Hextraction: The Turnstile Tile (takes turns in style)

Set up power plays and spin foes' heads with this dual-state mechanical tile for Hextraction, the hackable 3D-printable board game. This is tile 4 of 5 in Hextraction Booster Pack 3: Practical F-Hex.

The Turnstile Tile is pretty simple - it's a turntable, and if a ball slips in, the turn tables and dumps it out the bottom. But here's the catch: One side is open, the other is blocked, and whenever a ball enters one side, the other opens up. To get through, you have to feed balls on two sides, but when you do, it'll oscillate back and forth on its own, clearing both queues. The best part? This puppy is 100% automatic, no rules cards, just pure physics.

It's kind of like a Flip-Flop Tile in reverse, or maybe a Sozu Tile without the counterweight. It's weird, and it's not like anything I've ever seen in another game (or even another marble maze...)

Print one Turntable and one Tile. If desired, drag the 2-Color Details into the slicer along with the Tile for multi-material madness, or simply open the included 3MF file. The two-tone tile has a subtle effect that fills the arrow pointing towards the active entrance - it's not too prominent, but I still think it's neat.

You'll need one pan- or socket-head M3x10 or 12 screw to attach the pieces together. You shouldn't need a washer or grease - this uses a revised design that should work more reliably than the Sozu or Flipper Tiles. You probably don't need supports, and you definitely don't need a brim. Low-friction filament like nylon or PETG is recommended but not required.

If you'd like to edit the tile, the source is here: https://a360.co/3rHHZwR While you're free to re-distribute the tile outside Thangs' paywall, I'd like to ask that you at least modify it a bit. The more people buy Booster Packs, the more time I can devote to making more.