Description

Tabik is a finite territory game for two players: Black and White. It is played on an initially empty square board.

Both players must have shared access to a sufficient number of black stones, white stones and rods. Stones are square-shaped and placed on the spaces (squares) of the board. Rods are as long as stones are wide and placed on the edge segments between adjacent squares.

In these rules, "adjacent" always means "orthogonally adjacent".

A group is a stone along with all other stones one could reach from it through a series of steps between adjacent like-colored stones. Thus, all stones in a group are the same color.

The size of a group is the number of stones in it.

On your turn, if possible, perform exactly one of these actions:

- Place two stones of different colors on adjacent empty squares and a rod on the edge segment between them.

- Swap the positions of two adjacent stones of different colors not separated by a rod and place a rod on the edge segment between them.

If you have no moves available, you must pass. Passing is otherwise not allowed.

The game ends when both players pass in succession. The player with the higher score in the final position wins. Your score is the biggest group size in which you have the greater number of groups. If there is no such size, your score is zero. If both players are tied at zero points, whoever made the last move loses.

The pie rule is used in order to make the game fair. This means White will have the option, on their first turn only, to swap sides with their opponent instead of making a regular move.

-description from designer