|| “No rule changes” to the soon-to-be-released second “edition” of Tak, according to the Worldbuilders Market and the Patrick Rothfuss team. “The overhaul was just in formatting the instructions and illustrations to match the game,” and the basic rules of playing Tak remain unchanged.
The Tak community was introduced to the upcoming second edition of the game during the Worldbuilders 2020 End-of-Year Fundraiser last December. During Patrick Rothfuss’s livestream, he unboxed a prototype and described, in detail, the aesthetic design changes, showing off the new boards and box art.
Most players in the Tak community, as well as the Tak Times, believed that Greater Than Games had kept the same rules from the original edition and only included inconsequential “scoring variants” mentioned by Rothfuss on his livestream. However, last week the CEO of Greater Than Games (GTG), Paul Bender, raised some doubts about what was believed to be a safe assumption.
In his February 3rd newsletter (see excerpt below), Mr. Bender described “an all new version of Tak coming out” and explained that GTG had “overhauled the board art, box art, and rules, and worked with the factory to kick the component quality up a notch.” Mr. Bender’s description of an “overhaul” of the “rules” raised some questions and concerns that this second “edition” brought more than just new art and improved quality.
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Those fears can be put to rest. The Tak Times reached out to Greater Than Games and the Worldbuilders Market, asking for clarification of the rules “overhaul.” Staff at the Worldbuilders Market promptly contacted the “Rothfuss team” and soon confirmed with the Tak Times that no rule changes were made to the second edition.
This coincides with Rothfuss’s description during his December 2020 livestream. Although he described “a new rule set,” he soon explained that the “new” rule booklet “describes [the game] in a new and different way” and includes “scoring variants.” Beyond a fresh explanation of the original rules and some tinkering with alternative scoring methods, the rules in this second edition - to the relief of many - remain unchanged.
At the time of publication, Greater Than Games has not responded to our inquiry. This article will be updated with any forthcoming details.
