Tak is the board game described in Patrick Rothfuss’ Summary of Play

bestselling novel, The Wise Man’s Fear. It is an elegant

two-player strategy game, a refined diversion from the Players will take turns. On each turn you may either
court of Vintas: place a new piece on an empty space, or move a stack of
pieces that is under your control.
“Tak is the best sort of game: simple in its rules,
complex in its strategy. Bredon beat me handily in The goal is to build a road, which is a string of pieces
all five games we played, but I am proud to say that that connects opposite sides of the board. Here are
he never beat me the same way twice.” some examples of a winning road:
-Kvothe

At first, Tak was intriguing but imaginary. Then in

2015, Patrick Rothfuss worked with James Ernest to
make it real. Welcome to Tak: A Beautiful Game.

About This Edition A winning road connects opposite sides of the board.

The University Edition is the second printed edition Spaces on the Tak board are connected only by their
of Tak. It is smaller than the original “Classic” edition, edges. Roads do not connect diagonally, and pieces do
and includes a cloth bag for added portability. not move diagonally.

We have included a capstone and 21 pieces per side, The game ends if either player makes a road, or runs
which is enough to play the 5x5 game. Additional piece out of pieces, or if the board is completely full. If the
sets and alternate game boards are available. To learn game ends without a road, then the player with the
more, visit James Ernest Games at jamesernest.com. most flat stones wins. Details in the pages that follow.
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The Pieces Setting Up
There are two types of Tak piece: stones and capstones. The board starts empty. Check that each player has 21
Stones can be played in two ways: flat or standing. stones and one capstone. (If you are playing on a larger
or smaller board, see “How Many Pieces?” below.)

Flat Stones: Usually, stones are In the first game, determine randomly who will go
played flat, as shown here. first. After that, you should take turns going first.

Flat stones can stack, and they On the first turn of the game, each player places one of
can count as part of a road. their opponent’s stones. You may play this stone in any
empty space, and it must be flat.

Standing Stones: You can also place After this, players play their own stones.
a stone on end, as shown here.
For example, if White goes first, White plays a Black flat
Standing stones do not count as part stone, then Black plays a White flat stone, then White
of your road, and nothing can be takes the first normal turn.
stacked on top of them.

This makes them good for blocking,

so they are sometimes called “walls.”
How Many Pieces?
Capstones: Capstones combine You can play Tak on many sizes of board, from 3x3 to
the best aspects of standing and 6x6 and larger. The number of pieces depends on the
flat stones. They do count as part size of the board. Each player uses the following set:
of a road, and they can’t have
Board Size: 3x3 4x4 5x5 6x6 8x8
other pieces stacked on top of
them. Stones: 10 15 21 30 50
Capstones: 0 0 1 1 2
In addition, a capstone can move
onto a standing stone (of either Note: There is no standard for 7x7. This style of board is
color) and flatten it. considered bad luck, and is rarely used.

When the capstone flattens a standing stone, it must

act by itself, although this can happen at the end of a
longer move. Calling “Tak”: You will typically call “Tak” in a friendly
game, but it isn’t strictly required. Like “check” in chess,
You can find an example of this maneuver on page 5. this is a warning that you are one move from winning.
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The Goal On Each Turn
The goal is to create a road, which is a string of your On your turn you may either place a piece in an empty
pieces connecting opposite sides of the board. A road space, or move one of the stacks under your control.
does not have to be a straight line. Standing stones
cannot be part of your road, but your capstone can. Note: If you place your last piece, or if you fill the last space
Spaces do not connect diagonally. on the board, this ends the game. See Other Ways to Win
at left.
In the illustration below, Black has won by connecting
two opposite sides of the board with a road. Each space Place: You can place a flat stone, standing stone, or
along this path has a stack with a black flat stone or capstone in any empty space on the board.
capstone on top.
You never play a new piece directly on another one. Stacks
form only as a result of movement.

Move: You can move one or more pieces in a stack that

you control. A stack can be any height, including just
one piece. “Control” simply means that your piece is
on top.

To move a stack, take as many as five pieces off the top

(see Carry Limit, at right), and move them in a straight
line, dropping at least one piece off the bottom in each
space along the way. The pieces that you drop will cover
any stacks that are in their path.

Other Ways to Win Capstones and standing

stones block movement,
Flat Win: If either player runs out of pieces, or if the because they cannot be
board is full, then the game ends. If neither player has covered.
a road, then the player with the most flat stones wins.
Count only the flat stones on top of stacks, not those For example, this piece
buried within stacks. If this is tied, the game is a draw. cannot move left, because
that space is occupied by
Double Road: If a player creates a winning road for a standing stone.
both players in the same move, then the active player is
the winner. (That is, the player whose turn it is.) Standing stones and capstones move by the same rules
as flat stones. If the piece above were a capstone, it
For example, if White creates both a white road and a black would also have the option to move left, and flatten
road, then White wins because it is White’s turn. the standing stone (see Flattening Walls, at right).
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Additional Movement Rules Movement Example 1
Carry Limit: There is no limit to the height of a stack, White controls the stack in this example, because her
but there is a limit to the number of pieces that you stone is on top. She will move the stack to the right,
can move. This “carry limit” is equal to the width of the taking over Black’s stacks. Let’s break down this move
board, so in a 5x5 game, you can carry no more than one step at a time.
five pieces.
This is a 5x5 board, so Pick a stack and a direction...
For example, with a carry limit of five, if you have a the carry limit is five.
stack of seven pieces, you must leave at least two of White could move the
those pieces in the starting space. entire stack, or she
could choose to leave
Flattening Walls: A capstone can, by itself, move onto some pieces behind.
a standing stone and flatten it. The capstone may be She decides to move
part of a larger stack that is making a longer move, as the entire stack.
long as the final step (flattening the wall) is done by ...then carry five pieces...
the capstone alone. Moving in a straight
line, White must drop
You can flatten your own standing stones as well as at least one piece in each
your opponent’s. Note: Aside from flattening it with a space. These pieces
capstone, you cannot lay down a standing stone. come off the bottom.

