Tak, the abstract strategy game created by Cheapass Games and Patrick Rothfuss, is finally hitting store shelves after a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and reward fulfillment. Those looking to pick up the game online can also order it from The Tinker’s Packs, Rothfuss’ online store that benefits Worldbuilders.

For those unfamiliar, Tak comes from Rothfuss’ award-winning novel The Wise Man’s Fear, the second book in The Kingkiller Chronicles. While the game is never fully explained in the book, Cheapass Games has done an amazing job creating a game the truly feels like a timeless classic.

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The US Tak Association is hosting the 2016 Tak Open Online Tournament beginning this week via PlayTak.com. The tournament will be run Swiss-style tournament, and games will be played on a 5×5 Tak board. Play will switch to a 6×6 board during the final rounds.

First and second place winners will receive gorgeous purpleheart, wenge, and kingwood Tak sets handcrafted by tournament sponsor Wyrmwood Gaming.

Registration will end this Tuesday, 9/13.

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The US Tak Association (USTA), announced its formation formation today. Their goals are to “share and promote the game of Tak,” and  promoting “fair and competitive play by establishing a comprehensive set of rules and standards that can be used for tournaments and other events.”

Cassidy Werner, marketing director at Cheapass Games: “The USTA has our full support.”

Along with this news, Wyrmwood Gaming has announced a Year 0 Tak tournament at Gen Con. Every participant will win a prize, while First, Second, and Third place players will receive custom prizes crafted by Wyrmwood Gaming. Space is limited; those interested in participating should sign up for the tournament as soon as possible.

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I hesitated for a while to write up Tak. Given the few games I’ve played, I’ve clearly just scratched the surface. But then again, that’s what I already enjoy about the game. With such simple rules, there’s so much to explore. Tak is one of those abstract games that manages a lot of challenging play in a very uncomplicated package.

I’ve also never read the novel from which the game is derived, The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. And yet, perhaps even more than the interesting game play, it’s the imagined history and culture of Tak that has me so engaged.

The game works like this… On your turn you either place a piece (called a “stone”) on an empty square—standing up or laying flat—or you move a single stack of stones already on the board in a straight line, dropping some from the bottom of the stack in every space along the way. Generally, you can’t place a stone on top of a standing stone, that is, unless you do so with the special capstone piece to flatten it. Winning is accomplished by connecting any two board edges with a contiguous line of flat stones, and that is called a “road”.

Tak players of antiquity played with hand-carved pieces of various shapes and sizes. Some were just wooden squares or rounded stones; some were intricately decorated. Standard colors, shapes, and sizes for the pieces vary from time to time and place to place. Travelers typically played 5×5, using simple wooden pieces and an improvised board (or no board at all). Court players typically played the larger 6×6 game. Capstones could be highly specialized, and Tak players often carry their own personalized capstone, even if they don’t carry a whole set.

…So the instructions go, interspersing rules with brief lessons on the game’s archaeology, etiquette, unique terminology, and varying styles of play—short but one of the most enjoyable board game rule books I’ve ever read.

Cheapass Games’ Kickstarter project for Tak has just 10 days to go but is already funded 10 times over. Backers have options for different stone sets, beautiful wood boards, and a book with more on the game’s fictional history.

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