Talo
Talo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
- Double-sided game board with two different building sites: "Green Board" (1) and "Blue Island Board" (2)
- Two double-sided stock boards: front page orange-red – sorting horizontal (3); back page blue – sorting vertical (4)
- 55 building blocks made of beech wood in the lengths 1 to 10 (ten 1s, nine 2s, eight 3s, seven 4s, six 5s, five 6s, four 7s, three 8s, two 9s, one 10)
- Measuring bar (made of two pieces to be put together)
- Ten-sided die
- Six pawns – yellow, red, blue, green + pink and orange, so every player can choose his favourite colour.
Game Preparation
Choose between the Green Board or the Blue Island Board. When playing Talo for the first time we recommend the green board.
Put the board in the middle of the table and two stock boards of the same colour on the left and right side of it.
Put the wooden blocks of the different lengths matching on the fields of the 2 stock boards. Hint: On the blue stock boards the blocks 1-5 are stacked vertical and the blocks 6-10 horizontal.
In turn each player chooses a pawn and places it on a green field of his choice on the board. It is also possible to place the pawns symmetrical. Attention: It may turn out as a disadvantage to place your pawn in a corner.
Put the measuring bar together and put it next to the board. It may be used anytime to check lengths and heights.
Last the die is put next to the board – and the game starts!
Playing the "Blue Island Board"
In general all rules as for the Green Board apply. You may only build on the 5 green areas. It is not allowed to place any pawns or wooden blocks on the water area.
The island board leads to even greater challenges upon building. While bridging daring designs emerge between the islands.
The little island in the middle may be build on but not used as starting field.
Game Play
The youngest player starts. The game continues clockwise.
Each turn proceeds as follows:
- Throwing the die and taking the matching wooden blocks.
- Building with the diced wooden blocks and moving the own pawn.
1. Throwing the die and taking the wooden blocks
Throw the die and take exactly the diced number matching wooden block or instead two wooden blocks which together make up the diced number.
E.g. if you throw a 5 you may take:
- one 5s wooden block
- one 1s and one 4s wooden block
- one 2s and one 3s wooden block
The length of the chosen wooden blocks has to match the diced number exactly.
You are never allowed to take more than two wooden blocks!
Think carefully about which wooden blocks you choose for skilful building to get your pawn higher up.
What happens when all wooden blocks of a certain length are already in use?
In the later course of the game it may happen that wooden blocks of a certain length are already in use. Then you have to choose another possible length combination.
If it is not possible to find any matching blocks any more, you have to throw the die up to three times. If a matching combination is not possible after the third throw the player is not able to build. He is not allowed to move his pawn and it is the next players turn.
2. Building with the diced wooden blocks and moving the pawn
The aim of building is to establish a construction together gradually up to level 10.
Each player tries to build or find a way for his own pawn, so he will reach the top first to win the game.
The pawns may only be moved step by step. Never take two or more steps at once.
Of course the pawns may use each build in wooden block while climbing up.
The following applies: You may move your pawn before or after building and even in between two building steps.
Important: You have to consider the exact grid of the building site while building with the wooden blocks and while placing your pawn on every step. You will need a good eye dimension for this.
Building
On level 0 of the green board each player may use the entire area 10 x 10 of the building site.
On level 0 of the blue island board the wooden blocks may only stand or lie on the island fields.
Afterwards you build with the diced wooden blocks, together with the other players, a construction that is getting higher and higher.
The wooden blocks may lie horizontal or stand vertical.
Upon building you can establish bridges, cross connections, t-shaped constructions, barriers and many more.
Note: It is not allowed to build diagonally! Wooden blocks which are put directly on the board may not protrude beyond the grid! From level 2 on this is allowed, however. The construction must not outgrow level 10!
Feature: The construction always has to stay in balance – at no time a wooden block must never fall down. You will need a calm hand!
Moving the Pawn
At the beginning of the game your pawn stands on a green field (level 0). It may not be moved. As soon as a wooden block is located right next to it the pawn may climb upon it.
From this first level on the pawn may:
- always move in every direction on the wooden blocks
- move any distance horizontally
- move up and down several steps – but: It may only climb steps which are exactly one step higher or lower. Steps with a height of 2 or more may not be climbed.
Note: Your pawn may not move diagonally. Your pawn may not move on the place of an opposing player or jump over it. Your pawn may move underneath a cross beam (at least height 2 as space between).
End of the Game
The player whose pawn reaches level 10 first ends the game and wins!
Particularities
Blockade
If your pawn is completely built-in or blocked by opposing players so it will not be able to move up to level 10 by the end of the game you may start over again on a free field of your choice on the building site (level 0) on your next turn.
Balance
On a horizontal or vertical wooden block only other wooden blocks of uneven lengths 3, 5, 7 or 9 may be put upon in traverse matter. The wooden block lies on the one below centrical. In this way he is in the grid and won't fall down.
A wooden block with even lengths 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 can not be put on a vertical block matching the grid exactly as it would turn over. Therefore this is not allowed!
Exception: There is a higher block sideways to which the block can be leaned on.
If you for example put a 4s – and simultaneously a 1s wooden block on a 1s wooden block the balance is kept and the wooden blocks will not turn over. But, in this case, the own pawn can only be moved before or after this building process.
A construction must stay stable without a pawn using its own weight to keep the balance.
Collapse
If you bring a construction down unintended and you are not able to rebuild it as it was before, the game ends! You lose! The winner is the one whose pawn was on the highest level before the collapse.
Arena
The arena setting on the blue stock boards
The back side of the orange-red building site boards offers an interesting variation for the setting of the 55 wooden blocks.
The "Blue Island Board"
The blue island board offers only 40 greens fields for building on level 0.
During the entire game no wooden blocks may be laid or placed on the 60 blue water fields of level 0. The water area may be overbuilt in every direction from level 1 on. Then the wooden blocks may also protrude beyond the surroundings of the grid.
At the beginning the free choice of starting points for the pawns apply as for the green board on the four islands next to the edge.
Have a lot of fun while building and climbing on the two game boards!
Game Variation: "Talō-Fantasy"
Players: 2 - 4 Age: from 5 years Duration: ca. 15 min.
All players build together and let their imagination run free.
Game Preparation
Put all wooden blocks on the stock plans. You can either take the green board, the blue island board or the table as building site. You play with the die, the pawns are not needed.
Game Play
You play in clockwise direction.
Throw the die and decide if you either take the matching wooden block or instead two wooden blocks summing up the thrown number.
You may build whatever you like and are not bounded to the grid.
You may determine the building goal together before starting. Do you want to construct a house, an animal or maybe a vehicle? Or do you want to build something tall which is based on only three feet?
Maybe you want to build daring designs which challenge the balance.
It is also possible to start and just watch the result during the course of the game.
You may throw the die up to three times if it is not possible to get matching blocks any more.
End of the Game
You keep on building until the blocks last without the construction collapsing. Or you just end the game as soon as you have reached your building goal.
Have fun and a calm hand!