If you’ve ever watched two experienced players engaged in a game of Klask, the rules can seem a little hard to follow, while the game itself could easily baffle some onlookers.
At a glance, it can look as though two black sticks (strikers) are moving around on their own, batting a tiny orange ball around a table with abandon while three marshmallow-looking magnets randomly attach themselves to those sticks.
The truth, however, is that this most unique of tabletop games requires a good level of skill to take control of that ball and place it an opponent’s goal, all with the aim of being the first player to score six points.
If Klask has caught your curiosity as of late, you’re in luck. Below, we’ll outline everything you need to know to start playing this incredibly enjoyable game for yourself.
What is Klask?
Like an interesting combination of air hockey, pool, and Fussball, Klask is a fast-paced game in which players do battle by using magnetic steering sticks underneath the table to guide their strikers and ultimately score the most points.
Developed by game designer and carpenter Mikkel Bertelsen, Klask became popular as a pub game in Bertelsen’s native Denmark. Gradually, it spread across Europe before finding a fanbase in the United States, where today it is played in official competitions up and down the country while still enjoying popularity as a fun party game.
Number of Players Required: 2
Who Can Play It: Older children and adults
Difficulty: Medium
Main Objective: Land the ball in your opponent’s goal to score a point. The first player to score six points wins the game.
Playing Klask: What You’ll Need
Klask requires more components than most tabletop games, but don’t let that put you off. When you buy a Klask set, you’ll get everything you need to start playing.
This includes:
- Klask table
- 2 magnetic strikers
- 2 steering magnets (to control the strikers)
- 3 magnets
- 1 orange ball (most sets include a spare)
- Scoring disks.
Klask was ranked as the #1 party game of 2015 in Sweden and Norway!
Carefully designed in the finest regions of Denmark with a lovely wooden finish to help the game stand out.
If you lose or break an individual piece, the game’s inventors also sell Klask spare parts sets which contain additional balls, magnets, and a single striker with steering magnet.
Setting Up Your Game
Once you have your complete Klask kit, setting up the game ready for play is easier than it might first appear.
- First, place the Klask table on a solid surface between both players
- Next, take the three small, white magnets and position them on the three white circles in the center of the board
- The white magnets need to be placed with the magnetic side facing up so that they’re drawn to the strikers rather than away from them
- Place the two strikers on top of the Klask table, one at each player’s side of the table
- Place the steering magnets under the table, directly beneath the strikers so that the two pieces connect magnetically
- Finally, place both scoring disks in the zero position on the numbered side of the table.
Klask Rules and Game Play
Official Klask rules state that the youngest player starts the game by placing the orange ball on either of the two starting corners at their end of the table.
From there, gameplay is as simple as can be:
Use the steering magnet under the table to control the striker and move the ball around the table, aiming to get it into the round hole (goal) at your opponent’s end. Every time you score a goal, you move your scoring disk up one place, from zero to one, one to two, and so on.
The first player to move their scoring disk all the way up to six is declared the victor.
The Rules of Klask
Like air hockey, Fussball or similar games, there’s no taking turns. Players are free to move their striker as much as they wish.
There are no out-of-bounds areas either. The whole Klask table is in-play, but watch out for those three white magnets in the middle of the table. As you move closer to them, those magnets may latch onto your striker. Though that might not seem like a big deal, if two or more magnets attach to your striker, your opponent gains a point.
After a point has been scored, the white magnets are returned to the center of the table, and the player who conceded the point restarts the game by moving the ball from one of their starting corners.
How to Keep Score in Klask
Another way that Klask proves itself to be one of the more unique games out there is that it comes with four different ways to claim a point.
These are:
1. Scoring a Goal
This is the main objective of the game and tends to be the easiest way to score points. Using your steering magnet to guide it, move your striker to hit the orange ball in your opponent’s goal.
2. Magnets Sticking to Striker
If more than one magnet sticks to a player’s striker, the opposing player scores a point. It’s worth mentioning here that if only one magnet attaches to a striker then gameplay continues uninterrupted.
3. Pulling a Striker into a Goal
If a player accidentally moves their striker into their own goal, their opponent scores a point. This is true even if the player immediately moves the striker back out of the goal. The moment the striker lands in their own goal, a point is given.
4. Losing Control of the Striker
If a player loses control of their striker and can’t regain control using their steering magnet, then their opponent scores a point.
Keeping Score in Klask: An Important Point
Before you begin play, you should know that only a single point can be scored at any one time.
Let’s say that your opponent scores a goal against you at the same time that you get two white magnets stuck to your striker and drag it into your own goal. In this scenario, your opponent would still only get one point rather than the three points they would have gained if those three occurrences happened separately.
Frequently Asked Questions About Klask
What is a ‘Biscuit’ in Klask?
When you watch serious Klask players in action, especially at big-time tournaments and competitions, you’ll often hear them refer to a ‘biscuit.’ This is simply the informal name given to the white magnets in the middle of the table.
What Happens if the Ball Goes off The Table?
If a ball goes off the table during a game of Klask, the game is paused and the ball is placed on whichever starting corner is closest to the part of the table where the ball went over the edge.
The game then resumes from there.
What Happens if the Magnets Go Off The Table?
If one or more magnets fall off the table, then the game continues uninterrupted. However, if a striker falls off the table, this is a clear case of the player losing control of it, and their opponent scores a point.
Alternatives to Klask
Klask may be one of the more unique games we’ve ever come across, but if you enjoy this kind of dexterity-based board game then there are a few alternatives that you might enjoy.
Crokinole is often described as a unique hybrid of traditional games like marbles, shuffleboard, and the classic British game of Subbuteo. This one uses a round board on which players flick small disks with the aim of landing them in certain parts of the board to score points.
Like Klask, it’s an exciting game that requires a great deal of skill, however, the vast number of rules and strategic components make it more suitable to advanced players.
We’re also big fans of tabletop slingshot games like this table hockey game from Bakam. As you can imagine, it has even more in common with standard air hockey than Klask, albeit played on a smaller wooden board and using a rubber slingshot rather than mallets to move the pucks.
Both games are an ideal combination of skill, strategy, and pure fun, but for now, we’re happy to get our strikers out and avoid those biscuits in another entertaining round of Klask.