In the first space, she

drops two pieces, and
carries three. ...then carry three pieces...
Traveling with Tak: You don’t need a fancy
board to play Tak. You can draw a board on On the next space,
paper, paint it onto a piece of cloth, or play she drops two pieces
with no board at all. again, carrying just
the top piece into the
To play without a board, use a flat object like last space.
a coin or scrap of paper to mark the center
space. After a few turns, the shape of the The final position is ... and finally one piece.
board will come into clear view. shown in the last step.
This single move has
To make this game as portable given White control of
as possible, we have included a three spaces that once
cloth bag for the pieces. Toss it into belonged to Black.
your backpack, or tie it to your belt,
and take Tak with you everywhere! Well played, White!
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Movement Example 2 Basic Strategy
Capstones can move like any other piece. In addition, You’ll quickly find that the simple rules of Tak leave
a capstone can flatten a standing stone, if it does so room for a great deal of strategy.
by itself. In this example, Black will move his capstone
two spaces, to flatten White’s standing stone. Movement is the key to understanding the game. A tall
stack has many options, and a single move can alter
In the first step, Black Pick a stack and a direction... the balance of power.
could move up to five
of these pieces, but he You can learn the basics of the game by playing a few
chooses to leave two games at 4x4. Because there are no capstones at this
pieces behind, and size, standing stones are quite powerful and you’ll
move three to the learn how to use them for offense as well as defense.
next space. (This leaves
Black in control of the In the early game, be careful not to make too many
starting space.) moves; you need to put pieces into play, and not just
...then carry three pieces... move the pieces you have.
To flatten the stand-
ing stone, the capstone In the late game, don’t be afraid to “run out the clock,”
must go alone. Black playing out your pieces, if you are winning on the flats.
leaves the rest of the
pieces on the second
space, and moves the
capstone by itself onto
the standing stone. ...then carry the capstone to Multi-Game Scoring
flatten the standing stone.
With this move, Black There is a slight advantage for the player who goes first.
has flattened White’s So, for a fair contest, you can keep score over multiple
standing stone, but has games.
left White in control of
the middle stack. This Your score for winning is equal to the size of the board
is not perfect for Black, (25 points in a 5x5 game), plus the number of pieces
but this type of result is that remain in the winner’s reserve.
fairly common.
For example, if you win with four unplayed pieces, you
To avoid leaving a white piece behind, the capstone score 29 points. This is 25 points for the board, and
would have to start with a black piece below it. four points for your unplayed pieces.

Note again that capstones can flatten stones of either In the long run, better players will score more points
color (not just the opponent’s color, as shown here). by playing more efficiently.
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University Gambling Rules
The game of Tak has recently enjoyed a surge Calling Tak: When a player calls “Tak,” her
in popularity at the University, where Kvothe opponent must either add two coins to the
studies the arcane arts. pot, or resign.

Here is one of many optional systems for placing However, a player cannot be forced to pay
wagers on the game, devised by Tak historian this penalty twice in a row. The obligation
Daramin Centes. passes back and forth each time a different
player calls “Tak.” You can use a token to help
Ante: To begin, each player contributes an remember who called it last.
ante of ten coins. This creates a pot that will
go to the winner of the game. End Reward: The winner takes the pot, plus
a bonus equal to the number of unplayed
Bidding: Players bid, in coins, for the right pieces in the winner’s reserve. For example,
to go first. The high bidder goes first, and if you win with five unplayed pieces, you win
must pay his bid into the pot. (The second the pot plus an additional five coins from
player pays nothing extra.) your opponent.

US Tak Association
Join the US Tak Association for
the latest in Tak news and events!
Learn more at USTak.org.

Contributors
Game created by James Ernest and Patrick Rothfuss.
Playtesters included Ira Fay, Rick Fish, Joe Kisenwether,
Nora Miller, Carol Monahan, Jeff Morrow, Paul Peter-
son, Boyan Radakovich, Jeff Wilcox, and Ben Wochinski.
To learn more about Tak, including its real-world history Illustrations by James Ernest and Nate Taylor. Edited by
and the variants, customs, and backstory of the game in the Carol Monahan, Cathy Saxton, and Mike Selinker. Special
world of Temerant, look for the Tak Companion Book by thanks to Cassidy Werner. Tak: A Beautiful Game is a
James Ernest and Patrick Rothfuss. You’ll find it in trademark of Cheapass Games, LLC. Made in the USA.
The Tinker’s Packs, at thetinkerspacks.com. Learn more about Tak at jamesernest.com/tak
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