Ternia 2026

Ternia is a two-player abstract strategy game played on a 3x3 grid. The ultimate objective is to be the first to form a continuous line-horizontal, vertical, or diagonal-of three identical shapes of your color (for example, exactly three white triangles).

Each player controls a set of nine tokens (three circles, three triangles, and three squares). Before the game begins, players shuffle their opponent's tokens to form a randomized, face-down personal draw stack. Only the top token of this stack is revealed and available to play, keeping the exact order of the remaining pieces hidden.

On a turn, a player can either pass or place their top token onto the board. A piece can be placed on an empty space or used to capture an existing token (belonging to either player) following a strict cyclic hierarchy: a Triangle can only cover a Circle, a Circle can only cover a Square, and a Square can only cover a Triangle.

When a token is covered, it is immediately removed from the board and returned to its owner's personal discard pile. If a player's draw stack runs out, their discard pile becomes their new draw stack, ensuring pieces are never permanently eliminated. The game ends instantly the moment a player completes their winning line of three identical shapes.

—description from the designer