- TAMSK
Infobox_Game
subject_name=TAMSK
image_link=
image_caption="TAMSK" after a single move
designer=Kris Burm
publisher=Rio Grande Games Don & Co. Schmidt Spiele
players=2
ages=8 and up
setup_time= 2 minutes
playing_time= 20 minutes
complexity=Medium
strategy=High
random_chance=None
skills=Strategic thought
bggid= 108
bggxrefs=
footnotes="TAMSK" is the second
board game in the "GIPF" Project of six abstract strategy games and was published in 1998. Players move sand timers in an attempt to limit the opponent's moves. The game is unique among the Gipf games in having time as a central game component, and the manner in which time is used is possibly unique amongst board games in general.A timer must have sand running through from top to base to be eligible to be moved, and if it is moved it is turned over. Thus, rather than giving a set amount of time in which to make a move, the timers (each player has 3) all have variable amounts of time remaining in which they can be moved and that time will change any time a move is made. It can be beneficial to delay moving or to move as quickly as possible, and an opponent can use another timer to force a move if it is in their interest. Timers that have run through cannot be moved.
Each move increasingly restricts the usable playing area of the board (a mechanic it shares with its companion games, "
ZÈRTZ " and "DVONN "), which means "TAMSK" games move to an inevitable conclusion in a reasonable amount of time."TAMSK" has had fewer critical plaudits than other games in the "GIPF" project, and its elaborate production has meant a significantly higher retail cost, but it has generated enough demand and kudos to justify another print run, so as of this writing (March 2006) it is available again (after a period where
eBay copies were realising higher than retail prices).With the 2006 release of the third set of GIPF potentials, Kris Burm announced that the "
GIPF project " was complete, but he changed his plans in 2007 with the release of "TZAAR ", which will replace TAMSK as part of the GIPF series (although it is probable that TAMSK will remain available as a game in its own right).External links
* [http://www.gipf.com/tamsk/index.html "TAMSK" official website]
*
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