turn. If completed by any other player (in a three or four player game), neither line wins and play continues.

4. Must the pieces between the end pieces in a winning line be any particular colour? Answer: No, they may be any two of the other four colours.

5. Must a winning line be only four pieces long? Answer: Not necessarily. There may be other pieces beyond either or both ends.

6. What happens when a vacant square is surrounded by pieces of all five colours? Answer: That square becomes a "dead hole" that may no longer be played to.

7. What strategies are involved in Speckles? Answer: (a) creating vacant squares that only one colour helpful to you can be played to. (b) defending line threats by creating vacant squares that prevent lines from being completed. (d) creating two winning threats in the same turn. (e) NOT setting up a win for an opponent in the process of setting up a win for yourself! (f) much more!

Player A wins with red/other/other/green. Player B wins with yellow/other/other/blue.

Speckles © copyright 2001 David Smith.