coffeetableviz / interactive playground

Truchet Tile Studio.

One tile. Four rotations. An alarming number of possibilities. Turn one square, echo the change, then slide from symmetry into chaos.

Edition 02 / structure meets chaos

01 / Start with a rule

Choose a rule.

The same shape. A different rule for how its neighbours behave.

02 / Set the scale

Grid size16 × 16

8×820×2032×32

03 / Set the mood

Pick a palette.

Black and white, just like the original — with a couple of optional diversions.

Show tile boundaries

04 / Break the symmetry

Find the tipping point.

Start with perfect reflections, then gradually introduce independent rotations. The pattern evolves as you drag.

Structure → chaos20% chaos

0% · Mirrored50% · In-between100% · Chaos

At zero, four quarters reflect each other exactly.

05 / Change one tile

One tile. Or four.

In linked mode, each edit changes the tile's underlying rule and its mirrored partners. Switch off to rotate a single square.

Link mirrored tiles when editing

Chequerboard256 tiles · 4 rotations

↗ Tap a square: its mirrored partners change too.

Ready. Move the structure slider or tap a square to experiment.

The trick is delightfully small. Each square is divided diagonally into a pale and a dark triangle. Every rotation changes what happens next door. Link mirrored edits to see a small change echo across the design, or slide towards chaos and watch structure dissolve. Repeated across a grid, those tiny decisions become something rather unexpected.

Inspired by the original Coffeetableviz story and Tableau visualisation.