ZOCH ZUM SPIELEN, DM15
DESIGNED BY KLAUS ZOCH & ALBRECHT WERSTEIN
2-5 PLAYERS, 45 MINUTES
REVIEWED BY STEVE OWEN
This is a weird card game --- fun but strange. There are three types of cards: 9 dukes (1-9), cannons (1-6) in six colours and 21 cannoneers (0-8). There are also six barrels to indicate ownership of the colours. The cannons look fairly normal but the cannoneers are obviously well oiled and the dukes look decidedly anorexic.
Each player gets 10 cards. Three dukes are placed on the board to form the beginning of rows. The number of cards needed to complete each row is shown by the number on the appropriate duke. One card is played per turn and then replaced. This may be a cannon, the first in each colour gaining the matching barrel, or a covering cannoneer. Once the required number of such pairs are formed the row is closed. Once two rows are completed the game ends. The one twist is that the three lowest dukes are shuffled into the pack with the cannons/cannoneers and may be used to either reduce or extend rows by the number on the card.
When adding up, the two completed rows are scored positively and the unfinished one negatively. In some games there may be two unfinished rows which makes your score even worse. The full game is usually a number of rounds equal to the number of players. It plays fast and furiously with lots of opportunities for scheming and vindictive card laying. I quite like it but only on an occasional basis. There is a second version of the game which is played to a 6 by 3 grid and is similar to version one but even odder!
Steve Owen
On to the review of 800 Metres or back to the review of The Rise of the Luftwaffe.