PolyPlots is an abstract strategic math game and brainteaser for 1-4 players, aged 5+. Using 13-sided tiles called polykites, players align and connect tiles to claim triangular plots with coins matching simple math outcomes. Reinforces simple math and combines with pattern recognition.
Two Versions:
Full game or just the brainteasers. Also available is PolyDots in a seperate listing.
COMPONENTS
• 40 polykite tiles with game (20 as brainteaser)
• 80 coins
• 2 dice.
GOAL:
Score the highest points by claiming tiles.
SETUP:
1. Shuffle the tiles and place face down between the players.
2. Give each player 20 coins of the same colour.
3. Each player takes one tile and places it face up beside themselves.
4. Place a random starter tile between the players.
GAME PLAY:
Playing in turns, a player connects a tile to an existing tile attempting to form a triangle of any one color.
If a triangle is made, the player can claim any triangle with a coin. This is accomplished by rolling the dice and forming an equation. The equation dictates which coin to place. A coin can be placed on a triangle already claimed by another player only if the equation is higher than the value of the coin already in place.
Equations (Outcomes):
Upon rolling the dice, a player chooses the outcome of a mathematical equation from the two numbers. Only 20 outcomes are possible between 1-36. The outcome or solution is from addition, subtraction, multiplication or division of the two numbers. For example, rolling 3 and 5 can yield 2, 8 or 15 from subtraction, addition or multiplication of the two numbers.
WINNING:
Score as follows:
Each player gets ten points for every complete triangle of their color.
Total up the visible (top) coins of their color to include in the final score per player.
The player with the highest total wins. In case of a tie, the youngest player wins.
SOLO GAME PLAY:
This mode requires you to solve the brainteaser by perfectly aligning as many triangles as you can. The perfect solution uses all tiles.
POLYKITE BACKGROUND:
Polykites were the miracle mathematical shape discovered in 2023. These 13-sided polygons allow a pattern to be formed that never repeats.
In the math world, this kite- or hat-like shape is known as an "aperiodic monotile", also called an "einstein" (or the German phrase for "one stone").
Slotted together, it's impossible to find a matching arrangement or orientation.
On March 20, 2023, a group of computer scientists (David Smith, Joseph Samuel Myers, Craig Kaplan and Chaim Goodman-Strauss) revealed their discovery nicknamed the "hat polykite”.
Copyright © 2024 Knowledge Probe Inc dba Brainy Game
Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_problem#The_Hat
Please note: Lasercut tiles may have a slight charcoal smell caused by the cutting process which actually burns through the wood. This dissipates after a few days when unbagged.
APERIODIC EXPLANATION:
An aperiodic monotile never repeats a formation, no matter how long the pattern.
These represent the miracle shape that disrupts order, invented by mathematicians, a new ‘Einstein’ shape. Discovered in 2022 and now called ‘the hat’, the 13-sided shape can be arranged in a tile formation such that it never forms a repeating grid. It was a breakthrough discovery in mathematics, a single shape that can cover an entire plane to infinity without any repeating pattern. Finally after over fifty years it exists and game now be used for games with pieces that connect endlessly. Don't misconnect them in "wrong" ways because there will be gaps that can't be filled.
