Slimetrail is a two player abstract strategy game invented by Bill Taylor in 1992, played in Portugal under the name Rastros. A single snail sits on a 7x7 board and both players take turns moving it, so every move you make is also a move your opponent has to live with. Each square the snail leaves is sealed shut with slime, and the board closes in until someone steers the snail into their own corner or leaves their rival with nowhere to go.
Slimetrail Strategy: Tips, Tactics & Openings
Slimetrail is a two player abstract strategy game invented by Bill Taylor in 1992, played in Portugal under the name Rastros. A single snail sits on a 7x7 board and both players take turns moving it, so every move you make is also a move your opponent has to live with. Each square the snail leaves is sealed shut with slime, and the board closes in until someone steers the snail into their own corner or leaves their rival with nowhere to go.
Never Step Beside Their Corner
The three squares around your opponent's goal are the most dangerous ground on the board. Leave the snail on any of them and your opponent simply walks in and wins. Before every move, check whether your destination touches their corner, and treat those squares as unplayable unless you have no choice.
The Slime Is Your Wall
You are not only moving the snail, you are laying bricks. A move that looks like it goes nowhere can be excellent if the square it seals cuts the last short route to your opponent's corner. Think of every turn as choosing which square to delete from the board, and delete the ones your rival needs.
Count the Squares, Not the Steps
Once the snail is walled into a pocket that no longer touches either goal, the game becomes a race to make the last move. If an odd number of free squares remain in that pocket, the player to move can usually make the final step and win. Learn to spot the pocket forming and count it before you commit to sealing it.
Use the Edges and Corners
The rim of the board is free wall you do not have to build. A snail on an edge has only five neighbours and one in a corner only three, so pushing the snail towards the wrong edge for your opponent costs them options at no cost to you. Driving it into a corner is the fastest way to threaten a trap.
Track Both Races at Once
Every position has two shortest paths: the snail's route to your corner and its route to theirs. You want the first one short and open and the second one long or broken. When you cannot make progress towards your own corner, spend the move lengthening theirs instead, because a corner nothing can reach any more is a corner that can never win.
Never Step Beside Their Corner
The three squares around your opponent's goal are the most dangerous ground on the board. Leave the snail on any of them and your opponent simply walks in and wins. Before every move, check whether your destination touches their corner, and treat those squares as unplayable unless you have no choice.
The Slime Is Your Wall
You are not only moving the snail, you are laying bricks. A move that looks like it goes nowhere can be excellent if the square it seals cuts the last short route to your opponent's corner. Think of every turn as choosing which square to delete from the board, and delete the ones your rival needs.
Count the Squares, Not the Steps
Once the snail is walled into a pocket that no longer touches either goal, the game becomes a race to make the last move. If an odd number of free squares remain in that pocket, the player to move can usually make the final step and win. Learn to spot the pocket forming and count it before you commit to sealing it.
Use the Edges and Corners
The rim of the board is free wall you do not have to build. A snail on an edge has only five neighbours and one in a corner only three, so pushing the snail towards the wrong edge for your opponent costs them options at no cost to you. Driving it into a corner is the fastest way to threaten a trap.
Track Both Races at Once
Every position has two shortest paths: the snail's route to your corner and its route to theirs. You want the first one short and open and the second one long or broken. When you cannot make progress towards your own corner, spend the move lengthening theirs instead, because a corner nothing can reach any more is a corner that can never win.
Learn, Play, and Have Fun!
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