I first picked up Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind at an airport bookstore during a layover as I had already gone through my supply of books during the vacation. Almost everyone who has read The Name of the Wind and its sequel The Wise Man’s Fear has fallen in love with the books.
I was no different.
The books, book one and two of the King Killer Chronicle, are a joy to read. The world is fully realized and one of the key things that makes the world feel so real is that it has its own version of chess or go known as Tak. That is what makes the Kickstarter for the board game Tak so exciting.
Anyone who has ever read a book with a fictional board game has eventually wanted to play them. Cheapass games is making a real life version of Tak along with Patrick Rothfuss for the fans.
From the Cheapass Kickstarter page:
Tak uses a square board, which can be any size from 3×3 up to 8×8, but the most common sizes are 5×5 and 6×6 (the “Tavern” and “Classic” games).
Each player has several matching pieces, or “stones,” and one special piece called the “Capstone.” The Capstone can be any shape, and the other pieces should be simple, stackable pieces in a matching style.
The board starts empty, and the goal is to build a road (a connected string of your pieces) connecting opposite sides of the board.
On each turn, you will either place a piece in an empty space, or move a stack that you control. Stacks must move in a straight line, dropping pieces as they go, and possibly covering other pieces along the way.
You can play a piece upright. This piece is called a “standing stone,” or “wall.” It can’t be part of a road, but other pieces can’t stack on top of it.
The Capstone is your power piece. It can be part of a road, it can’t be stacked on, and it can also flatten standing stones.
Will it be any good, or fun to play? Honestly, who knows. What is cool is that we’re going to be able to find out. The Kickstarter has already passed its goal many times over, but for $40 you can get a full set of the game. Obviously more money will get you better sets. The Kickstarter is here, so check it out!
