Playtak House Rules

• Standard rules for Tak can be found here:
  • USTA Rules
  • Greater Than Games - How to play Tak [video]
• White always moves first, though they place a Black stone on their first move.
• Games may be played with komi, meaning that if the game ends in a flat count, black has a number of virtual flats added to their flat count, so that black may win or draw with fewer flats. The size of the komi is adjustable.
• If neither player plays a stone or flattens a standing stone for 25 moves, the game is ruled a draw.

Portable Tak Notation

• PTN or Portable Tak Notation is a method of recording games and describing moves using text.
• You can learn about the game notation here:
  • USTA - Portable Tak Notation
  • Simmon - Portable Tak Notation [video]

Controls

• Desktop

  • Left-click and drag to rotate the board.
  • Scroll wheel to zoom in and out.
  • Left-click a piece in your reserves to select it. Left-click on it again (or right-click) to rotate it to make it a wall.
  • Left-click a square on the board to place the selected piece or to pick up a piece or stack.
  • Right-click and hold on a stack or piece to hide pieces on all other squares, enabling you to see the stack clearly.

• Mobile

  • Touch and drag to rotate the board.
  • Two-finger pinch to zoom in and out
  • Tap a piece from your reserves to select it. Tap it again to rotate it to make it a wall.
  • Tap on a square on the board to place the selected piece or to pick up a piece or stack.

• General Notes

  • If any of the above controls don't work, it means that the control is invalid for the current move.
  • The current player to move is indicated by highlighting their name in the left pane.
  • Selecting 'undo move' in the left pane will require your opponent to also click it to approve it.
  • Selecting 'offer draw' in the left pane will require your opponent to also click it to accept it.

Play Locally

• From the login page, select "Play Scratch."
• Select "New Game" and navigate to the "Play Scratch" tab. From there, select your board size and hit "Play Scratch."

Play Online

• Log in to server by clicking "Log In" button, sign up if necessary, and then log in.
• Click on "New Game" in the menu to start a new game or accept another player's seek by selecting it in the "Join game" menu.
• Click on one of the ongoing games from "Watch" menu to watch an ongoing game.

Board Settings

• Click on the "Settings" icon to change the board style, piece styles, and other options.
• You can set a board overlay to customize the look of the board. You can download the template here.
• You can also change the color and the texture of the border. The border texture can use any image but may need to be adjusted to fit correctly.