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REAL TILE PUZZLES

The Discovery

Discovery Tiles

The Discovery puzzle consists of ten hexagonal tiles, colour-coded and with numbers engraved on the back. The ten tiles create ten different puzzles. The object of the puzzle is to make loops of different colours, starting with only three tiles and adding one tile at a time with each new puzzle. As more tiles are added, the difficulty increases, making the sequence surprisingly addictive. At the same time Discovery is the perfect introduction to more advanced Tantrix challenges. Average solution times to complete the loops:

Tiles	Colour	Time	Tiles	Colour	Time

3	yellow	20 sec	8	blue	10 min
4	red	40 sec	9	yellow	15 min
5	red	1 min	10	red	18 min
6	blue	3 min	10	blue	20 min
7	red	6 min	10	yellow	25 min

The above solution times assume a first-time attempt at finding a loop. Each subsequent attempt should result in a slightly faster time. Discovery puzzles with less than ten tiles only allow for one specific colour to be solved. With all ten tiles any of the three colours has a solution - red is the easiest 10-tile loop, yellow the hardest. The Discovery can also be played online.

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The Original

The first ever Tantrix puzzle to be sold individually was called "Crazy Tantrix Original". It used ten unnumbered tiles with three different colours, any of which could be made into a loop. The Original took generally between 15 to 45 minutes to solve. Some colours were easier to solve than others. Initially the Original was the best introduction to Tantrix - these days it is superseded by the Discovery.

Numbered tiles: 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56

Your objective is to choose a colour and make a loop of that colour which passes through all 10 tiles. All the other colours must match up too and no holes are allowed. Note that a loop is a continuous line which joins itself. All three colours have multiple solutions and the average solution time per colour is about 20 minutes.

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The Super 5 Puzzles

The "Super 5" are a collection of traditional Tantrix puzzles designed as a progression from the introductory puzzles. Their level of difficulty ranges from Junior to Genius. The 56 tiles of a complete set of Tantrix are used just once for any one the Super 5 puzzles, so a set can be split up as follows:

Junior Puzzle:

This 10-tile puzzle is identical in concept to the Original, but quite a bit harder. Whereas the Original has solutions for all 3 colours, only one colour can be solved for the Junior and we are not giving away which! Additionally, four different colours are represented on the tiles, which in itself increases its difficulty.

Numbered tiles: 3, 5, 8, 12, 14, 43, 46, 50, 52, 54

Real Tiles

Student Puzzle:

The Student puzzle follows the same rules as the Original and Junior. Again only one colour has a solution and the tiles have 4 different colours. However, you will find the Student harder to solve then the previous two!

Numbered tiles: 19, 21, 24, 25, 29, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42

Professor Puzzle:

The objective of the Professor puzzle is to choose two colours and to form a loop of each colour at the same time. Each loop must use all tiles with its colour. This puzzle is significantly harder than the 10-tile puzzles of the Super 5 range.

Numbered tiles: 2, 11, 15, 17, 20, 30, 38, 39, 44, 45, 51, 56

Master Puzzle:

Another step up in difficulty and again a 12-tile puzzle. The objective: Choose a colour and form a loop using all tiles with this colour. Only one colour can be solved - but which one?

Numbered tiles: 18, 22, 23, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 47, 53, 55

Genius Puzzle:

This is by far the hardest puzzle in the range! It took the inventor 5 years to solve the Genius after designing it. The objective: Choose two colours (but not green) and form two continuous lines simultaneously. Each line must use all the tiles with its colour. There are only two solutions to this puzzle.

Numbered tiles: 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 28, 37, 48, 49

Most Tantrix puzzles have the objective of making loops, which allows for some mathematical analysis to help solving. The Genius is different and hints gained through loop analysis do not apply.

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	Pyramid Puzzles Take any six tiles from the set and form a pyramid shape with all colours matching. This puzzle is relatively easy if you choose all six tiles with the same three colours. More challenging variations use four colours and more tiles, or alternatively, form a continuous line of one colour that goes through all the tiles in the pyramid. In this case you need to select your tiles carefully.

	Zero Solution Puzzles Zero solution puzzles require a different type of thinking. The object of a zero solution puzzle is to find a way that something can't be done, like forming a pyramid or a flower. These puzzles are logically hard to solve because as soon as you are sure it can't be done, someone will do it. Pyramid (small) - Find 4 tiles that can never be connected into a 3 tile pyramid with all colours matching. Pyramid (large) - Find 7 tiles that can never be connected into a 6 tile pyramid with all colours matching. Flower - Find 7 tiles that can never be connected into a 7 tile flower with all colours matching.

More Puzzles

A complete set of Tantrix contains over 40 solitaire challenges for the puzzle enthusiast. Most puzzles use subsets of the 56 tiles which a player has to carefully select. Generally one can assume, that the more tiles a puzzle has, the harder it is. Finding a perfect solution to the "Unsolved Puzzles" is one of the hardest Tantrix challenges available, as all 56 tiles are used. For more information on which puzzles are included in the Tantrix Game Pack, please visit our product page.

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