Connect-o-Mania Tile Placement Abstract Strategy Game

About Connect-o-Mania, from BoardGameGeek:

CONNECTOMANIA is a simple, yet strategic, tile-placement game where two to four players connect tiles such that five-in-a-row wins. COMPONENTS: •80 colored tiles in four colored sets of 20, some with symbols •8 secret symbols. SETUP: 1.Shuffle the tiles and secret symbols. 2.Give each player their complete set of 20 tiles, face up. 3.Give each player two secret symbols. 4.A random person places one of their tiles on the table. GAME PLAY: Players take turns placing one tile at a time. Tiles must be placed adjacent to any existing tile, edge to edge or corner to corner. When a secret symbol is used, a tile matching the symbol can be placed on top of that tile. Secret Symbols: Secret symbols are used for stacking tiles. You place a tile matching the symbol on top of an opponent's tile with the same symbol. The secret symbol is then placed on top of the tiles. If available, grab another secret symbol. With more than two players, it is possible to stack more than two tiles. Winning a Round: One point goes to the first player to get five of their tiles in a straight line. Start another round. Winning the Game: The first player to win two rounds is the winner. STRATEGY: •Avoid playing tiles with symbols at the end of the game. Playing them early minimizes surprise wins. •Stack a tile to break up a possible win by an opponent. -description from designer