About Slimetrail
Slimetrail is a sharp little race game on a 7x7 board with a single shared piece. There is one snail, both players push it, and the square it leaves behind is slimed shut forever. You win by steering it into your own corner, or by leaving your opponent with no legal move at all.
Because the goal corners win for their owner whoever moved the snail there, every step is a small trap. The board shrinks with every turn, the routes home get sealed one at a time, and a game that starts wide open turns into a tight corridor where a single square decides it.
Play Slimetrail vs AI
Play Slimetrail online against the computer to learn how quickly a shared piece turns into a shared problem. The engine will punish any move that leaves the snail beside its corner, so it is a good way to build the habit of checking that first.
Start at a low level to get a feel for the trail, then work up. The stronger levels search deep enough to see traps coming several moves before they close, and beating them means planning where the slime will be, not just where the snail is.
How to play Slimetrail
One snail starts on the centre of a 7x7 board. On your turn you move it one square in any of the eight directions onto a free square, and the square it just left is slimed and out of play for good.
You win when the snail reaches your corner, the bottom left for player 1 and the top right for player 2, no matter which player moved it there. You also win if your opponent has no legal move. There are no draws in Slimetrail.
Improve by learning strategy
Slimetrail strategy is about walls rather than speed. Each move seals a square, so ask which square your opponent needs and take that one away, and keep an open lane towards your own corner while you do it.
Watch the squares beside each goal above all else. Stepping next to your opponent's corner hands them the game, and forcing them onto the squares beside yours is how most games are actually won.
Frequently Asked Questions
Slimetrail was invented by Bill Taylor in 1992. It spread through abstract game circles and is best known in Portugal, where it is played as Rastros in national tournaments, usually on the 7x7 board with moves in all eight directions.
Similar games you might like
If you enjoy Slimetrail, you will probably like these other abstract strategy board games.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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