|| There may be hidden Book 3 clues in the latest version of Tak: A Beautiful Game. In December 2020, Patrick Rothfuss revealed during a Twitch livestream the newest, redesigned print of Tak: A Beautiful Game. While unboxing the prototype, Rothfuss was not-so-subtle in pointing out a few Kingkiller-related touches to the board and box art. A few months later, Paul Bender, the CEO of Greater Than Games (GTG) that owns and produces the commercial Tak sets, announced that the newest version of Tak contained “Kingkiller Chronicle ‘Easter eggs’” that were inserted in collaboration with Rothfuss.
An “Easter egg” is a hidden message, image, or feature within a medium. Whether these Easter eggs reveal some character or plot detail from the unreleased Book 3 in the Kingkiller Chronicle series is possible, but unknown. Rothfuss pointed out some of the more obvious Easter eggs during his livestream. However, the redesigned Tak set has only been available for purchase for just over a month and no other hidden clues have been publicly shared by those who have purchased the new set.
One such Easter egg shared by Rothfuss is a message on one of the 4x4 Tak boards from "S" to "Fela". He noted that the board appears stitched or sewn and has a red smudge in the bottom right corner.
Fairest of Foes | Honey-Tongued Fela | Twice My Teacher | Twice my Tower Tumbler -S
But the cryptic words leave much to be explored. "S" is presumably Simmon, but what it means that Fela is a foe, honey-tongued, twice a teacher, and "tower tumbler" is unknown. A "tumbler," according to the Tak: Companion Book, is a "tall stack with a capstone atop a piece of the opposite color. This type of stack is more common but less powerful than a Lady." A "Lady" is simply a different type of stack. However, "tumble" may also describe the unstacking of pieces across a board, or more commonly called a "throw" or a "spread" of pieces. Nevertheless, it is likely that "tumble", along with the other words, have multiple meanings in this context.
The box art also has a few inconspicuous rings of gold and silver (or iron) on vines that drape the box.
There may be more Easter eggs in the text or images contained in the rewritten rule booklet. The rule booklet was "refreshed" - keeping the same basic rules of gameplay - to incorporate much of the fictional history of Tak as it evolved throughout Temerant. Whether there are more Easter eggs hidden in booklet's images or text is unknown.
What do you think these "Easter eggs" mean? Do you know of others? What's your theory?
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If you have tip or clue you've discovered in the latest print of Tak, please contact the Tak Times. If you would like to contribute to the Tak Times, we are looking for writers, researchers, editors, artists, and more.
