Game Review: Tangram Master

Today, I am taking a break from the Philadelphia adventure (to return next week) and rants about hobbits (to return next Sunday) to try something different. While I have posted several reviews of books and documentaries on my blog, this is the first time I have written a game review. I received Tangram Master as a gift between fifteen and twenty years ago but I had never played through the entire game until recently. Since the set of four high-quality wooden tangrams comes with a well-researched book on the history of the game, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to explore how games can lend insight to history and culture.

Tangram Master was written by Jerry Slocum, founder of the International Puzzle Party, and published by Sterling Publishing (now Union Square & Co., an imprint of Hachette Book Group) in 2001. The book contains two sections: “Part I: The Tangram” and “Part II: The Tangram Master Challenge”. The first section details the history of the tangram from its start in China during the late 18^th century, also known as the Qing Dynasty, to its migration and popularization in Europe and America only a few decades later. While not mentioned in the book, this time period aligned to the Global China Trade when wealthy merchants exchanged furs, opium, and enslaved Africans for tea, silk, and apparently puzzle books. (More details on the first phase of this trade can be found in my review of the virtual exhibit Opium: The Business of Addiction at Forbes House Museum and the second phase of this trade in my post on the Museum of Old Newbury.) For the linguists among us, the origin of the name “tangram” has been lost, although plenty of unsupported theories exist. The best feature of this section was the large, colorful images of historic tangram books and puzzle sets.

Part II of book contained two hundred tangram puzzles collected from historic books and illustrated in an accessible format. Every page contained the puzzle at four angles so that a set of four puzzlers could sit around a square table with the book at the center. The pages are color coded based on their original books, which were published in China, England, France, Germany, and the United States between 1815 and 1925. Across the years that I had this game, I made several attempts to play a few rounds in a group format, but my fellow puzzlers became frustrated when I frequently solved the puzzles first. I can be a little too aggressive with my puzzling, which made the solo format better suited for me. For an immersive and relaxing experience, players might consider listening to traditional Chinese music featuring the guqin (seven-string lyre) or sipping Chinese tea.

The wooden game pieces came in four colors: dark brown, light brown, tan, and mahogany. I tended to use the dark brown for solo games, but the color of the pieces likely did not affect the speed to solve the puzzles. Tangram sets include two large triangles, one medium triangle, two small triangles, one square, and one parallelogram. The shapes can be slid together to create a large square, which is how these pieces are stored in the wooden carrying case. The weight of the pieces allows players to easy move them but not accidently bump them out of place. They are also a good size for throwing at your opponent should you become too frustrated, although this form of gameplay is not recommended.

Tangram Master is a sophisticated puzzle set for the adult puzzler. While the box lists 8+ as an appropriate age for the game, younger players might become too frustrated and more readily resort to the answers at the back of the book. I did need to check the back for about 5% to 10% of the puzzles, and I imagine the rate would be much higher for a less experienced player. Fortunately, the spiral bound spine design made checking easy. There are enough puzzles in the book that the solutions will be forgotten by the time the player has completed all two hundred, so the player might start at the beginning for another round. The games are relatively quick to play; if I was stuck on a puzzle for more than ten to fifteen minutes, I would check the back for the solution. While no longer available in stores, the game is worth the  secondhand purchase for those who enjoy puzzles or want to learn more about modern Chinese history.