The rules of Taka.

Taka is played on a 14-row by 10-column board. The columns are labeled A through J (left to right). The rows are labeled 1 through 14 (top to bottom).

The goals

Each player defends a goal — the four squares at the far end of the board on their side:

• White's goal: row 1, columns D–G (D1, E1, F1, G1)
• Black's goal: row 14, columns D–G (D14, E14, F14, G14)

Shooting zones

Each side of the board contains a shooting zone — the five rows nearest each player's own goal. A piece must be in the opponent's shooting zone to take a shot at goal.

• White: rows 1–5
• Black: rows 10–14

The center of the board (rows 6–9) is the midfield, outside both shooting zones.

The pieces

Each player has 11 pieces and 1 ball. One of the 11 is the goalie; the other 10 are field pieces. Both balls are in play simultaneously.

The goalie circle

Each player has a goalie circle — a special position where their goalie starts and may return to. The circle is its own distinct position, not located on any of the four squares around it. Field pieces cannot enter the circle. The goalie's presence in the circle does not block its four adjacent squares.

Pieces cannot enter goal squares

The four goal squares on each side can only be entered by a goalie. Field pieces cannot move into goal squares — even their own.

Starting positions

Who moves first

White makes the first move.

A player wins by passing or shooting their ball into one of the opponent's four goal squares. The game ends as soon as a goal is scored.

Each turn, the active player takes one action, then play passes to the opponent. The six possible actions are:

• Move a piece (without the ball)
• Dribble (move with the ball one square)
• Turn (change facing direction)
• Pass (to a teammate or empty square)
• Tackle (steal the ball from an opponent)
• Activate the goalie

A player must take exactly one action per turn. They cannot pass their turn. Some actions allow a follow-up — for example, after a normal pass, the same player may immediately pass again. Those exceptions are explained where they apply.

Pieces can move vertically, horizontally, or diagonally — eight possible directions. Each move travels in one direction only. Pieces cannot share a square with another piece, and cannot move through another piece. A piece can share a square with a ball.

How far a piece can move

• Toward the opponent's goal: up to 3 squares
• Toward your own goal: up to 2 squares
• Sideways: up to 2 squares

Pieces move further when attacking than when retreating. This rewards forward momentum.

Picking up a loose ball

If a piece moves into a square containing a loose ball, the piece picks it up. The player then gets one immediate follow-up: dribble one square, turn, or make one pass. After that, the turn ends.

This is the most important concept in Taka. When a piece holds a ball, the ball is shown on one side of the piece. That side tells you which direction the piece is facing.

Facing determines where the piece can pass, and whether opponents can tackle it (because the body shields the ball from one side).

The unified facing rule

Every time the ball moves to a new square, the player chooses which way the holding piece faces. This applies after a dribble, a received pass, a loose-ball pickup, a tackle, and an explicit turn.

There is one exception: the middle piece in a consecutive pass has its facing automatically set based on where the ball came from.

Turning

A player may use their entire turn to change the facing of a piece they already hold. The piece doesn't move.

A piece holding a ball may dribble — move one square in any direction while keeping the ball. After dribbling, the player chooses the new facing direction.

A piece cannot dribble into a square occupied by another piece, nor into a goal square (only goalies enter goal squares).

Passing is the heart of Taka's tactical depth.

Basic rules

• A pass travels in one direction — vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. It cannot turn corners.
• There is no limit to how many squares a pass can travel. A pass of one square is allowed.
• Facing determines where the piece can pass.
• A pass can travel to a teammate's square or to an empty square.
• Pieces in the path of a normal pass block it (chip passes can travel over pieces — see below).

Facing determines where you can pass

A piece can pass to five of the eight directions around it: the facing direction itself, the two perpendicular sides, and the two diagonals on the facing side. It cannot pass directly behind, or to the two back diagonals.

Passing to a teammate

The ball ends up on the teammate's square. The teammate holds it. The player chooses the receiver's facing.

Passing to an empty square

The ball sits on the empty square as a loose ball. The next piece to enter — friend or foe — picks it up. A pass to a square that already has a loose ball is illegal.

Moving to receive

A teammate may move one square in any direction to receive a pass — but only when the pass is a single normal pass to a teammate. Not allowed on chip passes, cross-zone passes, or any part of a consecutive-pass sequence.

Chip passes

A chip pass travels over pieces. Rules:

• Can travel over any number of pieces.
• Blocked if a piece sits directly adjacent in the direction of the pass (the chip can't lift over an immediate neighbor).
• Only one chip pass per turn.
• A piece in its own last row cannot chip over the goalie.

