Designed by Karl-Heinz Schmiel
Published by Moskito Games
Copyright 1995, Karl-Heinz Schmiel
Translated by Kurt Adam
(mage@vt.edu)
For 3-5 players.
About 90 minutes.
[Translators Note: I have left in the cartoon sections of the rule book since I feel that they help make the rules clearer. I have given the three characters names to make the conversations easier to follow without referring to the drawings. For the examples Ingrid is Player A, Hans is Player B and Klaus is Player C.]
Ingrid: What's the object of this game?
Hans: To collect points.
Klaus: That's usually the case! Points or money. How do you get points?
Hans: Through chips.
Klaus: Ah, whoever has the most chips wins! How boring!
Hans: No, no, the chips could be worth different amounts, depending on color or number!!
Klaus: And who decides the value?
Hans: We do! Everyone has cards that regulate the value of the chips.
Ingrid: Hah?!? Then does everyone play with his own value??
Hans: No, the cards are voted on. Whatever the majority wants, becomes valid.
Ingrid: Super, true democracy!
Ingrid: However, what is this: "Any player who votes differently than every other player, gets 5 chips from the pool."?
Hans: Well, somehow you have to get chips.
Klaus: That's minority protection. Fully democratic!
Ingrid: Here's another card: "Whoever speaks, pays 3 chips".
Hans: Then this will become a very quiet evening. I won't vote for this rule!
Klaus: Only because you could not stop your mouth!
Ingrid: Exactly, but we can settle this yet.
Hans: Just like the name of the game says.
Klaus: So, do we start now, or what?!
The yes/no stickers must be stuck on the square, white voting tiles. On one side stick a Yes (Ja) label, and on the other side stick a No (Nein) label.
Ingrid: Man, this is a long setup!
Hans: Yes!! I want everyone to know the whole thing!
Ingrid: Well, it's too long.
Klaus: Oh, you're just lazy!
Ingrid: So? What about it? Isn't there a short version?
Hans: Yes, there's a cartoon on top on page 4.
Ingrid: Great, that's what I call service.
The three game mats are placed in the middle of the table. They should be arranged so that every player can easily read the writing on them.
The chips are also placed in the middle of the table and they form the pool. The pool should be easily reachable for every player. For 4 or 5 players use all the chips, for 3 players only use 15 of each color.
Each player gets 4 voting tiles.
The deck is sorted according to the card types.
* The 7 "Scoring Rule" (Wertung-Regel) cards are placed on the "Wertung-Regel" space of the game mat. Place the card "Single + Bonus" (Einfach + Bonus) face-up on top. It will be used for the first Scoring Round.
* The 5 "Prediction Rule" (Prognose-Regel) cards are placed on the "Prognose-Regel" space of the game mat. Place the card "Own Place: 15 Points" (Eigener Platz: 15 Punkte) face-up on top. It will be used for the first Prediction Round.
* The 16 "Correction Rule" (Korrektur-Regel) cards are shuffled and the first 2 placed face-up on both "Korrektur-Regel" spaces on the game mat. Do the same thing with the 10 "Voting Rule" (Abstimm-Regel) cards and the 10 "Incident Rule" (Eregnis-Regel) cards (shuffle and lay out the first 2 face-up on the corresponding game mat spaces).
Only one Correction Rule for a given chip color can be in play at a time since they are mutually exclusive. Therefore, if two Correction Rules which contradict each other are revealed during set up replace the second with a new card.
* The remaining "Correction Rule", "Voting Rule" and "Incident Rule" cards are shuffled together and dealt to the players.
Number of cards per player:
The remaining cards are placed on the "Kartenablage" (Discarded cards) space of the game mat.
* Only the place cards corresponding to the number of players is required. The numbered cards are shuffled and each player draws one. The player with the card "1. Platz" also receives the card "Punktbeste" (most points) and is the first active player. The player with the highest numbered card also receives the card "Punktletzte" (least points).
Each player will also need a pencil and a piece of paper. On the paper each player lists his prediction for the first Prediction Round. (i.e. he lists the place that he thinks he will occupy in the standings after the Scoring Round has been completed).
This is put aside. The Scorepad is not needed until the Scoring Round.
The starting player now takes 7 chips of any combination of colors from the pool. The other players also get 7 chips each according to their seating (not the place cards). The starting player now starts the game.
