Kinks 2025

Players create and extend thread-like 'Flukes' that score points for the number of 'Kinks' they contain, but have the power to attack other Flukes depending on the number of other non-Kink stones they contain.

Definitions:

A Fluke is an isolated stone or a chain of stones connected to one to another, without branches nor triangles of adjacent stones. A Fluke is allowed to form a loop. A Kink is a stone at a 120 degree bend in a Fluke. The Power of a Fluke is the number of stones it contains that are not Kinks.

Play: On your turn place a stone on an empty cell, followed by consequential removals according to the following rule:

One at a time, for each triangle of adjacent stones that contains 2 friendly stones, remove the other stone if the fluke containing the friendly stones is more powerful than the fluke containing the enemy stone.

The placement is only allowed if after all the consequential removals, the board is left in a legal state.

A legal state of the board means:

There are no triangles or adjacent stones, whether mixed or same color. All stones are in Flukes: there is no branching.

Ending the game: Passing is allowed. The game ends when both players pass.

The winner is the player with the most Kinks. -- In the case of a tie, the player with the most powerful fluke LOSES.

Kinks is playable on any hexagonal board, with sufficient stones or markers. Playing time depends on board size: Each player will place onto about 1/3 of the cells of the board.

—description from the designer