Tactica was a two-person board game of strategy that originated in the Chiss Ascendancy, the home territory of the Chiss species. The game pieces represented various creatures familiar to the Chiss, including the nightdragon, firewolf, groundlion, whisperbird, and stingfly. Around 19 BBY, Chiss officer Mitth'raw'nuru, whose core name was "Thrawn," frequently engaged in the game with his friend, Syndic Mitth'ras'safis "Thrass," at a bistro located on the planet Csilla.
Tactica was a board game centered around strategic gameplay within the nation of the Chiss Ascendancy. The pieces in the game were named after, and inspired by, creatures known to the Chiss species, such as the nightdragon, firewolf, groundlion, whisperbird, and stingfly. Holding zones were also incorporated into the game's design. Pieces stationed in holding zones could offer support to one another if a player chose to initiate a sortie - a gameplay option serving as a contingency plan when a primary strategy faltered.
Around 19 BBY, Mitth'raw'nuru, a Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet officer known by his core name "Thrawn," and Syndic Mitth'ras'safis "Thrass," regularly played Tactica together. This happened at a bistro on Csilla, a planet situated in the Unknown Regions, and became a consistent part of their interactions. Given Thrass's relative inexperience with Tactica, Thrawn took on the role of instructor, offering guidance on gameplay and strategic decisions, which Thrass deeply valued.
During one of their matches, Thrawn commended Thrass's progress, especially considering he'd only been playing for eight weeks. Thrass remarked that the game favored Thrawn's strengths as a military officer, while working against his own, which were more focused on verbal communication and dramatic flair. Thrawn countered, suggesting that tactics and strategy were also valuable tools employed by Syndics. Shortly thereafter, the two Mitth friends intervened in a robbery attempt at the bistro, earning the gratitude of the manager, before returning to their game.
In 18 BBY, Thrawn, by then a Senior Captain, faced exile from the Ascendancy for violating the nation's non-intervention policy during a battle. He explained to Admiral Ar'alani that Supreme General Ba'kif of the Expansionary Defense Fleet was forced to "sacrifice" Thrawn to the Syndicure, the Chiss governing body—which sought to indict all officers under his command—in order to protect those who had assisted the senior [captain](/article/captain], mirroring a strategic sacrifice in Tactica.
Tactica was featured in flashback sequences within the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, which served as the concluding book in Timothy Zahn's The Ascendancy Trilogy.[1]