Designed by ??.
Published by ASS.
Translated by Chris Mellor with expansions by John Lyne.
Each player attempts to amass as great a fortune as possible through buying, building, renting out and selling ground plots, houses and apartments.
One can acquire property by paying cash, or by using a combination of cash and bank mortgages and/or building society loans.
You can obtain a mortgage at any time from the bank but you are taxed at a higher rate than for building society loans (10% as opposed to 5%).
To obtain a building society loan you must first deposit money with the building society. A series of steps have to be taken to deposit money with the building society, spread over several turns, thus it is not an instant process. Therefore although the interest rate is lower it takes longer to obtain a building society loan than to obtain a bank mortgage.
It can be useful to first take out a bank mortgage and then convert it to a building society loan. You can not finance the acquisition of property wholly through loans, you must also use some of your own personal capital. In any event you must not get too much in debt in relation to your income. You should buy sufficient insurance and have money in reserve. You will need insurance for unforseen changes of fortune as dictated by the chance cards.
Before the game begins it is a good idea for each player to have a look at the ground plot cards (red over green and green over yellow) and house cards (red over yellow) to get a feel for prices, rents etc. It would also be a good idea to look at the list of chance cards to assess the need for insurance.
The game ends after a set time determined beforehand by the players or when all the ground plots, houses and apartments are in the possession of the players.
Each player calculates the total value of his ground plots, houses and apartments according to the buying price shown on each card. He adds his cash and any money he has in credit with the building society and deducts any bank/building society loans. Insurance chips are worth nothing. The player with the greatest fortune is the winner.
The chance ('Zufalls') cards are shuffled and placed face down by the board. Separate the house cards and the plot cards (one might consider separating the plot cards by road) and place them in piles by the board. One player is chosen to be the banker. He oversees the running of the game, deals with the money, notes down the mortgages given out and is the arbiter in borderline interpretations of the rules. If more than 4 are playing, it is recommended that the banker does not play.
Each player receives 50,000DM (Deutsche Spielmarks) as start capital as well as a playing piece which is placed on the start space. The first player throws the dice and moves his playing piece the number of spaces indicated on the dice. Play then proceeds clockwise.
All the roads are one way and can only be travelled in accordance with the directions given by the arrows. You can decide whether to take short cuts e.g. via the Parkallee.
The green spaces with a white arrow connect to undeveloped ground plots. The red spaces with a white arrow connect to plots which have already been developed. When you land on either of these types of spaces you can buy the appropriate plot, provided it has not already been bought by another player (but see the rule on selling property below). The relevant plot card gives its buying price ('Kaufpreis'). If you buy the plot you receive the relevant ground plot card if it is an undeveloped plot or the relevant house plot card if it is a developed plot. Place the card face up in front of you.
If you land on a space which connects to one of your own, undeveloped ground plots you can build a house on it. You choose a house from the house cards available, pay the bank the 'building' price ('baupreis') and place the house card by the relevant ground plot card. The house and ground plot now form a unit and can not be sold off separately.
(i) Each time a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Rathausstrasse 4' he pays property depreciation of 1,000DM per house or apartment which he owns. (ii) Each time a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Hauptstrasse 14' he receives rent for all plots in his possession (both developed and undeveloped).
At any time a player can sell a developed or an undeveloped plot to another player at a freely agreed price. If you sell to the bank, then you sell at the mortgage price ('Beleihungsgrenze') given on each card.
In order to obtain a loan from a building society, you must first deposit 40% of the total contract value on the 'Guthaben' (credit) side of the appropriate building society card. Note that these cards can only be acquired when you land on or pass the purple space 'Haupstrasse 4'.
The green counters are used to represent deposits and cost 4,000DM each. In order to obtain a loan you will need to deposit:
2 green counters for a contract of 20,000DM 4 green counters for a contract of 40,000DM 8 green counters for a contract of 80,000DM
Apart from when the building society card is initially obtained (when optionally the first green 'deposit' counter can be bought) the 'deposit' counters can only be bought when a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Seestrasse 11'.
The deposit is returned when the loan is taken out. The actual loan is for the contract value less the deposit. Thus, for example, although the contract may be for 20,000DM the corresponding loan will be for 12,000DM. Equally, although you have to deposit 40% of the contract value in order to obtain the loan, the deposit actually represents 66.6% of the loan you eventually receive.
Note that (i) each time a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Rathausstrasse 4' he pays tax of 1,000DM for each 'deposit' counter on the 'Guthaben' side of the building society cards and (ii) each time a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Haupstrasse 4' he receives 100DM interest for each 'deposit' counter on the cards.
Provided the deposit conditions are met, you can withdraw the full value of the contract (your own deposited capital plus the loan balance) from the bank at any time. You return the deposited counters and turn the building society card over so that the building society 'Darlehen' (loan) side is face up.
