Translated from French by Steve ThorsTen (2019)
Taki is played with 2 to 10 players. The goal of the game is simple enough. You have 112 cards, and about 20 minutes per game. Players who are at least 6 years old may play.
The Goal of the Game
Every turn, players throw a card at the discard pile, which is placed at the center of the table. The card that is discarded has to be of the same suite as the rest of the cards in the round. In addition, there are special cards which chance the direction of the game and thus influence the overall gameplay. These special cards can cause a player to draw a card or skip a turn. The goal of the game is to ultimately discard all of one's cards.
Preparing to Play
The cards are all shuffled together and distributed to players. Each player should receive 8 cards. As to the rest of the cards, they form the common deck which is placed in the middle. A card is then drawn from the common deck and placed face up – that is the starting card, or the Leading Card.
Gameplay
The game is simple enough – the first player to start is the youngest, and the next player will continue clockwise. To complete a turn, a player is supposed to put a card on the deck, draw a card, or use one of the special cards to force an action from another player. When a card is played in the common deck, there are several rules that must be observed. The cards that enter the discard pile must be of the same color or have the same number as the previous card on the discard pile
This doesn't stop you from playing super taki, change colors or use the wild cards. When a player has only one card remaining in their hand, they must announce it by saying 'taki' out loud. If a player fails to announce taki and another player's turn comes, then the player who had 'taki' would need to draw four cards from the deck.
The game ends as soon as the last game. There are several action cards to use as well. They are as follows:
- Pass: The next player must pass their turn
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Change of direction: The turn of the players change and they go counter-clockwise – or back to clockwise if the card is played a second time
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Color change: A player who uses this card will change the color that must be played next and effectively change the Leading Card
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Minus two (-2): The next player must draw 2 cards or put a '+2' card on the pile to counteract the action.
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Taki: When a player plays a Taki card, players are eligible to place as many cards of the Taki's color as they want to. A Taki card must be announced, as pointed out already. If a player forgets to 'close' the taki after their turn is passed, the taki remains open so that other players – other than the one who announced the taki – are eligible to do the same as the player who used the taki. A taki is then only closed if and when one of the other players declares it so or when a card of another color is played instead.
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Super Taki: A card that functions just like Taki. The only difference is the player gets to choose their own color.
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Stop: The next player lose their turn
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King: Cancels the need to play according to the Leading Card. Instead, the player gets another play and can play any card of their choosing
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Wild card: The wild card in Taki is different. It's a pictured as a curved arrow that forces you to trade cards with your neighbour. Each player must decide whether to trade left or right. The Wild card has no color, so you can follow up with any color after that.
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Plus (+): The plus card may only be played with another card of the same color. If you play a Plus card with a 3, and form the +3, you are forcing everyone else to draw three cards. This can only be countered if another player uses the same combination – regardless of the color. When and if that happens, the player who used the original action ends up drawing three cards instead.
Game's End
The game's end is straightforward. A game of Taki is accomplished as soon as a player has played all of his or her cards. This wins them the round. Once a victor is announced, all other players lose points. For each action card, you need to subtract 10 points. As to the winner, they will claim 100 points for each successful round they accomplish.
You can determine the winning conditions based on either a fixed point limit or a number of rounds you intend to play first. The game finishes completely when one of the two winning condition is completed. The player with the most point is naturally the winner.
Adapted from the original source: solyanidjar.superforum.fr