Difficulty: Medium
Players: 2–6
Age: 9+
Time: 60–90 minutes
Scoring: Yes
Style: Spatial card placement and pattern building
Before You Play
Tickle is based on Commonness between TIC cards.
For this game, you need to understand:
- Tic: Two cards have two properties in common.
- Single: Two cards have one property in common.
- Nic: Two cards have nothing in common.
Refer to the TIC Card Principles page or the back of the TIC card box for examples.
This game requires a reasonably large playing surface because the cards gradually form a shared grid.
Objective
Score the most points by placing cards into the shared layout and creating as many Tics as possible.
You can also earn bonus points by creating groups of 3, 4, or 5 cards that all Tic in the same way.
A 5-card group of this kind is called a Tickle.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and place it face-down in the centre.
Determine who goes first by any agreed method. Play moves clockwise.
Deal 6 cards to each player.
Players should begin every turn with 6 cards whenever enough cards remain in the deck.
The Shared Layout
Cards are played face-up onto the table in an expanding grid.
Keep the cards aligned in clear rows and columns so that side-to-side relationships are easy to see.
Only cards directly touching along an edge interact. Cards touching corner to corner do not interact.
A card may therefore interact with as many as 4 neighbouring cards:
- above,
- below,
- left,
- and right.
First Play
The first player must place at least 2 cards onto the empty table that Tic with each other.
Singles are not allowed on the opening play.
The cards must be placed next to each other in a straight row or column.
If the first player cannot make a valid opening play, they may draw 1 card from the deck.
If the new card creates a valid opening play, they may play it.
If not, their turn ends and the next player tries to make the opening play.
How to Play
Play moves clockwise.
On your turn, you may place 1 to 6 cards from your hand.
All cards played during the turn must be placed in a single straight:
- row, or
- column.
The new cards must connect to the existing layout.
They may:
- extend an existing row or column,
- create a new row or column perpendicular to the existing layout,
- or straddle existing cards, as long as all newly played cards remain in one straight line.
Legal Card Placement
Every newly played card must Tic with at least one adjacent card.
At every other side-to-side contact created by the play, the cards must either:
- Tic, or
- Single.
A Nic is never allowed at a side-to-side contact.
This means every touching edge created during your turn must be either a Tic or a Single.
Corner-to-corner contacts do not matter.
Playing More Than One Card
When placing several cards on the same turn, consider the full placement before scoring.
Newly played cards may interact with:
- cards already on the table,
- and other cards played during that same turn.
Each newly played card must still satisfy the legal-placement rules.
Connecting a Play to the Existing Layout
Except for the opening play, every laydown must connect to cards that were already on the table before the turn began.
At least one newly played card must Tic directly with an existing card.
A Single may be created where a new card touches an existing card, but a Single alone cannot be used to attach the entire laydown to the existing grid.
For example, if you extend the end of an existing row by 2 cards, the first new card touching the existing row must Tic with the existing card. It is not enough for that connection to be a Single while the two newly played cards Tic with each other.
If a laydown straddles existing cards and therefore creates more than one separate group of newly played cards along the same row or column, each separate group must connect to the existing layout through at least one Tic.
After this connection requirement is satisfied, all other new side-to-side contacts may be either Tics or Singles. Nics are never allowed.
If You Cannot Play
If you cannot make a legal play, draw 1 card from the face-down deck.
If the new card allows a legal play, you may play it alone or with other cards in your hand, but your play must contain the drawn card.
If you still cannot play, your turn ends.
Drawing Back Up
After completing your laydown, draw cards from the deck until you have 6 cards in your hand again.
If fewer than 6 cards remain available, draw as many as you can.
If you already have 6 or more cards, do not draw additional cards.
Scoring Tics
After every turn, score all new side-to-side interactions created by the cards you just played.
Singles
Each new Single is worth:
0 points
Singles are legal but do not score.
Tics
Each new Tic is worth:
2 points (“A Tic for two”)
Count each card-to-card interface only once.
