END OF THE GAME

A two-player strategic game designed by
Néstor Romeral Andrés andJosé Manuel Astilleros García-Monge
Abstrakto is a game of territorial occupation in which players try
to claim territory on the board by closing off empty areas withthree different types of tiles (“Solid”, “Line”, and “Cross”)
according to simple placement rules. A closed area is conqueredby the player with most tiles surrounding it.

The game ends when tiles run out or no more placements arepossible. If there are no legal placements for your remainingtiles, you must pass your turn. However, you cannot pass if
you are able to play a tile.
At the end of the game, count who controls more uncovered
areas of the board. Each area is bounded by tiles and/or edgesof the board. To determine who controls an area, count eachplayer’s tiles bounding the area (i.e. orthogonally adjacent to it;
diagonals don’t count). Whoever has more tiles bounding thearea controls it, and places one of their scoring markers in thearea. If it’s a tie, place a grey scoring marker, instead.
Whichever player controls more areas (has placed more oftheir scoring markers) wins! If it is a tie, then the player whocontrols the “main area” (the controlled area bounded by themost tiles) wins. If this, too, is a tie, play again!

The tiles: the “Solid”, the “Line”, and the “Cross”

COMPONENTS⁃⁃⁃⁃

Note: To facilitate scoring, you might wish to place scoringmarkers as you play; as soon as an area is clearly “complete”,
place the appropriate scoring marker2.

A 7 × 7 square board
18 blue tiles (6 of each type)18 orange tiles (6 of each type)30 scoring markers (10 blue and 10 orange and 10 grey)

PREPARATIONThe board is initially empty. One player plays as blue; the other,as orange. Each player selects 15 of their tiles to play with, anddiscards the other 3, which cannot be used in the game1.
PLAY
Randomly determine the starting player. Then, players taketurns placing one of their tiles on the board according to thisplacement rule: The entire tile must be placed on the board insuch a way that its lines perfectly overlap the grid of the board;i.e. the board serves as a template for the tiles. This means that:•“Solid” tiles can only be placed inside the board cells.

•“Line” tiles can only be placed centered on the edges ofthe board cells, including the edge of the board.

•“Cross” tiles can only be placed on the lines’
intersections, excluding the edge and the corner of theboard (in those places, the tile’s lines would extend
beyond the underlying gridlines of the cell borders).

Endgame example: Blue and Orange control 6 areas each; a tie.
However, Blue controls the “main” area (indicated by the black arrow),which is bounded by 8 tiles. Blue wins. Note that 2 areas haveremained unclaimed (grey markers).

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS••••
Examples of legal (left) and illegal (right) tile placements.

1 - You can either discard them randomly, or secretly (you’d need a screen tohide your tiles, then), or agree on which ones to discard.

At the beginning, place your tiles somewhat sparsely, instrategic places (corners and sides). Avoid concentrating
too many tiles in a single area.
Tiles lose “potential” when placed next to each other.
Avoid placing your tiles together as much as possible.
Try to diversify the types of tiles you are placing: Do notplace the same type of piece many turns in a row.
Always keep in mind the flexibility of the tiles when placingthem. The “Line” tiles are very flexible: On an empty board,
it is possible to place a “Line” tile in 112 different positions(any of the cell borders). A "Solid" tile can be placed in 49
different positions (the squares on the board) on an emptyboard; and a "Cross" tile, in only 36.

2 - Note: Wait to score an area until no further tiles can be played to affect it.

Game design and rules by Néstor Romeral Andrés and José Manuel Astilleros García-Monge.
Rulebook © 2020 Néstor Romeral Andrés and José Manuel Astilleros García-Monge. Edited by Nathan Morse.