Spectrangle

Spectrangle is described as a “Tile based strategy game” I would describe it as a tile based game of pain! Well, actually it was quite good fun, but I ALWAYS lost!

I just couldn’t fathom it. Maybe it was my latent fear of isosceles triangles? Maybe it was because I’m slightly colour blind. Either way Spectrangle completely flummoxed my tiny mind. My younger brother though, what infuriatingly brilliant at it!

It looked a little (to my young eyes) like a sort of connect four, with triangles, crossed with solitaire. But it really looked quite unique

Sweetly, the original game was invented by Graham Gordon in 1989 played the game with his son Luke (then aged 10), needless to say his son won as well. Maybe you just get worse at it as you get older – like stretching and being able to get up in the mornings..?

Rather sadly I found out while researching this that the original name for the game was Spectromino! Why didn’t they keep that?! It’s a brilliant name! And sounds like some visionary superhero, with super spectacles!

There’s a whole story, about the cottage industry way the game developed. Apparently, many of the rules of the game were tested at "The Thorn" pub in Appleton Thorn, Cheshire with a game played over lunchtime drinks. So like a lot of excellent ideas it’s come out of just hanging out with friends and relaxing. Quite a jump from the board meetings of Hasbro I expect!

The game is now owned by Spears Games and Jumbo. It’s seen as an educational game now, I don’t even want to consider playing it again though! Especially if pitted against one of my young nephews or nieces! I would lose embarrassingly, I am almost certain.

Still, then I’d whip them at Chess or Draughts and the balance would be restored!