Rules

Players take turns placing a piece of their colour on an empty board point. Note that the board is divided into four 4x4x4 quadrants. A player wins by creating a vector of four of their pieces in a row within a quadrant. The following example shows a number of winning vectors for both X and O (this will not happen during an actual game - at most one player can win):

              A  B  C  D     E  F  G  H  
         8   x  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  x  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  x  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  x     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level S
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  o   2
 1   x  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level R
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  .  o  .   2
 1   .  x  .  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     o  o  o  o   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level Q
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  o  .  .   2
 1   .  .  x  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level P
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     o  .  .  .   2
 1   .  .  .  x     .  .  .  .   1
    A  B  C  D     E  F  G  H    
  

In addition, a player can win by creating a 4-in-a-row vector that visits each quadrant in clockwise or anticlockwise order. These are called "4th dimension" vectors and can be quite tricky to spot! The following example shows winning 4th dimension vectors for both X and O:

              A  B  C  D     E  F  G  H  
         8   x  .  .  .     x  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level S
    4   x  .  .  .     x  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  o   2
 1   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  o  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level R
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   2
 1   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  o  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level Q
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   2
 1   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   1

         8   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   8
        7   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   7
       6   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   6
      5   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   5
                                           Level P
    4   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   4
   3   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   3
  2   o  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   2
 1   .  .  .  .     .  .  .  .   1
    A  B  C  D     E  F  G  H    
  
  

A more detailed explanation of winning vectors can be found in the official Time Vectors manual.

References and History

Time Vectors rules and board design by J. David Barnhart (c) 1986, who gave his permission for this implementation.
Time Vectors is manufactured by JDB Games.

Implementation and help file by Cameron Browne, January 2005.