Doctor Faust

Game invented by Reinhold Wittig.
Published by Blatz.
Copyright 1994, Reinhold Wittig.
Translated by M. Schloth (mrmikes@aol.com).

This is a two player game. The players are rival devils vying for control of Dr. Faust's soul.

Contents

The General Idea

You are trying to control a greater share of Dr. Faust's soul than your opponent. Shares are represented by Soul Points found on the Soul Cards. You earn Soul Cards by performing certain actions during the course of the game. In particular, you are trying to either move your Devil Stone onto the Soul or move the Soul onto one or more Devil Stones. You use your Devil Cards to foil the plans of your opponent. They will force your opponent to move forward or back a certain number of spaces. The Devil Cards you have not played may also add or subtract to your total Soul Points at the end of the game.

Set Up

Spread out the game board.

Place the crystal pyramid (the Soul) on the black square at the far end of the game board. (The space that has written upon it : "Hier beginnt fur Doctor Faust der Wettlauf um Seine Seele").

The four devil stones all start on the other black square. One player is Blue and controls both blue devil stones. The other player is Red and controls both red devil stones.

Each player takes a set of devil cards. Red takes the red cards, and blue takes the blue cards.

Arrange the soul cards in numerical order and place them face down near the game board. The "3" soul card should be the top card in the deck. The "13" soul card should be the bottom card in the deck.

Decide who is to go first. If you are playing a series of games, the winner of the last game should go first.

By the way, you do not need to understand the text in the squares on the game board. They are quotations from the play Doctor Faust and have nothing to do with the way the game plays.

The Hunt Begins!

On your turn you receive 7 points that must be used in your turn (Exception: See DEVIL CARDS). There are three things that you may do with your points and you may divide your 7 points among them as you like.

You may do one or more of the following:

  1. You may move one of your own devil stones. The cost is 1 point for each space. You must move it clockwise. When you reach the end of a row, if you have the points and you want to keep it moving you start up the other row. More than one devil stone may end up in the same space. Rival devil stones may end up in the same space.

  2. You may move the Soul pyramid. The movement cost is the same as if you were moving your devil stone. The Soul must also be moved clockwise. Again, when it reaches the end of a row, if you have the points and you want to keep it moving then you start it up the other row. Because the Soul is not cleverer than the devil, the Soul may never overtake a devil stone.

  3. You may place one of your devil cards. It costs one point to do this. Simply select one of your devil cards and place it face down next to one of the spaces on the game board. However: No other devil card may already be next to the space you choose. On your turn, you may only place one of your devil cards.

EXAMPLE: A devil card is placed (one point), the soul pyramid is moved two spaces (two points) and a devil stone is moved four spaces (four points). That makes seven points.

The Devil Cards

The devil cards can be used to play hell with your adversaries plans. If you move your devil stone to a space next to which your opponent has placed a devil card, then you must stop on that space. Tough luck! All of your remaining points are lost. (And this is the only way you may use less than your 7 points.) The devil card is turned over to reveal a number and an arrow. Now you must do what the devil card commands. That devil card is then removed from the game.

If the card shows an even number, then the arrow will be pointing towards the top of the card and you must move your devil stone that many spaces forward (clockwise).

If the card shows an odd number, then the arrow will be pointing towards the bottom of the card and you must move your devil stone that many spaces backwards (counter-clockwise).

However, if a devil card sends you forward or backwards to another of your opponent's devil cards, you do not turn it over. In other words, there are no "chain reactions". Also, if your opponent places one of his devil cards next to a space that your devil stone is already sitting on, you do not turn that card over on your turn (unless, of course, your other devil stone moves onto that space -- then only the stone that you moved onto the space follows the card's command).

The Soul Cards

The number on the front of these cards represents the number of shares you have earned in Dr. Faust's soul. You can earn these cards three different ways:

  1. By cleverly using your 7 points so that the last thing you do in your turn is to move your own devil stone onto the same space with the Soul. If you do this, take the topmost card from the Soul Card deck. Then move the devil stone off of the Soul's space and onto your other devil stone's space.

  2. If the last thing that you do in your turn is to move the Soul onto any devil stone(s) (your own or your opponent's or both), then you take the topmost card from the Soul Card deck. Then move all devil stones off of the Soul's space and onto their matching devil stone space(s).

  3. Any time you move the Soul around either "corner" of the game board, (that is , you move the Soul from the end of one row onto the adjacent space that starts the other row) you take the topmost card in the Soul Card deck.

Especially tricky devils will successfully combine possibilities 1 and 3, or 2 and 3 in the same turn. If they do, then they may take the top two Soul Cards from the top of the Soul Card deck.

Infamy! If the Soul lands on a space on which both devil stones of the same color lie, then the game immediately ends. If the game ends in this way, then the opponent of the player whose devil stones are in the same space with the Soul takes the rest of the Soul Cards! That is, if both of your devil stones happen to be in the same space, and the Soul is moved into that space, then the game ends immediately and your opponent takes all of the remaining Soul Cards in the deck.

Game End

The game ends when the last Soul Card is taken. To deermine who won:

  1. Add up all of your Soul Points on your Soul Cards.

  2. To this total add the total value of all of your own unused odd-numbered devil cards. This includes your odd-numbered cards still on the board.

  3. Now total the value of all of your unused even-numbered devil cards. This includes your even-numbered cards still on the board. Subtract this total from the total of 1. and 2.

The devil with the highest score wins.

Questions and Cases of Doubt

What happens if a devil ticket forces you to move your devil stone...

... forwards (clockwise) onto the Soul?
Much to the disappointment of your adversary, you get to take a soul card. You then move that devil stone to the same space as your other devil stone.

... forwards (clockwise) beyond the Soul?
Too bad! You get no soul card for passing over the soul.

... backwards (counter-clockwise) onto the Soul?
You get no soul card, but you still must move that devil stone to the same space as your other devil stone. Note: you must land on the Soul from a clockwise direction to earn a soul card.

... backwards (counter-clockwise) before the Soul?
Again, you get no soul card for passing over the Soul.

What happens if the Soul pyramid reaches a space...

... on which both players have one of their devil stones ?
The player who moved the Soul gets a soul card and each devil stone is moved to its twin.

... on which both devil stones of one player and one devil stone of the other player's lies?
The game is immediately over. The player who had only one devil stone on the space gets the rest of the soul cards.

... on which all four devil stones sit?
The game ends but neither player gets the rest of the soul cards.

And what happens if you land on a space that contains the Soul and that has your opponent's devil card next to it?

You get a soul ticket and you then turn over the devil card and do what it commands. In this case, you do not move your devil stone to its twin.

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell