TwixT

TwixT is a two-player strategy board game from the 1960s, part of the early 3M bookshelf game line. It became one of the most popular and long-lasting titles in that series. The game is a connection game: players take turns placing pegs and links on a pegboard, trying to connect their opposite sides.

The game was invented as a paper-and-pencil game in 1957 by designer Alex Randolph. In 1961, when Randolph and Sid Sackson were hired by 3M to start a games division, TwixT was released as a board game—one of the first in the 3M bookshelf series. Avalon Hill took over publication in 1976 after 3M sold its game division. Hasbro acquired Avalon Hill’s parent company in 1998, and the game was discontinued. It is no longer produced in the United States, but a series of German companies have manufactured it under license from Avalon since the 1970s. TwixT was shortlisted for the first Spiel des Jahres award in 1979 and was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design’s Hall of Fame, alongside Randolph, in 2011.

The board is a 24×24 grid of holes, minus the four corner holes. Pieces include pegs, which fit into the holes, and links, which fit into the tops of pegs to connect them. In the 3M edition, players are Red and Black; other editions may use different colors. The top and bottom rows belong to the lighter color; the left and right rows to the darker color. Players alternate placing one peg per turn, with the lighter color moving first. A peg cannot be placed on an opponent’s border rows. To counter first-move advantage, the pie rule is suggested: after the first peg is placed, the second player may swap sides. If the second player does not swap immediately, sides cannot be swapped later. Randolph added this rule after 3M published the game; it appears in the Schmidt Spiele edition and all later editions.

After placing a peg, a player may link one or more pairs of their own pegs. Links can only connect pegs that are a knight’s move apart, and they cannot cross another link—they block other links, especially the opponent’s. A player may remove their own links (but not the opponent’s) to rearrange them. A pencil-and-paper variant allows a player’s links to cross each other. The goal is to form a continuous chain of linked pegs connecting the player’s border rows. If neither player can do this, the game is a draw.

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