Rubik's Flip (1981)

Overview

Abstract strategy game on a 4x4 board.

One player takes the moon pieces (8 purple pieces with a gold moon on one side and a silver moon on the other side) and the second player takes the sun pieces (8 magenta pieces with a gold sun on one side and a silver sun on the other side).

The board begins empty. The move (except the very first one, in which you can only place a piece of yours) consists of: 1) move an already placed opponent's piece one square in any orthogonal direction, flipping its side 2) putting one of your piece in any vacant square, whatever side up.

The winner is the first player to get 3 of his game pieces of the same color (gold or silver) in a "locked" row, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. A row of 3 is "locked" when none of the pieces in it can be flipped into an adjacent square because all the adjacent squares aren't empty.

Previously published as Rubik's Magic and Rubik's Eclipse. The versions vary in how the pieces are marked, but the rules are the same. The name "Rubik's Magic" was also used for a puzzle unrelated to this game.

Here's how the various games are related:

Head & Tails - Two colors of coins and front/back to each coin. Rubik's Eclipse - Tiles either colored red/blue and the icon on the tile is either gold/silver. Rubik's Magic - Tiles have circle/square and either black/silver background) Rubik's Tac Toe - 8 blue/green "O"s and 8 yellow/white "X"s