In this game for two, one player always moves horizontally and the other player always vertically.

Randomly place the numbered tiles onto the board.

The location of the asterisk determines the starting location. The first player must remove a number tile from the row with the asterisk. The other player must then remove his number tile from the column that the first player worked from.  Taking turns, each player selects one number from the column or row determined by the previous player’s selection.

The game ends when either player is stuck in an empty row or column.

The numbers the players select are added to give their score. Negative numbers reduce one’s score. MAXimum total score wins.

With a little practice, you will soon see that you must scan the board to see what your move will allow your opponent to score.

As the game nears the end, you can often force your opponent to draw negative numbers to help your overall score.