Tack Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Terms
• Setup
• Wind Cards
• Storm Cards
• Play
• Resolve
• End Game

Overview

2 Players, 15 Minutes, Ages 14+.

In this compact strategy game, players move dice forward and backward within a grid to equal the required Wind total and sail their boat on the scoring track. Block your opponent, line up your dice, and activate the wind to earn one point per die. The first player to the lighthouse wins (9 points)!

Components

• 2 Boat Tokens
• 10 Dice
• 12 Wind Cards
• 12 Storm Cards
• 5 Tide Tokens (Solo variant)
• 1 Board

Terms

• Column: When navigating the board, dice move forward and backward from where the player is sitting, moving in their "column."
• Row: The Wind is activated when the dice total in the "row" equals the value indicated on the card.
• Starting positions are outside of the grid. Each player will have no more than one die per column. When re-rolling dice, place them in an open column: a column that does not already have one of your dice.
• Wind is the values on the cards above the playing grid. The goal is to have all the dice (yours and your opponent's) in this row equal to this value to score points.
• Bust happens when the total sum of dice in a row (yours and opponent's) is higher than that row's Wind value, or when there are four dice in a row. In this instance, all dice in that row are re-rolled and returned to a starting position.

IMPORTANT: During the game (including at setup), if after any roll a player has no die 4 or higher, they must change ONE of their dice in a starting position to a high value of their choice (4-6).

Setup

1. Set the board in the middle of the playing area horizontally between both players. Randomly draw a Wind card and place it face up below the lighthouse, lining up the 5 Wind Goals with the grid. (We recommend for your first time to play with a Clear Day card, see Wind Cards.) Discard all remaining Wind cards back to the box.
2. Players choose a color and take all pieces of that color. Place your Boat token at 0 on your side of the score track. Roll your 5 dice. Place them on your side of the grid, lining each with a different column. This is considered their starting position.
3. First Player - The player with the highest overall rolled sum is the first player (ties go to the older player). First player removes their lowest die from the game. They play with only four dice. Whenever the first player re-rolls any of their dice, they may place them in any open column's starting position.
4. Shuffle the Storm cards and reveal 3 at the bottom of the board. Discard the remaining Storm cards, they will not be used this game. (We recommend for your first time to play without the Storm cards.) Play begins with the first player moving one of their dice.

Wind Cards

Wind cards may have different effects on the game depending on which one is used.

• Clear Day - the wind is calm and predictable. There are no additional rules. We recommend one of these for your first play.
• Hot Day - the sun is shining bright. At the start of your turn, if you have dice in the "fire" column, they must increase in value by 1. Then play your turn as usual.
• Cold Front - a frosty blast is blowing through. At the start of your turn, if you have dice in the "ice" column, they must decrease in value by 1. Then play your turn as usual.
• Night Sail - the tides are strong. At the start of your turn, if you have dice in the "tide" column, you may move them 1 space in the direction indicated as a free action. Then play your turn as usual.

Storm Cards

Storm cards tack on varying rules to the game. When playing with Storm cards, shuffle all 12 cards, then randomly reveal 3. Place them on the table visible to both players. These are new rules that can work to your benefit or limit your movement. Rules apply to both players for the duration of the game. Check the back of each card for a more detailed description.

Play

In turn order, move ONE of your dice following these rules:

• Dice move FORWARD or BACKWARDS any number of spaces in a column, NOT side to side.
• You may move a die from a starting position OR a die already in the grid.
• Dice may not move over an opponent's die.
• Dice may not move back to their starting position.

A turn consists of:

1. Move one of your dice forward or backward in a column (a die in a starting position or on the grid; any number of spaces; may not move side to side; may not move to a starting position; may not jump over dice).
2. Resolve any wind or bust in a row.

Resolve

After a player's turn, check for these conditions:

• If a row's die total is HIGHER than the Wind (row number) or if there are FOUR dice in that row, it is a Bust. Players re-roll their own busted dice from that row and place them in their starting positions earning NO points. (Example: the row's total is higher than the row's Wind (9).)
• If a row's die total EQUALS the Wind value, each player earns 1 point for each of their dice in the scoring row regardless of whose turn it is. Track your points by advancing your boat token. Then players re-roll their own scored dice and place them in their starting positions. (Example: blue scores 1 pt and purple scores 2 pts.)
• If either of these conditions happen because of a Wind or Storm card but before a player takes their move action, they must still perform a move.
• If a player has taken their move action and either of these conditions happen, play immediately goes to the opponent. They may not perform any end of turn Storm abilities.

Continue taking turns until one player reaches the lighthouse with 9 points.

End Game

The game ends immediately when a player reaches the lighthouse. When a player reaches the lighthouse they immediately win! If both players pass the lighthouse, the player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, it is a draw.