Xok is apparently the Mayan word for shark; pronounced 'shock' this came as a shock to us because we initially assumed Xok was an entirely abstract game. Tho' it does indeed play as an abstract game, Xok does have a theme - the pieces all represent fish and sharks.
As with most good abstract games, the rules of Joel and Rafael Escalante's two-player game are simple. Your objective is to have 10 of your pieces connected on the board. On your turn you can place two of your (14) fish pieces in any two adjacent spaces on the board. Alternatively, you can place out one of your (6) shark pieces. A shark can be placed on top of an opponent's fish or in an empty space adjacent to an opponent's fish. It will eat the fish it is placed on and the one or two fish to which its mouths are facing. Sharks must always eat at least one fish in order to be placed out and, once placed, sharks remain in situ for the remainder of the game.
That's all there is to the rules, so this is a game that can be very quickly learned. Don't be deceived tho' into thinking that this makes Xok a 'simple' game. Fish and sharks dwell in the murky depths and there is most certainly a lot of depth to this game as players manouevre for position, using their permanently positioned sharks both to help build their 10-piece chain and to disrupt their opponent's chain. Eaten fish are recycled back to your supply but the permanently positioned sharks are a strictly finite resource that needs to be husbanded carefully: use up all your sharks too early in the game and you'll have given your opponent free reign of the seas.
With its beech wood pieces and fabric 'board', publishers Helvetiq and Steffen Spiele have done a great job with the production of Xok so that all the components fit comfortably in a compact box. It feels a little like Checkers meets Connect Four. And Xok is a game that plays quickly too: our plays of Xok at Board's Eye View have almost all been won and lost in less than 15 minutes.