Spin Rings
Place a marble, spin a ring. Four in a row after the spin. Best of 3 boards.
Spin Rings is a two-player four-in-a-row game in which each turn you place a marble and then spin one ring of the tray a step. Get four in a row after the spin to win, but your spin can complete your rival's line too.
Everyone knows four in a row; Spin Rings turns it inside out. Every turn you drop a marble and then must turn a ring of the tray, so the line you were guarding slides away, and a spin meant to hurt your rival can finish their line instead.
Also known as Four in a row with a twist, Orbito-style game.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Best of 3 boards
- Length
- About 1½ to 4 minutes
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Spin Rings: quick rules
About 1½ to 4 minutes for best of 3 on the 4×4 tray; the 6×6 tray runs about twice as long. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Place one marble in any empty dimple.
- 2Then spin one ring one step.
- 3Four in a row after the spin wins (five on the big tray).
- 4Your spin can finish your rival's line too!
- 5Both make a line, or the tray fills? Replay.
Spin Rings rules
Setup
- The tray is a square grid of dimples cut into rings. On the default 4×4 tray there is an outer ring of 12 dimples and an inner ring of 4.
- Each player has 8 marbles. Red's marbles carry a solid dot and Blue's a hollow ring.
- Who starts the first board is picked at random, and on a rematch the player who lost starts. After each board, the loser starts the next. A 3-2-1 countdown starts every board.
A turn
- Place one of your marbles in any empty dimple.
- Then you must spin exactly one ring one step clockwise. Every marble on that ring moves along to the next dimple at once. The spin is never optional.
- A placement that fills the last dimple still spins before lines are checked.
Winning a board
- Lines are checked only after the spin. A line is four marbles of one colour in a row, column or diagonal (five in a row on the 6×6 tray).
- If only one colour has a line after the spin, that colour wins the board, whoever spun. If your spin completes only your rival's line, it's an own goal and they win.
- The match is single, best of 3 or best of 5 boards and ends as soon as one player has a majority.
Ties and replays
- If both colours have a line after the spin, or the tray fills with no line, the board is replayed: it doesn't count, and the other player starts.
- A match never ends drawn.
Hints against the bot
- Playing the bot, you can spend 20 coins on your turn for a hint. For 2 seconds it rings the best dimple and lights the best ring to spin, without playing them.
- There are no hints against a friend, online or in a tournament.
Trays
- 4×4 · four in a row
- 16 dimples in two rings, 8 marbles each. The default.
- 6×6 · five in a row
- 36 dimples in three rings, 18 marbles each, and lines of five.
Tips to win at Spin Rings
- 1Lines only count after the spin, so before you place, picture the tray after each ring you could turn.
- 2Place your marble where the spin will carry it into a line, not where it sits in one right now.
- 3Check that your spin doesn't also finish your rival's line: an own goal hands them the board.
- 4On the 4×4 tray the inner ring holds the four middle dimples, which sit on rows, columns and both diagonals, so spinning it changes the most lines at once.
- 5When your rival is one marble from a line, spin that ring to slide their marbles out of place.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- On your turn, tap an empty dimple (each open one has a rim) to drop your marble.
- Then tap one of the ring buttons in your own dock to spin that ring. The tray itself doesn't take spin gestures.
- Either player can touch the phone in friend play, but the controls are in the mover's dock.
- Input is closed while a ring is spinning and during the bot's turn.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Tray | 4×4 · four in a row (default)6×6 · five in a row | The size of the tray and the length of a winning line. |
| Boards | SingleBest of 3 (default)Best of 5 | How many boards decide the match. |
| Anchor · once per match | OnOff (default) | Extra. Once per match each, arm the anchor before placing and that marble is pinned: its ring turns round it. |
| Stone | OnOff (default) | Extra. A grey stone starts on the inner ring, rides the rings like a marble and blocks lines for both players. |
| Call-outs | On (default)Off | Extra. An "Own goal!" sticker when a spin finishes only the rival's line, and a slow reveal of the deciding spin. No effect on the rules. |
Play Spin Rings against the bot
The bot plays Blue and sees only the tray. It weighs every open line for both sides, always takes a winning move when it has one, and drops its marble before pausing briefly to spin, so you can follow both steps.
Easy
Looks only at its own turn and plays a random move half the time.
Normal
Looks at its own turn and refuses moves that let you win next turn, with the odd random move.
Hard
Weighs its move against your best reply and rarely slips. With Anchor on it pins a marble only when that is its one way to win.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- PlannedOnline play for Spin Rings is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on one phone or the bot.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is always the 4×4 tray, best of 3, with extras at their defaults, and hints are off.
- Hints
- Stuck against the bot? A hint lights up the strongest move for a few coins. Never with a friend, online or in a tournament.
Coming soon
- Online play. Play Spin Rings against a friend online, with a turn timer and reconnect. Planned, not available yet.
How it feels
- A plastic plunk as a marble drops in, and a whirr as a ring glides round with its chevrons lighting.
- A chime as the winning line glows and pops.
- A comic boing with the "Own goal!" sticker.
Accessibility
- Colour is never the only cue: Red's marbles have a solid dot and Blue's a hollow ring, and the ring buttons have bold icons.
- One finger, with large touch areas, and every control sits at the mover's own end.
- There is no clock on a turn when you play on one phone or against the bot.
Spin Rings questions
On your turn, place a marble in any empty dimple, then spin one ring of the tray one step clockwise. If only your colour has four in a row after the spin, you win the board.
If one spin makes lines for both colours, or the tray fills with no line, the board is replayed and doesn't count.
It's a four-in-a-row game too, but on a flat tray with no dropping, and every turn ends with a ring spin that moves marbles, so lines appear and vanish.
Plan for where the marbles will be after the spin, not before it, and always check that your spin doesn't complete your rival's line.
Yes. Spin Rings in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Not yet. Online play for Spin Rings is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on one phone or the bot.
Play Spin Rings on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
