Using the tiles, the players try to build a system of water channels from one end of the board to the other, with as many
outflows as possible at both ends. At the same time, the players try to block each others’ channels.
For: 2 to 4 players, age 7+.
1 board (consisting of two separate halves)
84 tiles showing “water channels”
1 bag
instructions
Each tile shows, in white lines, a length of water channel with branches off it. Each tile has three outflows, sometimes on
three different sides of the tile, sometimes on two sides and sometimes three outflows on one side of the tile. There are
28 different tiles in total and each occurs three times. (see fig. 1)
Click the two halves of the board together (see fig. 8).
This game is played in opposite directions: one player plays north-south, the other east-west. It’s therefore a good idea
for the players to sit at the corner of the table so that each of them is facing his own direction of play. (see fig. 2)
Mix up all the tiles and put them in the bag.
The youngest player starts. Without looking, he/she takes any tile out of the bag and places it on the board so that part of
the tile is in the outlined centre of the board. It is then the next (clockwise) player’s turn.
The second player takes a tile out of the bag and places it against the first tile. An outflow from this tile must connect
with an outflow from the tile already on the board. A tile must not be laid so that one of its outflows is against the side of
another tile where there is no outflow. (see fig. 3)
You must always try to lay your tiles so that the number of outflows from the water channel system against your own
board ends is greater than your opponent’s (see: Calculating the score). It is therefore sometimes a better strategy not to
extend the lines in your own direction but to bend them towards your opponent’s board ends. (see fig. 4)
The game continues in a clockwise direction. Each player in turn lays one tile, always up against one of the tiles already
on the board. (see fig. 3)
N.B. A tile must never be laid so that one of its outflows is against the side of another tile where there is no outflow.
The game ends when there are no more tiles or if the last tile drawn cannot be placed anywhere and the other player
agrees that that is so. The player with the highest score wins.
At the end of the game each player’s score is calculated as follows:
Count the number of outflows that are wholly adjacent to the end of the board on one side – 1 point for each outflow
– and multiply this by the number of outflows at the other end of the board. For example: player A has 4 points at one
end and 5 at the other, so his/her score is 4 x 5 = 20; the other party (player B) has 6 and 3 and that makes a score of 3
x 6 = 18. So player A has won. (see fig. 5)
It is therefore important that you get outflows at both ends of the board, as if you have a lot at one end but none at the
other you will score nothing and have no points!
N.B. Outflows that do not touch the end do not count!
Four points are marked at the ends of the board. Outflows here count double! So a good strategy here is to try to get
outflows here yourself and – conversely – to prevent your opponent getting outflows and scoring at those points.
If, in the above example, player A had one outflow at a special point, his/her score will then be: (5+1) x (4) = 24. With an
outflow at a special point at both ends of the board his/her score will be even higher: (5+1) x (4+1) = 30! (see fig. 6)
Follow the rules for two players with the following addition:
The players sit at the four sides of the board; north-south is one team and east-west the other. Playing clockwise, each
player lays a tile as described above.
(We recommend that you only try this variant once you have familiarised yourself with the game for two or four players.)
Follow the rules for two players with the following addition:
The first player plays north-south, the second east-west and the third……. is the saboteur!
The players agree a maximum score, for example 24. The players take turns (clockwise) to move while the saboteur
tries to thwart the others so that neither of them achieves the agreed score. In that case the saboteur is the winner,
otherwise the player with the higher score wins.
The saboteur’s role can also be assigned by auction. The first player specifies the score for which he is willing to take the
role of saboteur, for example 28. If the second player thinks he can prevent a score of 25 being achieved, he bids that
figure. The third player bids an even lower score or matches the previous score, and so on until two of the players have
bid the same. The saboteur wins if neither of the other players achieves the last score bid, otherwise the player with the
higher score wins.
All the tiles are taken out of the bag, placed upside down on the table and shuffled. The players can choose from them
freely. Some tiles have an engraved ring on the bottom, others do not. Tiles with a ring have outflows on three different
sides (see fig. 7), the others have an outflow on two sides or one. Depending on the situation, it can be advantageous to
choose a tile of one kind or the other.
RULES OF PLAY