Two passes in one turn (consecutive passes)

After a normal pass to a teammate, the player may immediately make a second pass with the receiver. The middle piece's facing is set automatically by where the ball came from. At most one of the two passes may be a chip. Not allowed after a tackle or after a cross-zone pass.

Cross-zone passes

A pass from your own shooting zone all the way into the opponent's shooting zone uses the player's entire turn. No teammate move-to-receive, no consecutive pass, only a facing choice for the receiver if there is one. Only this direction counts — passes into or out of the midfield, and passes back toward your own zone, are not cross-zone.

The goal mouth is not a corridor

A pass may never travel through or over a goal square — it can only end in one, as a shot at the opponent's goal. The ball can't be played along the last row across the face of the goal, and can't be chipped over a piece standing on a goal square. Passing into your own goal is illegal. A pass to your goalie in its circle is unaffected.

A shot is a pass that lands in the opponent's goal. It follows the same rules as any pass — direction, facing, chip rules, and path-blocking.

The shooter must be inside the opponent's shooting zone:

• White shoots from rows 10–14.
• Black shoots from rows 1–5.

A shot can be blocked by:

• A goalie sitting on the goal square targeted by the shot.
• A defender in the path of the shot (unless the shot is a chip that lifts over them, subject to chip rules).

Each player has one goalie. It defends the goal and is the only piece allowed inside goal squares. In every other respect, it plays like a normal piece — it can hold a ball, pass, tackle, and be tackled.

The circle

When the goalie is in the circle, it does not block any goal squares from shots. The circle is not a goal square.

Activating

Activating the goalie uses the entire turn. The goalie jumps from the circle to any empty square in a 3×4 area extending out from the goal (rows 1–3, cols D–G for White; rows 12–14, cols D–G for Black). Activation is treated as a jump — no path-clearance check.

Once activated

The goalie blocks any shot to the square it occupies, can move between goal squares, and can return to its circle by moving from any square adjacent to the circle. It can also leave the goal area entirely.

No chip over a goalie from the last row

A piece in the last row of the board cannot chip the ball over a goalie. The pass must travel along the board.

A tackle steals the ball from an opponent. To tackle, your piece must be adjacent (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally) to the opponent, not be holding a ball, and be able to reach the ball without going through the carrier's body.

The ball sits on the side the carrier is facing. That side, and the two perpendicular sides, are reachable. The opposite side and its diagonals are protected.

What happens

The two pieces swap squares. The tackler holds the ball. The player chooses the tackler's new facing.

After a tackle

The same player may immediately dribble one square, turn, or make one pass (without a teammate moving to receive). A consecutive pass is not allowed after a tackle.

Defending the ball you carry

You are vulnerable from the side the ball sits on and its perpendiculars. You can protect yourself by turning, dribbling to safety, or passing the ball away.

A piece is offside if, at the moment the ball is passed to it, it is closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last opponent.

The goalie counts as an opponent. When the goalie is in its circle, it is treated as occupying its own second-to-last row (row 2 for White; row 13 for Black).

A pass to an offside teammate is illegal. The rule applies to passes to teammates, not to empty-square passes — you can pass into space behind the defense.

A loose ball is a ball with no piece holding it. Loose balls happen when a player makes an empty-square pass with no teammate adjacent to receive, or in other situations where a ball ends up unoccupied.

The next piece to enter the square takes possession. The picker gets one immediate follow-up — dribble, turn, or one pass — then the turn ends.

Two balls cannot share a square.

In games to multiple goals, after a goal is scored: the scoring team places their ball on any of their pieces in their own shooting zone (or on a vacant square in that zone). Their only action that turn is to set the facing of the piece holding the ball. Play then passes to the opponent.

A player cannot repeat the same two-move sequence more than twice. The player who started a repeated sequence cannot start it a third time. This prevents endless back-and-forth.

Both balls are in play at the same time. A player can hold one or both. Each turn is still a single action — you cannot move one ball and then the other in the same turn. Two balls cannot share a square.

If the exact same position (every piece and ball in the same place, with the same player to move) occurs three times, the game is a draw.

The game lasts 75 complete turns each (150 total) — full time. If nobody has won by the end, the game is a draw.

In timed formats, players may also agree to a draw, or run out of time without a winner being decided.

The default win condition is first goal. Players may also agree on: first to N goals · move-limited · time-limited · time-and-move-limited.

Custom formations are allowed by agreement, ideally by taking turns placing pieces so neither player can fully adapt.