Editing Tantrix (section)

==History==
The first version of ''Tantrix'' was created by Mike McManaway in 1988 and was called ''Mind Game''[http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixHistory.html]. It used 56 cardboard pieces with only two coloured lines, red and black.[http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixHistory.html] Owning a games shop, McManaway sold the game directly and following customer feedback continued to change the rules and design. In 1991, the tiles were changed to plastic and two more colours were added, allowing for four-player games.

[[File:Tantrix tiles ryg.svg|thumb|The 16 possible tiles ([[Necklace (combinatorics)|necklaces]]) with the colours red, yellow and green – on the right the triple intersections, which were taken out of the game]]
The tiles were (and still are) hand-painted, featuring different colours to those now used, even pink. The early form of the game featured eight "triple intersections", but these were found to slow the game play as they only fitted into three different forced spaces (compared to six for all other tiles). So in 1993, the triple intersections were removed from the game.<ref>From the [http://www.tantrix.com/english/TantrixUseful.html FAQ on tantrix.com]: So, since triple intersections only have half the chance of being "forced", they easily clog up players hands as the game progresses. The negative consequences of this caused the removal of the triple intersection tiles from the game in 1993. </ref>

Along with the multiplayer version of the game, McManaway created smaller [[Solitaire (game)|solitaire]] puzzles using 10 or 12 tiles that required the player to put the tiles together to create loops of certain colours.

McManaway has also created many [[Solitaire (game)|solitaire]] puzzles, including 3-D versions, match only versions (requiring players to colour match tiles within a confined space) and loop and line versions (requiring players to use all the nominated tiles to complete a loop or line in a specific colour). However many of the editions are no longer available.

The main versions sold in most countries are:

#{{italics correction|''Tantrix Discovery''}}: A solo version, consisting of 10 tiles, where players attempt puzzles that take between 30 seconds and 45 minutes.
#{{italics correction|''Tantrix Solitaire''}}: A set of 14 tiles designed to play ''Tantrix Solitaire'' combined with expanded ''Tantrix Discovery'' puzzles.
#{{italics correction|''Tantrix Match''}}: ''Tantrix'' meets sudoku. A number of pre-placed clues controls the difficulty of each puzzle.
#{{italics correction|''Tantrix Game Pack''}}: A bag with all 56 ''Tantrix'' tiles, with which players can play all editions of ''Tantrix''.
Tantrix got its first big contract in 1994 when Air France bought the game to give to children on its flights.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Law|first=Tina|date=8 Mar 2008|title=Mind game became way of life|work=The Press}}</ref>  In 2003 Tantrix was named Toy of the Year in Hungary and won the British National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries gold award in the games category.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 Dec 2003|title=Game wins award|work=The Nelson Mail}}</ref>