Anno Domini: Showbizz
Anno Domini: Showbizz Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
In this box you will find 340 cards. The front (black) names an event of world history, though not always a world-shaking one; the back (coloured) names the year of the Lord, ANNO DOMINI, in which this event occurred.
ANNO DOMINI is an expandable game. You can buy further series and mix them with this one. Indeed, we warmly recommend the Wild Mix! Every new colour in the mix increases the fun of the game. But of course ANNO DOMINI can also be played with the cards of a single series.
Dealing
Now deal 9 cards to each player. At random, of course; choosing is strictly forbidden. And something else is strictly forbidden: looking at the backs. Everyone lays their cards face up in front of them with the black event side showing. The rest of the cards are placed as a stack in the middle. Here too: events face up, coloured solution year (back) not visible.
Important: leave the cards on the table during the game! Slide the cards when you move them; do not wave them around in the air, or your fellow players will unintentionally learn solution years that you had better keep secret.
A Chain of Unfortunate Events
The chain begins with the top card of the stack. Event 1 is read aloud and the card is placed on the table visible to all; the back stays secret from everyone.
The owner of the game begins. He chooses one of his cards, reads it aloud and places it above the first card if he believes his event 2 occurred before event 1; he places it below the first card if he believes his event 2 occurred after event 1.
In this way, going round the table, the players each add one of their cards to the chain of events. They may insert their card anywhere in the chain, including between cards already laid out, if they believe their event fits there in time.
Doubt
Doubt is often better than blind trust. A player whose turn it is and who believes he has discovered mistakes in the existing chain of events may correct them before inserting his new card and passing the chain on.
He may also decide not to add another card and instead publicly doubt the chronological order of the events. In this case a round of play ends. All cards of the chain are turned over from top to bottom.
If the chronological order is correct, the doubter is punished by having to take four new cards from the stack (as always: without looking at the backs).
If the chain of events contains any error, the predecessor of the doubter, who last laid down an event, takes two new cards from the stack. Be it a single little year, and completely regardless of who laid the chronologically wrong card: the last one gets bitten by the dogs.
So whoever does not voice doubt and lays a card into the row thereby accepts the whole chain of events, and may under some circumstances have to take responsibility for it towards a distrustful next player.
After the round, the cards of the chain are put aside. They have done their duty for today, they may go (after Schiller, 1783).
A New Round
A new round begins with a new starting card from the stack. The first player is now the doubter. Then it goes nicely round the table again.
Special case: it is somewhat harder for a new beginning for a player who has only a single card left. Instead of one, he must take two cards from the stack, arrange them, and insert his last card.
The reversal of the direction of play happens immediately and once, as soon as a player has only two cards left.
Winning
The winner is whoever first gets rid of his last card, naturally in a correct chain. Undoubtedly the successor will voice doubt once more. If an error comes to light, there are two new cards, and the game goes into extra time.
Explanations and Examples
The decisive year
The decisive year is printed clearly and in bold on the back of the card. Supplementary comments, including month and day details, have no influence on the game. Some cards offer time spans as the solution, such as '1903 – 1907' or '5th century BC'.
Explanations
- Jh. means Jahrhundert (century). A century lasts from year 01 to year 00. Example: the 20th century began in 1901 and ends with the year 2000.
- um ("around") means that the event cannot be fixed exactly in time. For the purposes of the game, 5 years before and after are accepted as correct. Example: in the case of 'um 1900' the years 1895 to 1905 count as correct.
First occurrence
The first appearance of a thing, the beginning of an event, is decisive unless a time span is clearly asked for.
Examples:
A) 'People on the moon' asks for the first moon landing of Apollo 11. An answer such as '2025' is wrong, even though it cannot be ruled out that there will again be people on the moon at that time.
B) 'Sweetened condensed milk on the market' asks for its market introduction. That it is still available today is great, but beside the point.
Simultaneous and time-overlapping events
Simultaneous and time-overlapping events are handled by the principle 'In dubio pro reo'. The chain counts as correct.
Examples:
A) One event took place in the 8th century BC, a second in 805 BC, the third in the 1st millennium BC. No. 2 took place before No. 1, because the 8th century BC lasted from 800 to 701 BC, while No. 3 overlaps in time with the two other events and may be placed anywhere among them.
B) Two events took place in 1987, the third 'um 1990', a fourth in 1991. If No. 4 was placed behind No. 1 and No. 2, the order is correct. No. 3 means 'between 1985 and 1995', so it overlaps with the other three events and may be placed anywhere among them, also between the two 1987s. Month and day details within the year 1987 are irrelevant; the two cards are equivalent.
Place names
Place names without direct relation to the event are simply place names and not cryptic hints to the year sought.
Example: 'Neanderthals live in the Neandertal near Düsseldorf' does not mean that in the era sought of the Neanderthals the fashion centre Düsseldorf already existed.
Tactical Hints
Well, self-confidence is a virtue, above all when you know nothing. Your successor will think twice about whether he wants to doubt your chain if you declare your event a sure thing and insert it quickly and decisively in a reasonably sensible place. As a devious variant you can also play the unsure one for a change, while you place a rock-solid event in a correct chain ...
Psychology and a certain feeling for sequences are much more important in ANNO DOMINI than historical expertise. Do not let your ignorance discourage you! You can safely assume that your fellow players also have not stored all the dates of these strange events in their little grey cells and, just like you, often have to guess. Use your common sense, estimate, sell your solutions well. Never forget: what you lay down does not necessarily have to be right; above all it must seem credible to the table neighbour playing after you.
If you have completely lost the overview in the face of a long chain, then just go ahead and doubt. Usually a nasty surprise is hidden somewhere.
If possible, keep back an event that you can place in time well as a safe closing card. Conversely, bring cards that cause you great worry, to the best of your knowledge and conscience, into short chains, which will certainly be doubted less often than the tapeworms.
Who Plays?
In principle the game is suitable for 2 – 10 players, the ideal number is 3 to 6. With large groups we recommend dealing fewer than 9 cards at first. Children can join in as soon as they can read fluently. Experience shows that they soon make up for their lesser historical knowledge by skilful tactics, and they learn quickly. Once the used cards are mixed back into the game, the ability to learn pays off. The playing group can also decide to deal fewer cards to participating children at the start.
Series Published So Far
Kirche & Staat / Schweiz / Sex & Crime / Lifestyle / Natur / Erfindungen / Frauen / Seefahrer & Flieger / Sport / Kunst / Flops / Deutschland (with Uwe Rosenberg) / Münzen / Im Namen des Gesetzes / VIP / Spiel des Jahres (with Bernward Thole) / Österreich / Wort, Schrift, Buch / Showbizz / America / Europa / Im Osten / Süden / Fussball (with Mämä Sykora) / Wissenschaft & Forschung / Bern / Reisen & Verkehr / Gesundheit (with Konrad Bochennek) / Essen & Trinken / Kuriositäten / Maschinen
Corrections
We are aware of one thing: even usually reliable sources can be mistaken. Facts can change, research brings new findings to light. We are open to criticism, instruction and new questions (whenever possible with source!). Where corrections are necessary, we will make them in future printings. A corrigendum to ANNO DOMINI can be found at urs.fatamorgana.ch/adpleite.html. We always keep it at our latest state of knowledge.