Trax

Review by Bill Sefton

Excalibre Games, Inc.
PO. Box 32407, Fridley, MN 55432
Released 1981
Price: $8.00
Complexity: Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: Fair

Trax claims to be "the most intriguing game you'll ever play." It's not. It is, however, an imaginative and diverting head- to-head strategy game. There is no board; the game consists entirely of 64 identical, twosided tiles. One side of the tile is a straight black track intersecting a straight white track. The flip side has nonintersecting black and white curved tracks.

Play is rapid with opponents alternately placing tiles in an attempt to complete a loop or a line in their own color. The game features "Forced Plays" (the analog of a multijump, in checkers) which allow placement of several tiles in one turn. This adds a dimension of suspense to even the most innocent of moves, and often reverses the roles of aggressor and defender.

Trax has a number of strong points to recommend it. The rules are well written, and easily absorbed in 10 minutes time (a welcome change from the novelettes that are in vogue today). A game that goes the maximum of 64 tiles occupies an area of less than a square foot, making desk top play possible. The tiles are made of jigsaw style cardboard that appears strong enough to withstand anything but an unsupervised preschooler. And, a game in progress forms an eye-pleasing pattern of near loops and unconnected lines.

Is there a fly in the ointment? Well, perhaps not a whole fly, but certainly a wing and a couple of legs. My major complaint with Trax is that well matched opponents could find themselves playing to a draw as often as not. The objective in Trax is to form a loop (any track that closes on itself) or a line (any track that connects the opposite edges of the full sized playing area) in your own color. it is difficult to conceal Your intentions and fairly easy for your opponent to defuse your threats.

What's more, a full length game of 64 tiles usually takes no more than 40 moves- that doesn't give you much time to et sneaky!

On balance, Trax is a good game and well worth the price they charge for it. its short set-up and playing time make it a candidate for lunch time entertainment. Players that enjoy abstract strategy and can stand to occasionally have neither the thrill of victory nor the agony of defeat will find Trax a welcome addition to their collection.

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