Workshop

When James Ernest created Tak, he also discovered a new obsession: wood shop.

What started as a prototyping necessity became a magical playground, as James crafted pieces, boards, and accessories for some of his own favorite games.

Today his obsession with woodworking has produced far more objects than one person needs, so we’re introducing the Workshop page, and adding these items to the shop, as an attempt to get some of this stuff out of the basement.

We’re sure this will only encourage him.

The pieces below are handcrafted by James Ernest, in the sense that they were made with the finest woodworking machines that a game designer’s budget can afford. Except for the piece packs, which we sourced from Amazon, just like you can.

Everything is in limited quantity, sometimes just one or two pieces. So if you see something you like, grab it before it goes away!

A couple of caveats: We are currently shipping only to US addresses, and we’re not sure if the shipping calculator is reliable, so if something looks weird please let us know. Also, these items are handmade from wood. so they will have imperfections and character, and you should treat them like anything else made of wood. Except trees. Trees you treat differently.

Tablero Boards

This is a standard-sized board for Tablero di Berona, made from purpleheart and maple. The board is rougly 9.25” x 7.25” x .325”.

This item comes from a limited run of eight, and is available with or without the required pieces.

Medium 6x6 Boards

This is a 6x6 board for Prudh, Tak, or any other board game that uses such a board. These boards are 8.25” square and just over a quarter inch thick, nicely portable while still reasonably sturdy.

These boards were made from scraps of maple, walnut, and sapele, and each one is different. So we gave them names and listed them separately. Each board is $65.

  • Andrea: Maple and Walnut (SOLD)

  • Bruce: Maple and Walnut (SOLD)

  • Candace: Maple and Sapele (SOLD)

  • David: Maple and Sapele (SOLD)

  • Enrique: Maple and Sapele

  • Fernando: Maple and Sapele (SOLD)

Chessboard

A one-of-a-kind maple and walnut chessboard. This one item was made from scrap wood and there is only one.

We’ll likely make more of this item, though there are not a lot of Crab Fragment games that play on 8x8 boards. Check out our fantasy chess and checkers games, Fist and Hens and Chicks.

  • Maple and Walnut Chessboard: $85

Cigar Ashtrays

A locked-in-the-house Covid project, these two handsome cigar ashtrays are cut from single blocks of wood. They are a handsome and elegant design, suitable for ashes, dice, or anything else that goes in a bowl.

There are only two of these so we expect they will disappear quickly.

More Items Coming Soon!

We are just beginning to experiment with the idea of selling real items. Give us a tick let us know what you’d like to see, and we’ll soon add more strange and wonderful things.