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Let's start with Jacques Zeimet's Kakerlakentanz, the latest entry in his "cockroaches" game series that started with Kakerlakenpoker in 2004. Schmidt hasn't posted rules yet, so right now game details are scarce: "Time for the cockroaches to hit the dance floor in Kakerlakentanz. Players take turns playing their dance cards, then making the right — or precisely the wrong — dance moves and sounds while naming the style of dance." Okay, that's my iffy translation of the game description. Once the rules are available, I'll update the game description to explain what's really going on.
The other title from Drei Magier is Guido Hoffmann's Geisterei, a.k.a. "Ghost Egg". Both of these titles are due out before the end of January 2014. Once again, here's a short summary:
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One, two, three, and the egg disappears in Geisterei! With the help of magical coats and deft hand movements, players pick up the egg and try to carry it back to the castle — but that won't be easy as depending on the die, they might have to crawl through another player's legs, balance on tiptoes, or walk around the table.
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Should you not care for something from Großvater's time and instead prefer big wooden pieces and golden dice, you could opt for Schmidt's "gold edition" Mensch ärgere Dich nicht.
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With Mensch ärgere Dich nicht: Das Kartenspiel, designers Kramer and Kiesling have tried to recreate the frustration of the board game, what with your pawns constantly being sent back to start, using only cards.
To set up the game, lay out the number cards (1-40) in rows, using two copies of the 1-10 cards if playing with 3-4 players. Shuffle the dice cards, then deal two to each player. On a turn, a player plays one die card (which shows values from 1 to 6), then either starts a new row of cards or adds to an existing row.
• To start a new row, take the card showing this number from the display and place it in front of you; when starting a row, you can choose to play both die cards instead of only one.
• To add to a row, add the die value played to the number on the top card of one of your rows, then take this card from the display.
If another player has used a desired card in one of her rows, steal it from her row and use it for yourself. You can have at most three rows in progress. When you play a die card to place the 40 card on a row, you then score it, earning one point for each card in the row and one point for each star on cards in that row. Record this score on paper, then return these cards to the display. The game ends when a player scores 30-40 points, with this total being dependent on the number of players.
On his website, Kramer notes that Schmidt editor Thorsten Gimmler had suggested that a card game based on Mensch ärgere Dich nicht would be a nice item for the anniversary, so he and Kiesling took on that challenge. Writes Kramer, "How well we have succeeded in transferring the feel of that game into a card game you can judge for yourself when you get angry at the card game."To set up the game, lay out the number cards (1-40) in rows, using two copies of the 1-10 cards if playing with 3-4 players. Shuffle the dice cards, then deal two to each player. On a turn, a player plays one die card (which shows values from 1 to 6), then either starts a new row of cards or adds to an existing row.
• To start a new row, take the card showing this number from the display and place it in front of you; when starting a row, you can choose to play both die cards instead of only one.
• To add to a row, add the die value played to the number on the top card of one of your rows, then take this card from the display.
If another player has used a desired card in one of her rows, steal it from her row and use it for yourself. You can have at most three rows in progress. When you play a die card to place the 40 card on a row, you then score it, earning one point for each card in the row and one point for each star on cards in that row. Record this score on paper, then return these cards to the display. The game ends when a player scores 30-40 points, with this total being dependent on the number of players.
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Your goal in Mauerhüpfer is to move your four pawns to the goal first. The movement track zigs and zags around five walls on the game board, with a starting space at the beginning of the track and two goal spaces at the end; land on a goal space by exact count, and that pawn exits the game, moving you closer to victory.
On a turn, roll two dice, then choose one of your pawns and move it a number of spaces equal to one die, then a number of spaces equal to the other. You can choose to move forward or backward on the track — or in both directions if you wish, with each die moving you in a different direction. The walls have the digits 1-6 on them, and if your pawn is next to a number that you rolled and you haven't used that die for movement, you can hop the pawn over that wall. Roll just right, and you can jump twice.
If you move in a single direction and your second move lands you on an opponent's pawn, you bump that pawn back to the starting area. If you move in both directions or hop over walls, you can possibly bump two opponents in the same turn.
On a turn, roll two dice, then choose one of your pawns and move it a number of spaces equal to one die, then a number of spaces equal to the other. You can choose to move forward or backward on the track — or in both directions if you wish, with each die moving you in a different direction. The walls have the digits 1-6 on them, and if your pawn is next to a number that you rolled and you haven't used that die for movement, you can hop the pawn over that wall. Roll just right, and you can jump twice.
If you move in a single direction and your second move lands you on an opponent's pawn, you bump that pawn back to the starting area. If you move in both directions or hop over walls, you can possibly bump two opponents in the same turn.
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