Ingrid: So to review: the game mats and all chips are put into the middle (3 players: 15 chips per color).
Hans: The cards are laid out: 2 Correction Rule, 2 Voting Rule, and 2 Incident Rule. The first Scoring Rule is Single + Bonus, the first Prediction Rule is Own place = 15 Punkte.
Klaus: The place cards are drawn: the player drawing the 1. Platz also receives the "Punktbeste", the player with the highest number receives "Punktletzte".
Ingrid: Each player gets 4 voting tiles + 7 chips.
Hans: Correction, Voting, and Incident Rule cards are shuffled together and dealt: 5 players = 6 cards, 4 players = 7 cards, 3 players = 9 cards.
Klaus: Don't forget: Everyone gets pencils and paper and writes down their first prediction.
The game consists of 5 rounds. Each round is divided into 3 parts:
In each round players can score points. The player with the most points at the end of the fifth round wins the game.
Ingrid: The Move Rounds seem to be the heart of the game.
Hans: Exactly, this is where everyone tries to change the rules to his advantage.
Klaus: And how does one do that?
Hans: Quite simply! You play a card and have a vote on it.
Klaus: Votes are done with the voting tiles?
Hans: Yes, and they're done simultaneously!
Klaus: Hah!! I'll vote against everyone else!!
Hans: Then you won't get many chips!
Klaus: Yeah, so?
Ingrid: You are always a contrary person!
Klaus: So how can I get a lot of chips, then?
Hans: You must vote skillfully.
Klaus: O.K., lets start.
The active player chooses one of his cards to play. He puts it on the "Regelkarte zur Abstimmung" (Rule card for voting) space of the game mat. As soon as the card is placed, the player's turn has begun. The player reads the card laid down and puts it to a vote.
The new rule card is now voted on by all the players. To vote, players conceal one or more of their voting tiles in their hand. All tiles are revealed simultaneously. If there are more Yes votes than No votes, then the rule is adopted. If there are more No votes, then the rule is rejected. Tie votes are decided by the active player. The players return one of their voting tiles back to their stock. If they voted with more than one tile, the extra tiles are placed on the "Verbrauchte Stimmplattchen" (Used voting tiles) space on the game mat. These tiles are out of play until after the Scoring Round.
The players' voting behavior affects their chip pool. Some players will receive chips, others will lose them. This is determined by the presently valid Voting Rules. The reckoning begins with the player who has played the previous card. Both Voting Rules are applied to him. The other players follow in clockwise order.
Player A was the active player and had put a Correction Rule to the vote. The Correction Rule was rejected.
The two current Voting Rules are:
The players voted as follows:
Player A settles up first. He gets 5 chips from the pool, since he was the only person to vote Yes (1. Voting rule). His left hand neighbor is B. According to the 2. Voting Rule A gets no more chips.
The next player to settle is B. Player B voted like his left hand neighbor (Player C), namely No. For this, he gets 2 chips (2. Voting Rule). The number of voting tiles used does not play any role in the payment.
Players C receives nothing. His left hand neighbor is Player A, and she has voted differently than Player C.
The rule card on the "Regelkarte zur Abstimmung" space is not valid during the chip payment, even if the card was adopted.
Some of the Voting Rule cards refer to the voting behavior of other players (Example: Vote like left neighbor = plus 2 chip). Regardless, the basic vote is the only thing considered (i.e. Yes or No). The number of used voting tiles doesn't play any role. The left neighbor voted the same as the player, so the player gets 2 chips, no matter how many voting tiles either has used (See also example above).
During the chip payment it could occur that a player takes the last chip of a color (e.g. yellow) from the pool. If this happens, all players immediately return all their chips of this color (in the example: all yellow chip) to the pool. Afterwards all colors are again available, and the payment is continued.
After the payment, the player moves his card from the "Regelkarte zur Abstimmung" space to the bottom of the pile on the "Kartenablage" space if the card was rejected. If the card was adopted, then he moves it onto the corresponding space of the game mat and replaces one of the Correction, Vote or Incident cards. The player may choose either card of the appropriate type (unless it is a Correction card) to replace and the new card is placed on top of the old card. With the Correction Rule cards the player does not always have a free choice as to which old rule card he can cover. If the new Correction Rule refers to a chip color that already has a Correction Rule, then this is the one that must be replaced, so that there is always only one Correction Rule active for any color. After moving the card, the players turn ends and the player to his left (clockwise) becomes the active player and plays a card. The Move Round continues until all players use only 1 voting tile for a particular vote. This begins the Scoring Round.
