- BGG rank
- BGG #7,022
- BGG rating
- 6.2
The Very Clever Pipe Game
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.6/5
- 1996
- BGG rank
- BGG #23,753
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Take-Back-Toe
2011
Rules assistance for Take-Back-Toe
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 6 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Take-Back-Toe
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Take-Back-Toe is a board game released in 2011 for 2 players and 6 minutes per game. It was designed by James Ernest and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Square Grid, and Pattern Building.
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #21,570
- BGG rating
- 5.8
TimeLine
- 2–5 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2003
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,102
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Tak
- 2 players
- 20–60 min
- Complexity 2.4/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,206
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Button Men
- 2 players
- 5 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 1999
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,427
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Fish Cook
- 2–6 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2012
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,970
- BGG rating
- 6.1
Unexploded Cow
- 2–6 players
- 25 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 2001
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,509
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Deadwood Studios USA
- 2–8 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 1999
- BGG rank
- BGG #21,420
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Trollius'n Roll
- 1–6 players
- 10–30 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2024
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,019
- BGG rating
- 6.2
Starbase Jeff
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 1998
- BGG rank
- BGG #8,857
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Camden
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2002
- BGG rank
- BGG #27,487
- BGG rating
- 5.5
Oust
- 2 players
- 20–60 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2007
- BGG rank
- BGG #18,015
- BGG rating
- 7.3
MeM
- 1–2 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 1968
About the game
Take-Back-Toe is a short abstract strategy game for two players. Starting with a central row of ten chips on four adjacent spaces, players try to move chips to create three stacks of equal height on their side of the board. On a turn, a player rolls a six-sided die, then moves a stack of exactly that many chips to an orthogonally adjacent space on the 3x4 game board. A player cannot reverse the opponent's previous move. For a longer challenge, players can complete a set number of games, alternating the start player and scoring as many points for a victory as the height of the winning stacks. The player with the highest cumulative score wins. The game was the winner of the Thousand Year Game Design Challenge, a 2011 contest to design a game that might still be played a thousand years hence.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- (Web published)
- Cheapass Games
- Level 99 Games
Questions and answers
Take-Back-Toe supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Take-Back-Toe is 6 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Take-Back-Toe has a complexity rating of 1.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Take-Back-Toe belongs to these categories: Print & Play and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Square Grid, and Pattern Building. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Take-Back-Toe are: James Ernest. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Take-Back-Toe as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.