Game: Touché

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l10n0fjudah — 2008-05-14T17:55:22+00:00

Touché by Sonofdeemar

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Meat — 2008-04-26T03:16:12+00:00

Box Front - Spanish 'Magic 4' Edition by Diset International

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Gernspieler — 2008-03-13T21:40:57+00:00

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boltongeordie — 2007-12-30T15:39:28+00:00

Yellow's pieces. Depending on the polarity of each magnetic square, they either stay yellow of flip to red (2001 version)

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boltongeordie — 2007-12-30T15:37:36+00:00

Game board from red side showing embossed logo (2001 version)

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boltongeordie — 2007-12-30T15:36:41+00:00

Showing the board construction. The 5 strips are double sided and are shuffled before each game (2001 version)

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boltongeordie — 2007-12-30T15:35:46+00:00

Box front (2001 version)

Thread: Re: A "big chunk of plastic" game from long ago...

sparr0 — 2007-06-21T00:19:37+00:00

Unless someone wins by luck in the first few dozen moves, which is very unlikely, both players will have mapped the board out (just draw it on paper, memory be damned) by then. Then it is reduced to a 4-in-a-row variant with a known twist, since all the results are predictable. I would say the luck factor is very minimal.

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2007-06-04T08:12:09+00:00

Thread: Re: A "big chunk of plastic" game from long ago...

Geosphere — 2007-05-30T15:13:44+00:00

Yeah, it got plenty of play when it was new, and its a cool game for non-gamers, since there's a luck factor that helps even the field, but by today's standards its a little gimmicky.

Although it probably plays in about 8 minutes, so it could be a fun retrofiller.

Thread: A "big chunk of plastic" game from long ago...

edosan — 2007-05-30T14:17:45+00:00

I was thinking about those games I call "big chunk of plastic" games the other day. Those games from my childhood that usually revolved around one gimmick and usually had either a massive plastic board or some other big old plastic gizmo. I'd see these games on Saturday morning while watching cartoons and I knew I had to have them. Unfortunately, a lot of those games were just centered around one big gimmick and it got old pretty quickly.

Touche is one such game. Ironically, I saw it in Goodwill the other day and remembered it as a Christmas gift from years past. It consists of a 5x5 board that sits in a square frame which lifts up to show several strips of magnets that can be moved around to randomize them. There are also some pawns, which are clear plastic bubbles with a magnet inside, one side painted red and one side painted white.

On your turn, you can either move a piece that is your color or put another piece on the board. The tricky bit is when you move a piece and the magnet underneath changes your pawn into you opponent's pawn. The object is to get four of your color in a row, which can happen just as easily by accident as on purpose. (For this reason, Touche has a pretty strong "touch move" policy -- no take backs)

I remember this game having some tension, especially when you forgot where the magnets that will change you colors were -- and we always did. However, it got old pretty fast, probably because of that same randomization. We thought it was cool because of the magnets, but then again, we were six and eight at the time. (Imagine a Go variant that might change the colors of the pieces every once in a while -- OTOH, that might interest you.) You spend a lot of time just hopping all over the board to try to feel out where the "good" magnets are, so it feels like a lot of trial and error as well as a lot of dumb luck.

In conclusion, this was a game that will probably feel a little boring and gimmicky to abstract fans because of the random factor. If you want to give Touche a try, take a look at the thrift stores -- I see them there from time to time. As for me, I think I'll leave this one as a childhood memory. (My rating: 4/10)

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glum — 2007-03-20T20:41:27+00:00

Cover of '2001' Rules (1978 edition)

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pyr-shep — 2007-03-10T20:59:07+00:00

Game in progress.

Thread: Re: 50% game, 50% Magnetic Novelty

Jatoha — 2005-11-16T19:02:23+00:00

This review is dead-on. I would like to comment that I find the board pretty hard to memorize. I've been handed games (well, okay, I've handed games to others) because of this. But the memory aspect is another reason this game appeals to kids. My kids can rightly beat me in this game because of the memory needed. Good thrift find if you have kids, otherwise, leave it there.

Thread: 50% game, 50% Magnetic Novelty

Gecko23 — 2005-10-18T17:46:01+00:00

Touche is another entry in the large family of 'connect-x' games, but with a slight twist accomplished by magnets.

The board is a large 5x5 grid on top, with several strips containing flat disk magnets in rows, or columns, below it. On each end are the starting positions for the different players, one red, one white. In the middle of each players side is a colored circle which conceals a magnet for the purpose of 'resetting' all your pieces before beginning a round.

The playing bits themselves are clear plasitc vials with either a round or square base, containing a small disk magnet painted white on one side, red on the other. They have the unique propoerty that the poles are painted oppositely between the round and square vials. So a square on the board that flips a round piece to white will flip a square piece to red.

Game play consists of players taking turns either entering their reserve of pieces onto the board via their 'starting row' (the row closest to them) or moving a piece already on the board. Players may only start their pieces, but may move any piece already on the board, square or round.

The pieces move on the board a single space at a time, either orthogonally or diagonally, and can also jump other pieces on the board. There is no capturing. There is a restriction that you may not move the same piece that your opponent moved on his last turn.

The goal of the game is to have 4 in a row of the color on your side of the board. Due to the mix of magnets below the board, this will necessarily consist of both round and square pieces. This of course means that you must not only plan ahead where to move pieces, but to do it while remembering which board squares give the result you want, and hoping your opponent doesn't wreck your plan.

The game ends immediately when a 4 in a row occurs in either color, whether intentional or not. (Yep, I've been handed a game when my opponent accidentaly created a 4th spot during their move. Oops.)

Some 'connect-x' games can be quite deep and rewarding (Renju, etc.) but this is not one of them.

The randomization of the board would seem to add a new level of complexity to the game, and it does to a point. But a 5x5 grid is quite easy to memorize, and its real impact is to force players to randomly move around the board in the early game trying to figure out the boards current layout.

And since all the pieces can continuously be moved, and potentially change color on any square, there is no ability to 'block' only to steal, and setting up a game ending sequence can be frustratingly hard to do.

I'll admit that its amusing to watch the bits flip over, and its attractiveness to children is impressive. But I don't think many abstract fans will long be enthralled with it.

Thread: Re:Same as Touché!, maybe?

pepzaza — 2004-06-23T15:20:35+00:00

Yes indeed, it is the same. What now? Can we delete this entry?

Thread: Same as Touché!, maybe?

Urhixidur — 2004-06-22T22:20:11+00:00

See GameID 2763 for Touché, a.k.a. Magic 4 --these and Treffer could be the same game. Can anyone confirm or infirm?