As a teacher, game lover, and thrift store junkie, I am frequently bringing games into my classroom, sometimes for educational purposes, sometimes just for fun. In the last few weeks, one of these games has caught on like no other, drawing daily pleas during homeroom of "just one more game!" and spawning a double elimination tournament. The game is called Square Off. It was produced in 1972 by Parker Brothers.
Square Off is a two player game of speed, pattern finding and path building. The set up is as follows. Each player's half of the game board consists of 24 plastic squares in a 5 x 5 grid. The extra space allows the square pieces to be rearranged, one at a time, by sliding them around, just like the little hand held puzzles in which you try to get the numbers, books of the bible, or advertising slogan arranged in the right order. (There are instructions for a solitaire puzzle, but I can't imagine that that would be as fun as the regular two player game.) Each of the 24 pieces shows a white path--straight vertical, horizontal, or at a right angle from one side to an adjacent side.
Between the two players stand five plastic tabs, lettered A - E. Each tab is lined up with one of the five spaces along the inside edge of each player's game board. Around the outside of each player's 5 x 5 grid are the numbers 1-6. 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 are on opposite edges, 3 & 4 are on the edge near the player. Between each number and the space next to it, runs the beginning of a path.
Play is simple. One person calls one of the letters, A - E.
"Uh, E!"
The other person throws a die.
"Six!"
Now the players race to rearrange their tiles, sliding them one at a time as quickly as possible, so that the path running from the rolled number, in this case, 6, connects with the called letter, for us, E. Play is fast. The tiles are thick and deliver a satisfying click, click, click, click, click, click, click, as hands fly, eyes scan in an effort to complete the required assignment. The first player to do this snatches the lettered tab. She keeps this next to her, and again a letter is called and the die is rolled. The first player to collect three of the five tabs, wins.
That is pretty much all there is to it, although I have observed a few Square Off nuances in my homeroom. One of these is the difficulty, after your opponent has claimed the desired tab, to stop sliding tiles just to prove to yourself that you were only seconds away from claiming the tab for yourself. The game is generally addictive.
For experienced players, a best three out of five game can be played in about five minutes, after which, both winner and loser are ready for another go. And then there is the audience factor. In my classroom, Square Off games tend to draw a crowd. It is a fun game to watch. And of course, as a bystander it is easy to see what moves need to be made, and difficult not shout out, "No, no, this one needs to go there so that this one will slide up to here." I myself have even fallen to the temptation of getting my fingers down where they shouldn't be, and pushing a few tiles around for some poor opponent who is dreadfully out matched. One handicapping measure we occasionally take, is having one player play with just one hand, while the other uses two. This can sometimes give the slower player a chance. But overall, we have found that experience is generally the determining factor.
Square Off is great game for those who enjoy the sliding-type puzzles. But even for those who don't, it is hard to resist the fast paced head to head competition involved in Square Off. And as my students will tell you, there is always time for "just one more game!"
Thrift Store Gaming is a recurring feature to profile out of print games which, while not meriting a Eulogy, are nevertheless worth rescuing from a thrift store.