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- BGG rating
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Turtle Splash!
- 2–4 players
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XOK
2024
Rules assistance for XOK
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 15 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.0/5
Rules assistant for XOK
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
XOK is a board game released in 2024 for 2 players, 15 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Rafael Escalante and Joel Escalante and its main mechanics are Area Movement and Connections.
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About the game
In XOK, you want to connect ten of your fish and sharks, but your opponent has sharks as well and will use them to take out your fish. Each turn, you either place two fish on the board on adjacent empty spaces or place one shark. Sharks come in two sizes, small and large, and you can place a shark either directly on an opponent's fish or adjacent to one or more of your opponent's fish. When you place a small shark, it eats the fish in front of its mouth; when you place a large shark, it eats each fish in front of its two mouths. (Yes, two!) In addition, if you place a shark on a fish, it eats that fish in addition to 1-2 adjacent fish. A shark must eat at least one fish, and all eaten fish are returned to their owner and can be placed again later. Whoever first groups ten of their fish and sharks wins. If a player cannot take a turn, the game ends, and whoever has the largest group wins, with the number of sharks in those groups being the tiebreaker.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Steffen Spiele
Questions and answers
XOK 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 XOK is 15 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.
The catalogue lists XOK for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
XOK has a complexity rating of 1.0 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.
XOK belongs to these categories: Animals and Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Area Movement and Connections. 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 XOK are: Rafael Escalante and Joel Escalante. 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 XOK 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.