In Teufels Kueche

A hellish bit of fun for 2 - 4 players from 10 - 99 years old

Rules translated by Tim Trant (tim@eecg.utoronto.ca), December 1994

Introduction

It's hell in the Devil's Kitchen. "I'm hungry!" screams the Oberteufel, and is dreadfully impatient to receive the next course of his meal. In the hot contest for the favour of the Oberteufel, the little devils rush to and fro between sizzling cook-pots and seething lava. You bluff and block, risk head and cooking caps, dueling with other devils. Then the Oberteufel jumps - schwupp! - out of his hot stove and angrily decides the outcome. Who is chased away, bedevilled, this time?

The goal of the game is to be the first to bring at least 10 points worth of food pots to the glowing grill-table which lies on the opposite side from your starting area.

Game Pieces

1 board showing the devil's kitchen.
1 stove with the Oberteufel and a hellish decision-making mechanism.
3 devils each in the four playing colors, with white cooking caps to put on top.
4 trays with the signs of the cooking pots, one in each colour.
4 menu cards in each of the four colors with 1, 3, and 5 food points, as well as a milk bottle.
4 pots with different signs in each of the four colors.
2 red dice, each with 1-1-2-2-3 pips and one wing.

Preparation for Play

Choose colours: The game board is laid out and the stove is put into the middle. Then each player chooses one of the four colors.
Distribute game pieces: Each player receives the 3 devil with cooking caps, 1 tray, 4 menu-cards and 4 pots in his colour.
Put devils on starting areas: The devils are put on the same-colored start areas with the outgoing arrows. These arrows show both of the exits. Games with only 2 or 3 players are special situations which are explained at the end of the rules.
Push hidden Menu cards into the trays: The menu cards of a player describe the contents of his pots. They are held completely hidden from the other players when pushed into the tray. The value of each menu card can thus be assigned to any one of the four pot designs. This assignment may not be changed during play. The value of each pot can always be checked by carefully looking at the bottom of your own tray.
Distribute pots on cooking places: The pots are now placed one at a time on the round cooking places, one per spot. Players decide for themselves which spot to put them on. At the start, no more than one pot of the same colour may be placed in the same cooking spot; but pots of different colors may share a spot.

Sequence of Play

To determine the first player, roll the dice. The player with the highest total begins. Then turns are taken in clockwise order.

Roll the two dice

The current player rolls the dice, and then moves one or more of his devils.

Each space costs 1 point. Move only over the tiled paths! Each move from space to space costs a point on a die. The starting areas, the cooking places, and the finish areas with the grill tables are all regarded as spaces. But only the grey tiled paths may be used as connections.

Start spaces, others' finish spaces, and lava forbidden

Moves onto the starting areas or the finish areas of other players are forbidden, as are moves over the lava. Two devils of the same colour may not stand together on a cooking place, but may move past each other.

Dice points may split between different devils

The points on the dice may be distributed as desired. So one can, for example: with a total of 3 points one devil may move 3 spaces, three devils for 1 space each, or one devil 2 spaces and a second devil 1 space. Any division is wholly voluntary.

Fly to a cooking space with two wings

With a roll of two wings, a player may fly one of their devils directly (without stopping to pick up or exchange pts) to any cooking space; but not to the finish space. A pot may also be in that space. With only one wing, of course one cannot fly; it counts as zero points.

Infernal Duels

Each encounter with an opposing devil leads to a duel

Each meeting between opposing devils immediately causes a duel. Moving through an opponent's devil is not allowed: the move is interrupted on this cooking place immediately, but can continue after a successful duel. The last to arrive is regarded as the attacker. The decision between victory and defeat is made by the Oberteufel.

Conducting a duel: attacker presses once, defender presses twice, attacker presses three times, etc.

A duel is conducted as follows:

First the attacker turns the stove in direction of the adversary and presses once on the red button.
If nothing happens, then the defender turns the stove around and presses twice.
If once again nothing happens, the attacker presses three times in a row, etc. After each change (in players) the button is pressed one additional time. Thus the tension increases to the boiling point...up to the diabolical scream of triumph of the successful player.

Whoever successfully presses the button wins the duel

When the Oberteufel springs out, the duel is decided. Whoever caused this with a press of the button wins the duel.

Successfull attackers also gain an additional 1 point for movement

If the attacker wins, he receives an additional point for movement, which can be used immediately by the successful devil. If he still has movement points remaining, he can now continue move with his devils. So more duels into this space are also possible.

If the defending devil wins, it stays on this cooking place, and it is the next player's turn.

The losing devil's cooking cap is removed, or else that devil is taken out of play

The losing devil loses its cooking cap and is returned to its starting space. It leaves any carried pot standing on that cooking place. If the devil no longer has a cooking cap to lose, it is completely removed from play. Any remaining unused movement points are lost.

A player's last devil can stay in play

The loss of the cooking cap after a lost duel is very serious: the bump shows! In each following duel it's all or nothing for this devil. It wins, it stays in play. If it loses, it's taken out of play completely. Only the last devil of a player is not banished from the kitchen after a lost duel. It may stay in play.

A duel may be refused

Before a duel the defending devil may refuse to accept the challenge. In this event it must go back, quickly and quietly - of course without a pot - to the starting space. Nothing happens to it or its cap. As well, the challenger receives no additional movement point.

Moving Pots

Pots may be moved between cooking spaces: When a devil reaches a cooking place with a pot, it may bring it along, whether the devil started in that space or is moving through. The pot is put on the outstretched hand of the devil, in the manner of a waiter - of course only one pot.
Pots may be put down or exchanged anytime: Changes between pots are allowed also. So one can leave a pot on a cooking place anytime and bring another from there, take this to the next cooking space and trade it with a third pot, etc.

Bringing Pots Into the Finish

An opponent's pot must be one of the first three into the finish area!: One of the first three pots into the finish area must be an opponent's pot (i.e. different colour). This is the key to success, because your own 9 food points are not enough for victory. But the composition of these meals is not restricted. It can be, for example, two 3 point menus and a 5 point menu, or even only two 5 point menus. But be careful! It can be one of those dreadful milk bottles which a sly player is carrying in the direction of his finish space.
4 entrances to each finishing space: Each finishing space has four entrances. These may be used only by the devils of the same colour, and then, only if they put down a pot there.
Pot into the finish: uncover the menu card!: When a pot is put down in the finish area, its secret type is uncovered. The respective menu card is drawn out of that tray and openly displayed on the grill. There they stay, visible to all, until the end of the game, along with the pot.
Anyone who brings milk into the finish area had better fly away!: A milk bottle is an absolute catastrophe! The offending devil is banished immediately out of the kitchen and taken out of the game, even if it is the last devil of that colour. A player who brings a second milk bottle into the finish will have a devil eliminated each time!
From the finish immediately to the starting space: After putting down a pot in the finish area, a devil is immediately put back in its starting space. A further move from the finish area is not allowed. Remaining movement points may still be spent after the return to the start.

End of the Game

10 food points into the goal: Winner!: The game is over as soon as a player has brought at least 10 food points to the grill-table of his finish area. This player is the winner.

For 2 or 3 Players

If playing with only 2 players, start on opposite corners. You choose between yellow and blue or violet and green.

Games with 3 players use the following special rules: 2 devils of the unplayed colour are put directly on the two cooking spaces before the same-colored starting area. When a player moves to one of these spaces, there is the inevitable duel. Any other player takes over the role of the defender. If a non-player devil loses a duel, it is - contrary to the usual rules - immediately taken out of play.

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