For example, if one newly played card Tics with three adjacent cards, that creates:
3 Tics = 6 points
Groups Ticking in the Same Way
You can earn additional points when 3 or more touching cards all Tic in the same way.
This means every card in the group shares the same two properties.
For example, a group might consist entirely of cards that are:
- orange and stars,
- number 4 and cyan,
- or triangles and number 2.
The remaining third property may vary.
The cards in the group must all be connected side-to-side.
They may form shapes such as:
- a straight line,
- an L,
- a T,
- or a cross.
Diagonal contact alone does not connect a group.
Same-Tic Group Bonuses
After scoring the individual Tics created on your turn, add any applicable same-Tic group bonus.
3-Card Same-Tic Group
A group of 3 connected cards all sharing the same two properties earns:
+3 points
4-Card Same-Tic Group
A group of 4 connected cards all sharing the same two properties earns:
+4 points
5-Card Tickle
A group of 5 connected cards all sharing the same two properties is called a:
Tickle
A Tickle earns:
+10 points
These bonus points are added to the points already earned from the individual Tic contacts.
If an existing same-Tic group is enlarged on a later turn, score the bonus for its new size; do not also rescore its previous size.
Scoring a Tickle
A Tickle does not replace the normal Tic scoring.
First count all new Tic interfaces created by your play.
Then add the Tickle bonus.
For example, if your play creates 4 new Tic interfaces and also completes a 5-card Tickle:
4 Tics × 2 points = 8 points
Tickle bonus = 10 points
Total = 18 points
Completing More Than One Group
If a single play creates more than one distinct Tic group, score each qualifying group separately.
However, for any one same-Tic combination, score only the largest connected qualifying group created or enlarged by the play. Do not also score smaller groups contained within that same group. If the play creates distinct groups based on different pairs of shared properties, each may score separately.
Do not count the same exact group more than once.
Each individual card-to-card Tic interface is also scored only once.
Six-Card Bonus
If you successfully play all 6 cards from your hand on one turn, earn an additional:
+6 points
After scoring, draw back up to 6 cards if enough cards remain.
Extreme Card Bonus
The two Extreme TIC cards earn bonus points when they are part of a scoring same-Tic group:
- 1-circle-violet: +5 points
- 5-star-red: +10 points
Add the Extreme Card bonus to the normal points earned by that group.
An Extreme Card bonus is awarded once for each qualifying group containing that card.
Ending the Game
Continue playing until the face-down deck has been exhausted.
After the deck is empty, continue playing from the cards remaining in players’ hands.
The game begins its final stage when the first player:
- plays all remaining cards from their hand, or
- reaches their turn and cannot make a legal play.
Complete the current round of turns so that every player has had an equal number of turns. The game then ends.
Cards Remaining in Hand
Any cards still held at the end of the game count against the player.
For each remaining card subtract 5 points from the player’s total score.
For example, if you are still holding 3 cards at the end of the game
-5 x 3 = -15 points
Winning
Add each player’s scoring points and subtract any end-of-game card penalties.
The player with the highest final score wins.
Shorter Game
For a shorter game, either:
- use only part of the TIC deck by setting aside 1/3rd or half of the deck, or
- play until someone reaches a predetermined score, such as 100 points.
If playing to a target score, finish the current round of turns so that every player has had an equal number of turns before determining the winner.
Strategy Tips
Look for Multi-Tic Placements
A single card can potentially Tic with several neighbouring cards at once.
Placements that touch multiple cards can score much more than simply extending a line.
Build Toward a Tickle
Watch for groups where several cards already share the same two properties.
Adding one well-placed card may turn a 3-card or 4-card group into a valuable Tickle.
Singles Can Still Be Useful
Singles do not score, but they can help connect areas of the layout and create access to better scoring opportunities later.
Avoid Creating Easy Opportunities
A placement that scores well for you may also create an obvious location where the next player can complete a Tickle.
Look at the whole layout before committing to a move.
