Hextraction
Happy new year folks. Here is a review of a 3D printable boardgame Hextraction. It is how I spent some of my free time over the holidays. I hope you enjoy it!
Hextraction is a exciting 3D printable boardgame created by Zack Freedman. It’s as fun to play as it is to make! The objective of the game is to create a path for a 10mm ball bearing to travel by placing hexagonal tiles on a game board. The tiles have different paths, obstacles, and special effects. On their turn the player slots in a tile and rolls a ball. First player to roll a ball from beginning to end wins! The game is open source, and Zack encourages anyone to try their hand in designing their own tiles, and boards for the game.
Printing⌗
Printing the game board takes a bit of time. The board is made up of 22 hexes, 2 legs, 2 starting zones, and 2 endzones. Zack recommends printing about 30 hex tiles before starting to play, so get your printer warmed up! There are tiles that range from basic paths, to special effects with custom rules.
For tiles I would recommend printing off a good amount of basic path and trap tiles. Too many effect tiles can make the game cumbersome with rules. There is no harm in trying new tiles, so add the ones that look cool to mix up whats in your bag! Game Board Better Legs Basic Tiles Fixed Trap Tiles Pachinko Flip-Flop Teleport Clone
Gameplay⌗
Example of a winning turn in Hextraction
Each player draws 3 tiles to their hand at the start of the game. Drawing a tile is quite exciting. The possibility of drawing a perfect tile to build the path you need, or a crazy tile that can throw the game off the rails is a rush. As players place tiles on the board, it becomes a collage of colors, paths, and effects.
The pacing at the beginning of the game is a bit slow. As players place one tile, and roll one ball, there is not much strategy. The balls likely just fall off the track, and there are not many effects in play. So, players are not that excited to see the ball roll. In my honest opinion, its the weakest part of the game.
By midgame, when there is a substantial number of tiles and effects, the strategy builds. Players plan their next move, predict the paths of the Flip-Flop tiles, counting how many turns until its your turn again. Guessing what tiles your opponent has in their hand, and how quickly they can reach the end is key. This is also when the marble runs become satisfying to watch as they teleport, flip-flop, clone, explode their way down the track.
With this many tiles in play, emergent effects start to rear their head. A simple combo is if there is a Clone Tile above a Flip-Flop, the player gets to have a ball go down both pathways. Or a Red Hot Steel Ball tile into a Cartoon Bomb tile instantly explodes 1/4 of the game board.
When the board is full of tiles, “Overdrive” kicks in, allowing players to overwrite any tile on the board with one on their hand, removing the constraint of only playing in empty spaces. This can quickly shake out a winner if there was small roadblock preventing victory.
Once someone builds a path to the end, victory is not guaranteed as the mechanical Pachinco or Flip-Flop tiles, or just unexpected physics, can send a ball bearing flying off the board in unpredictable ways. Same goes for a sneak victory: a lucky bounce can send a ball over a empty space to the endzone for a cheeky win!
After a winner is declared, my friends and family love playing with the finished board state. “What if I played here instead”, or “If I only had one more turn!”, laying down tiles from their hand, playing with the crazy mechanical flippers and traps, or reading effects of tiles that they wish they played before throwing all the tiles back in the bag for another game.
I think the novelty of watching the ball run down the track is as much fun as the “strategic” gameplay. Especially if the “strategic” gameplay is undermined by a heavy dose of randomness in the tiles. People just like watching marbles run, it is satisfying. Printing new tiles trumps the satisfaction of the marble run, as the game owner tries to curate an experience that balances satisfying ball runs, emergent gameplay, and the wow factor that the crazy tiles bring.
Custom designs⌗
Zack Freedman has created dozens of tiles for his game, and he encourages anyone to design tiles. His rules describe the requirements for tiles, reining in some of the potentially “unfun” designs people can make, such as “instant win”, “lots of skipped turns”, or “do something embarrassing”. Tiles should not interfere with people having fun! Any rules associated with the tiles must have a physical copy. Many creators 3D print the rules on the tile itself, or on a separate rules tile.
My Tiles⌗
Anyways, here are some of the tiles I have designed:
Yo-Yo Tile⌗
by me
Effect: Trigger: swap with tile in hand
When a marble goes through this tile, the player replaces this tile with one in their hand. The tile throughout the game goes down to the board and back up into your hand much like a yo-yo. It is a simple rule, but unlocks interesting gameplay as it create temporary paths that only the first ball can go through. Or lets you continuously have a straight path in your hand for the right moment.
Crystal Tile⌗
by me
Effect: Trigger: Roll a stuck ball from a different tile down this tile’s center ramp.
This tile has two traps on the left and right side of the tile. Once a ball is able to escape, the player can take a ball trapped elsewhere on the board, and roll it down the middle of the tile. This is inspired by “crystal healing” where folks believe stones can charge, absorb, and cleanse energy.
Monte Tile⌗
by me
Effect: Trigger: Open one door.
Like 3 card monte, there are 3 doors. The player must guess which door their ball has rolled behind. Kinda simple, but definitely adds some tension to the game. I tried to get the randomness even for all possible entrances, exits, and speeds the ball is rolling, I think did alright, but sometimes the ball favors a specific door. I suppose it lets players feel like “I figured it out”, just to have them open the wrong door lol.
Other Creators⌗
Here are some of my favorite tiles from other creators! I recommend checking out their discord for more tiles, and to share your own designs! Note: Zack Freedman promoted “Thangs” as a place to upload your designs, so check that out if you want to search for more tiles.
Present Tile⌗
By cadeluca
Effect: Trigger: Gift a tile from your hand to an opponent.
This tile gets you in the spirit of giving! When a ball rolls through this tile, give a tile from your hand to another player. While this seems like an altruistic move, it can be very strategic. Since you can draw back up to 3 tiles at the end of your turn, it lets you cycle out one more tile. And also if you give a player an extra tile, it prevents them from drawing on their turn! I think this tile’s model is very cute. So hats off to cadeluca!
Reroute Tiles⌗
By jacubs
This tile pack is just some basic paths, but I think they really open up the game. Print one of each and you have lots of new mind bending paths to play with!
Skyrail Tile⌗
By NoStepOnDeez
This tile is kinda crazy. It is combo tile that has a path that builds a bridge between two tiles. It is hard to get place because it has only one entrance at at the top of one tile, and only one exit at the bottom the other tile. It does not have significant strategic value, but it is very fun to watch the ball tight rope walk across the bridge.
Fixes⌗
Before printing the Secret Tiles and the Trap Tiles by Zack, print these instead: Fixed Trap Tiles Better Secret Tiles
Conclusion⌗
I hope I have inspired you to try out Hextraction! If you or a friend has a 3D printer and some extra time, I think this is a great project to try out. The game is not perfect, but has enough novelty to keep people entertained. There is infinite possibilities if you want to design your own tiles, and there are plenty of creators that have made their own amazing tiles.
I hope this review of my time with Hextraction has been helpful. Send a message if you tried out my tiles, or have your own to share! I’ll be sure to check them out and maybe even write a follow up post!
-E