How is this New?

Tangrams have been in the US since around 1815, when Capt. Donnaldson, of the USS Trader, brought a couple tangram books back with him from China. At that time, they were already considered to be “ancient” in China. The Chinese weren’t sure how old, because they were considered to be a “kid’s game,” so they didn’t keep detailed records of them.

Over the centuries, tangrams have gone in and out of popularity. Some fads had people grow almost obsessed with solving the puzzles. When Napoleon was exiled, he had a set of tangram pieces (tans) and whiled away the hours solving tangram puzzles. Edgar Allan Poe is said to have tinkered with tangrams. Lewis Carroll apparently made tangram puzzles of some of his literary characters. (Scroll to the bottom of this page to see samples.)

So, tangrams are not new.

Tangrams have been used as a teaching tool in schools for decades. Tangram toys or games have also been around for quite some time. What is “new” about this is the competitive nature of the game.

The other tangram games I have found, are 1-player games. They typically consist of a player sitting alone and viewing an image on a card and solving that puzzle with tangram pieces. In Tangram Fury, 4 players each have a complete set of tangram pieces and race each other to solve the same image on a card as soon as it is played.

It’s that competitive aspect that brings new vibrancy to this ancient game. It’s that flurry to outpace your buddy that makes this so much fun. If you’re competitive enough, you can make a competition out of tying your shoes…this is a bit more structured than that. This frenzied activity of trying to beat your friends to be first is where the word “fury” fits the game’s name so well.

And, although either side of the cards can be played (the one with the solution showing, or the one without), all players see that same image, so they all have the same advantage or handicap as they rush to be first in their mad quest to solve the puzzle.

Yeah, and if you want to play the game solo, with you or your child sitting alone solving the various images, you can do that, too. It’s a much quieter and subdued, if not tranquil, approach to the game, but if you play it that way, you should probably scratch off the word “Fury” from the box.