On this side of the card 'Anfangs-Darlehen' shows the initial amount of the loan. The circles that have not been covered with counters show how much of the loan is still outstanding. The loan can be repayed in full or in part only after landing on or passing the purple space 'Hauptstrasse 4'. Place a green counter on one of the circles on the 'Darlehen' side of the building society card for each repayment of 4,000DM made.
Any building society loan and bank mortgage together cannot be higher than the mortgage limit ('Beleihungsgrenze') given on the plot card. Place loan card and note of mortgage taken out by the plot card(s) to make sure the limit is not exceeded.
At any time, the money that has been deposited with the building society can be withdrawn for buying, building or renovating. You receive from the game bank 4,000DM for each counter that is cashed in i.e. there is no charge for withdrawals.
These can be obtained at any time but only in increments of 10,000DM. The banker hands out the money and makes a note of the debt. Ground plot and house cards show the maximum level of mortgage that can be obtained. This maximum level includes both bank mortgages and building society loans together.
The total amount of mortgages and loans a player has cannot be higher than the sum of all the mortgage limits given on his properties.
If after buying a property these limits rise only slightly, a player must pay back his debt as quickly as possible so that this basic requirement is fulfilled. He must not acquire any further mortgages or more property. If a player lacks the cash to repay a debt he must cash in some of his 'deposit' counters or sell one of the plots he possesses.
10% interest is payable on all bank mortgages when a player lands on or passes the purple space 'Hauptstrasse 14'. After paying this interest, it is advisable for the player to convert any bank mortgages into building society loans.
In the game there are undeveloped ground plots and plots already developed at the beginning of the game - holiday apartments, detached family houses, holiday bungalows and a huge castle.
Green spaces with an arrow connect to undeveloped ground plots. If you land on one of these spaces you can buy the ground plot, or, if you already own it, you can build a house on it.
Red spaces with an arrow connect to plots which had already been developed at the start of the game. If you land on one of these spaces you can purchase the property.
Space "Hauptstrasse 6" has a total of 8 apartments of different sizes and buying prices and each has its own plot card. These apartments can be bought and sold together or separately by different players
If you land on a Mauve space you take the top chance card and carry out its instructions. If the card does not affect you, you may take a further card
- 'Hauptstrasse 4' - 'Bausparkasse Haupstelle' - If you land on or pass over this space, then:
- 'Hauptstrasse 8' - 'Versicherung' - If you land on or pass over this space you can buy up to 3 red 'insurance' counters for 1,000DM each. An 'insurance' counter insures against any damage incurred through one of the chance cards. These counters are worth nothing at the end of the game.
- 'Hauptstrasse 14' - 'Sparkasse' - If you land on or pass over this space, then:
- 'Rathausstrasse 4' - 'Finanzamt' - If you land on or pass over this space then:
- 'Seestrasse 7' - 'Fabrik' - If you land on or pass over this space you receive your yearly income of 30,000DM unless you are in possession of a chance card which sets a different yearly income.
- 'Seestrasse 11' - 'Bausparkasse Zweigstelle' - If you land on or pass over this space then you can buy a 'deposit' counter for each of the building society contracts you have in your possession and place it on a vacant Guthaben circle. The number of 'deposit' counters shows the level of your credit.
The 'Bauspar' cards 'Guthaben' side (Credit side) Bausparsumme - The total amount of money you receive from the bank when you have deposited 40% of this total (covered all the circles on the Guthaben side).
Guthaben-Zinsen je Chip - Interest you receive for each counter.
'Darlehen' side (Loan side) Anfangs-Darlehen - The initial amount of the loan.
Darlehens-Zinsen je nicht abgedecktes Feld - The tax you have to pay for each circle not covered by a counter.
Plots already developed at the beginning of the game - (these cards have a reddish-brown bar over a green bar at the top of the card and a picture of a building at the bottom).
Kaufpreis - The buying price.
Beleihungsgrenze - The maximum amount of mortgage and loans together you can have on this plot.
Jahresmieterlos - The yearly rent you receive.
Undeveloped Plots - (these cards have a green bar over a yellow ochre bar at the top of the card and a picture of undeveloped land at the bottom of the card). Baugrundstuck - The size of the land.
Jahresmieterlos - The yearly rent you receive (solange unbebaut) - (so long as it is not built upon)
Two cards have the words 'nur fur Ferienbungalow' in brackets beneath the land area information ( Uferweg 1 and 5 ). These plots are only large enough to build holiday bungalows.
Card 'Waldstrasse 4' - can never be built upon. When a player lands on this space, he must pay the owner 2,000DM Hunting Fees.
(for use on undeveloped plots - these cards have a reddish brown bar over a yellow bar at the top of the card)
Baupreis - The cost of the building.
The one 'Zweifamilienhaus' card and the four 'Grobes Einfamilienhaus' cards have at the bottom the words "erfordert mindestens 900 (e.g.) qm Grundstuck". The number shown gives the minimum size of groundplot that is required to accommodate this house.
The two cards 'Ferien-Bungalow' can only be built upon the ground plots whose cards say that they are only suitable for bungalows.
The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell