Overview

K2 is a hand management mountaineering game where each player directs a team of two climbers trying to reach the peak of K2 (8611m) and survive an 18-day expedition. Players simultaneously select cards for movement and acclimatization, balancing the race to the summit against deadly weather and oxygen deprivation. The higher a climber reaches, the more victory points they earn, but if their acclimatization drops below 1, the climber dies and scores nothing.

Components

• 1 double-sided game board (easier and harder sides)
• 12 weather tiles (6 summer, 6 winter)
• 1 weather marker, 1 starting player marker
• 20 mountaineer pawns (5 sets of 4 pawns, 2 shapes per set)
• 10 tents (5 sets of 2, matching player shapes)
• 5 player mats (in 5 colors)
• 10 acclimatization markers (5 sets of 2)
• 90 player cards (5 sets of 18: movement, rope, acclimatization)
• 20 risk tokens (4 with value 0, 11 with value -1, 5 with value -2)
• 5 rescue cards (1 per player, for family variant)

Setup

1. Choose which board side to play (easier recommended for first game).
2. Each player takes a color set: 4 climbers, 2 tents, player mat, 18 cards, 2 acclimatization markers, rescue card (family variant only).
3. Place 2 differently shaped climbers on the start space of the board and 2 on the lowest score space.
4. Set acclimatization markers on “1” spaces on the player mat.
5. Choose weather tile set (summer = easier, winter = harder). Shuffle and deal 2 face-up above the board. Place remaining tiles in a stack under the second tile. Weather marker goes on the first day.
6. Place risk tokens face-down; randomly reveal 3.
7. Each player shuffles their cards and draws a hand of 6.
8. The player who was most recently in the mountains takes the starting player marker.

Turn Structure

The game lasts 18 turns (an 18-day expedition). Each turn has 5 phases.

Actions

1. Card Selection

All players simultaneously select 3 cards from their hand of 6 and place them face-down. Reveal simultaneously.

2. Risk Tokens

Players add up movement points on their selected cards. For rope cards, only the upward movement value is counted. Acclimatization cards are not counted. The player with the highest total movement must take one of the 3 visible risk tokens and place it beside their cards. Ties: none of the tied players takes a risk token.

3. Action Phase

Players play cards one at a time, starting with the player holding the starting player marker, then clockwise. Players can perform multiple actions per turn as long as they have cards.

Actions available:

• Climber Movement: Use movement cards to move a climber up or down. Movement cost is shown in yellow circles on spaces (1 point if no cost shown). Rope cards give movement in one direction only (up or down). Movement from one card cannot be split between climbers.
• Marking Victory Points: Whenever a climber moves higher, move their victory point marker to match. Victory points only go UP (never decrease when moving down).
• Raising Acclimatization: Play acclimatization cards to add points to a climber’s track. Points from one card cannot be split between climbers.
• Pitching a Tent: Spend movement points equal to the space’s entry cost. Only upward rope card points count. Each climber can pitch only one tent total. Tent stays permanently. A climber can enter a space and pitch a tent in one turn.

Risk Token: If you have one, you must subtract points (1 or 2) from movement or acclimatization (your choice of distribution across played cards/climbers).

4. Acclimatization Checks

Check each climber separately:

• Favorable acclimatization (blue circle): Add the indicated number of acclimatization points.
• Unfavorable acclimatization (red circle): Subtract the indicated number.
• Tent bonus: If a tent of the same color is on the climber’s space, gain 1 acclimatization point.
• Weather effects: Current weather may require additional acclimatization point loss or additional movement costs for specific altitude zones.

Acclimatization limits: Max 6 (reduce any above 6 to 6). If it drops below 1, the climber DIES. Victory points are reduced to 1.

5. End of Turn

Reveal a hidden risk token (so 3 are visible again). Advance the weather marker. Draw cards back to 6.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

After 18 turns, the game ends. Each player’s score is the SUM of their two climbers’ victory points. Highest total wins. Dead climbers score only 1 point.

The victory point for each climber is the HIGHEST point on the mountain they reached during the game (not their final position).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Space capacity: Each space has a maximum number of climbers based on player count. A climber can pass through a full space but cannot stop there.
• Above 7000m (5 players): Additional figures appear showing maximum climber limits. Players should agree on using larger or smaller limits.
• A climber who does not move and did not receive acclimatization cards cannot be affected by a risk token.
• Weather: Each weather tile shows a 3-day forecast. Red circles indicate acclimatization loss per space entered in affected altitude zones. Cloud+person symbols indicate additional movement cost.
• Family Variant: If a climber dies, use the rescue card to save them, moving them to any space below 6000m. The victory point marker moves back 4 spaces. One use only.

Player Reference

Card Type	Function
Movement	Move climber up or down (green circles)
Rope	Move in one direction only (up or down arrows)
Acclimatization	Add acclimatization points to a climber

Key Numbers	Value
Game length	18 turns
Hand size	6 cards
Cards played per turn	3
Climbers per player	2
Max acclimatization	6
Death threshold	Below 1 acclimatization
Dead climber score	1 VP
Cards per player deck	18