Difficulty: Hard (but easy to learn)
Players: 1–6
Age: 12+
Time: About 20 minutes
Scoring: No
Style: Pattern spotting / set collecting
Please refer to Learn TIC to understand Tics, Singles and Nics.
Objective
Be the first player to collect all nine different sets listed below.
Players build a large face-up grid of cards and race to spot groups of 3, 4 or 5 cards that Tic, Single or Nic.
Each player needs to collect:
- 3 cards that Single
- 3 cards that Nic
- 3 cards that Tic
- 4 cards that Single
- 4 cards that Nic
- 4 cards that Tic
- 5 cards that Single
- 5 cards that Nic
- 5 cards that Tic
The first player to collect all nine sets wins.
Setup
Shuffle the entire TIC deck and divide the cards as evenly as possible among the players.
Each player keeps their stack face-down in front of them. Players may not look through or rearrange their stacks.
Leave plenty of open table space in the middle for the growing card grid.
Play
Players take turns placing the top card of their face-down stack face-up onto the table.
Place each new card beside the existing cards so that the table gradually forms a loose grid. The exact shape of the grid does not matter.
As soon as any player spots a valid set they still need, they may call it out:
“Tic!”, “Single!”, or “Nic!”
The player then points out the cards in the set. If the set is correct, they collect those cards and place them face-up in front of themselves as one of their completed sets.
Players may spot and call a set at any time, not only on their own turn.
The cards in a claimed set do not need to touch each other. They may be scattered anywhere throughout the face-up grid.
What Makes a Valid Group?
Every card in a claimed group must belong to the same relationship.
Tic Group
In a Tic group, every card shares the same two properties, while the third property is different.
For example, five cards could all have the number 3 and the colour orange, while having five different shapes.
Single Group
In a Single set, every card shares the same one property, while the other two properties must be different from card to card.
For example, five cards could all be orange, provided that no two of those cards also share a number or shape.
This is important because a Single set must be pure. If two cards within the proposed set also share a second property, those two cards Tic and the group is not a valid Single set.
Nic Group
In a Nic set, every card must Nic with every other card in the set. In other words, no two cards may share a number, shape or colour.
For example, in a 5-card Nic:
- there will be one card with each number: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5;
- there will be one card with each shape: circle, crescent, triangle, square and star; and
- there will be one card with each colour: violet, cyan, yellow, orange and red.
No number, shape or colour can appear twice.
This makes a 5-card Nic particularly challenging to spot.
Simultaneous Calls
If two or more players call out sets at nearly the same time, the group decides who called first.
That player claims their set first. The next player may then attempt to claim their set from whatever cards remain, followed by any other players who also called out.
If removing the first player’s cards breaks another player’s proposed set, that later claim is no longer valid.
Keeping the Game Moving
Early in the game, sets are usually easier to spot. Later, finding the remaining 4-card and especially 5-card sets can become much harder.
When it is your turn to add a card, you may either play immediately or spend some time studying the grid first.
However, after two minutes, any other player may call “Card!”, at which point you must add the top card from your stack.
For casual play, simply use the honour system. For stricter play, use a stopwatch or two-minute sand timer.
Keeping the Game Moving Alternative
Instead of having players alternate adding individual cards to the grid, any player can add a card whenever they want, as long as it is centrally placed for all players to see. This prevents the better players from being stuck with a grid that does not have a group to collect, yet still allows other players to focus on the grid.
Winning
The first player to complete all nine required sets wins immediately.
Competitive Rule: Incorrect Calls
For a tougher and more competitive game, use a penalty for incorrect calls.
If a player calls Tic, Single or Nic but cannot show a valid set, they must surrender one of the sets they have already collected.
The player must give up their largest available set:
- If they have a 5-card set, they must give up a 5-card set.
- If they have no 5-card sets but have a 4-card set, they must give up a 4-card set.
- They may give up a 3-card set only if they have no collected 4-card or 5-card sets.
If there is more than one set of the required size available, the penalized player may choose which one to surrender.
The surrendered cards are distributed as evenly as possible among the bottoms of the opponents’ face-down stacks.
If the player has not yet collected any sets, there is no additional penalty.
This rule discourages players from simply shouting out possibilities without first being reasonably sure they have spotted a valid set.
Variation: SpoTic for Points
Instead of trying to complete all nine different sets, continue playing until the cards available for play are exhausted.
Players may collect as many valid sets as they can.
Score each collected set as follows:
- 3-card set: 1 point
- 4-card set: 3 points
- 5-card set: 10 points
Extreme Card Bonus
Collected sets containing an Extreme TIC card earn an additional bonus:
- 1-circle-violet: +1 point
- 5-star-red: +2 points
Add the Extreme Card bonus to the normal value of the collected set.
Each Extreme Card bonus is scored once for the set containing it.
The player with the most points wins.
