Tic Squared
Difficulty: Medium
Players: 2–4
Age: 10+
Time: 10–40 minutes
Scoring: No
Style: Shedding / pattern-building
Note: You will need a large playing surface.
Before playing, make sure everyone understands TIC card Commonness: a Single means two cards have one property in common, a Tic means they have two properties in common, and a Nic means they have nothing in common.
Objective
There are two ways to win:
- Be the first player to legally play all the cards in your hand; or
- If the draw deck is exhausted before anyone goes out, finish with the largest adjusted grid.
Your adjusted grid size is:
Number of cards in your grid − number of cards left in your hand
Setup
Tic Squared usually ends when somebody plays all their cards, so using only part of the deck gives the second winning condition a better chance of occurring.
As a starting point, use approximately:
- 2 players: one-third of the deck
- 3 players: one-half of the deck
- 4 players: two-thirds of the deck
Randomly set aside the unused cards.
Deal 12 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face-down in the centre as the draw deck.
Each player chooses 1 card from their hand and places it face-up in front of them. This is the first card of their personal grid.
Everyone places their starting card at the same time. Players therefore begin normal play with 11 cards in hand. Choose a starting player by any agreed method. Play then moves clockwise.
Building the Grids
Each player has their own growing grid, but players may also add cards to opponents’ grids.
All grids are built according to the same square-building rules.
Growing a Grid
A grid must always grow toward becoming a square.
If a grid is already square—for example:
2 × 2, 3 × 3, 4 × 4
—you may begin a new row or column on any side.
Once you begin that new row or column, it must be completed before another new row or column can be started on that grid.
For example:
If a grid is 3 rows high and 4 columns wide, the next cards added to that grid must complete a fourth row, either along the top or bottom.
Once the grid reaches 4 × 4, a new row or column may again be started on any side.
No Gaps
The first card of a new row or column may be placed anywhere along that row or column. After that, every additional card placed in the same row or column must connect to the growing line of cards. You may not create isolated cards or gaps within a row or column that has already been started.
Legal Card Placement
A played card will normally touch one or two existing cards edge-to-edge. Every edge-to-edge interaction created by the new card must be either:
- a Single, or
- a Tic.
Nics are not allowed.
Corner-to-corner contact does not matter.
Where You May Play During Your Turn
During a turn, you may play cards on:
- your own grid, and
- one opponent’s grid.
On your turn, you may play on your own grid and on one opponent’s grid. You may move back and forth between those two grids as often as you like during the turn, as long as every play is legal. You may not play on more than one opponent’s grid during the same turn.
With two players, this simply means you may play on either or both grids during your turn.
What Happens When You Play
Singles Only
If your play creates only a Single or multiple Singles, your turn ends.
One Tic
If your card creates 1 Tic, you may play again.
Two Tics
If your card creates 2 Tics at the same time, you may play again. In addition, every opponent must draw cards equal to the number shown on the card you just played.
For example: If you play a card showing 4 and it creates two Tics, every opponent draws 4 cards. If there are not enough cards remaining in the draw deck, opponents draw as many cards as are available.
You may continue your turn as long as you keep creating Tics.
If You Cannot Play or Choose not to Play
If you cannot make a legal play, or choose not to make a legal play even though you have a card that works, you may draw 1 card from the deck.
If that card can be legally played and you want to continue your turn, you must play the card you just drew. You may not draw a card and then use that draw as an opportunity to play a different card that was already in your hand.
After playing the drawn card:
- Singles end your turn.
- A Tic lets you continue.
- Two Tics let you continue and trigger the normal opponent draw penalty.
If the drawn card cannot be played, keep it and your turn ends.
Going Out
The first player to legally play all the cards in their hand wins immediately.
However, you may not go out by beginning your turn and playing only a Single or Singles.
Your final card must either:
- create a Tic,
- create two Tics, or
- create a Single after you have already played at least one Tic during that same turn.
In other words, you cannot win by playing one final card that only Singles and then ending your turn.
If the Deck Runs Out
If nobody has gone out when the draw deck is exhausted, finish the current turn and determine the winner by adjusted grid size.
For each player:
Cards in their grid − cards remaining in their hand = final total
Example:
A player has 15 cards in their grid and 3 cards remaining in hand:
15 − 3 = 12
The player with the highest final total wins.
Cards that other players placed into your grid count as part of your grid.
Variation: Tic Squared Race
For a much faster and more chaotic game, remove turns entirely.
All players play simultaneously.
Players may add cards to any legal grid while trying to get rid of their cards and grow their own grid as much as possible.
All normal grid-building rules still apply:
- grids must grow toward squares,
- unfinished rows or columns must be completed before starting another,
- gaps are not allowed,
- and Nics are not allowed.
The first player to legally play all their cards wins.
If the deck is exhausted before anyone goes out, use the normal adjusted-grid calculation to determine the winner.
