Sliding tile game from 70s?

April 29, 2009 4:56 PM

Help me find a table-top sliding tile game from the 70s involving connecting "pipes."

In 1974 I was in sixth grade, and got a gift of a game that was addictive and great fun at school. A square frame held a grid of movable sliding tiles (that were blue plastic, if I recall rightly) and each tile had a white pipe shape on it that was straight or bent in one of several directions. You competed against another player to slide the tiles in such a way as to make an uninterrupted pipeline from one point on the edge of the frame to another; these points were possibly determined by a roll of dice or something similar. Because there were only two open tile spots (one for each player) you had to do a lot of planning to get the pipe tile you needed to the appropriate spot. It was like a sliding tile puzzle, and very fast-paced and fun. Thanks!

posted by rleamon to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

Waterworks?
posted by mynameisluka at 5:01 PM on April 29

Waterworks?

No, but on the same site, this is similar in concept and execution to what I'm after, though I don't believe there were TWO frames with tiles with my game.
posted by rleamon at 5:06 PM on April 29

Hmm...on further research, it looks like Waterworks never came in a sliding tile version. Rats. Great game, though.
posted by mynameisluka at 5:06 PM on April 29 [1 favorite]

Crap. My grandparents own a copy of this, but I can't remember the name. One player has red tiles, the other has blue, and the whole thing is in a single-piece grey plastic base. If nobody answers in a timely fashion (and assuming the above details match what you remember), I'll get in touch with them and ask.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:15 PM on April 29

Johnny Assay: YES YES YES that's sounding like it; very possible there were two tile colors.
posted by rleamon at 5:18 PM on April 29

The one my grandparents have is Square Off, published 1972.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:41 PM on April 29

Is it one of these?
Is it the last item on this page?
posted by Piscean at 5:55 PM on April 29

Thanks Johnny Assay! And the other answerers. I remember its being bigger, but isn't that true of many things from childhood?
posted by rleamon at 6:07 PM on April 29