Klaus: Everyone has used only 1 voting tile!! What happens now?
Hans: Now we do a Scoring Round.
Ingrid: Are the interim standings calculated?
Hans: Yes, everyone receives points for his chips!
Klaus: Yee Ha!! I have the most chips!
Ingrid: However, you spoke first and that costs you 15 points!
Ingrid: Super, now my bonus!! Three single chips, that gets me 30 points!
Hans: Slowly, slowly! Let's quietly total this on the Scorepad. Then we shall see.
In the Scoring Round, the players receive points for their collected chips. The basic value for a chip is 1 point. The Correction Rules could change this value for given colors. Not all chips are always scored. How the total is calculated is determined by the current Scoring Rule. The Scorepad is used to tally the scores. The Scoring Round begins if, during a vote, all players use only 1 voting tile. The Scoring Round starts immediately after the players reveal the voting tiles. The active player's turn ends at this point. However, all chip payments are still made according to the Voting Rules. When a new card is adopted the following procedure is followed:
An example of a Scoring Round and the subsequent Prediction Round is at the end of the rules.
Ingrid: I have the most points after the interim scoring.
Klaus: I'm last!
Hans: However, we still have the Prediction Round.
Hans: I predicted I would be in second place!!
Ingrid: I predicted wrong, he moves ahead of me.
Klaus: Lucky for you, that makes 15 points.
In the Prediction Round points are awarded for correct predictions. Each player wrote a prediction down at the start of the Move Round, according to the current Prediction Rule. These predictions are now revealed and evaluated. The corresponding points received are marked on the Scorepad. Then the final standings for the current round are calculated. The point standings carry over into the next round.
It is important for the scoring of the predictions to know the exact place each player holds in the standings. Each player receives the number card corresponding to his place. Should two or more players have the same interim score, the order is determined with the help of the place cards. All of the number cards for the contested spots are shuffled and drawn by the players in contention (i.e. if two players are tied for second place then those two players randomly draw the "2. Platz" and "3. Platz" cards to determine their place for the scoring of predictions).
At the end of the Prediction Round, preparations are made for the new Move Round. Each player replenishes his voting tiles to 4 pieces. The old Scoring Rule and the old Prediction Rule are placed at the bottom of the pile on the "Kartenablage" space. Each player receives the place card corresponding to his place in the score standings. If two or more player have the same score, the order is drawn (see example in the preceding paragraph). The player with the "1. Platz" card also receives the "Punktbeste" card. The player with the highest number also receives the card "Punktletzte".
The player with the "Punktletzte" card chooses one card from the remaining Scoring Rules that will be used for the next Scoring Round. The next to last player in the standings chooses one card from the remaining Prediction Rules that will be used for the next Prediction Round. All players then list their predictions necessary for the new Prediction Rule for the new round.
The game continues with a new round. The next player in order becomes the active player and plays a card.
Ingrid: Now we've used all the prediction cards.
Hans: Then this was the fifth and last round.
Klaus: I am first, we have regulated well!!
Ingrid and Hans: Old braggart!!
The game ends after the fifth Prediction Round. The player with the most points wins the game. If every player has played all of their cards, the game also ends. Then one last Scoring Round and one last Prediction Round is done.
On the game mat lies:
The player's chips and their predictions:
Player C has spoken in the scoring round first.
[See page 8 of the German rules for an example of the completed Scorepad for this example.]
First, Player C gets a penalty of 15 points deducted, because he was the first to speak (1. Incident Rule). Then the points for his chips are awarded. The basic rule is 1 chip = 1 point. By the 1. Correction Rule the yellow chips pay nothing. Therefore A gets = 3, B = 11 and C = 22 points. A and B receive bonus points, since they have single chips (2. Correction Rule). A receives 30 points (1 purple, 1 green, 1 white chip) and B receives 10 points (1 yellow chip). After calculation of the interim standings, Player A is first and so he deducts a penalty of 10 points (2. Incident Rule). Now the predictions are evaluated. Only Player B has correctly predicted his position and so he gets 15 points.
Final standings after the first round: A = 23 points, B = 36 points, C = 7 points.