Cliffhanger Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Data
Contents
Game Idea & Object of the Game
Setup
Course of Play
- Example
End of the Game
- Example of the Final Scoring
Variant
Credits

Game Data

By Günter Burkhardt

Players: 3 – 6 people
Age: 8 years and up
Duration: approx. 15 minutes

50 goat cards with 1 – 5 goat symbols
12 hill cards (values 1 – 8)
1 wooden goat

Game Idea & Object of the Game

The players get heaps of goats in eight "tricks" — the goats are shown on the cards as black goat heads.

In addition, a hill is assembled in the middle of the table during the game, and that hill sets the goat limit for the end of the game. Anyone who holds more goats on their cards at the end of the game than the limit allows cannot win. Because the winner is the player who has got the most goats without going over the limit!

Setup

The goat cards are shuffled well. Each player gets 8 cards face down into their hand — regardless of the number of players. The remaining cards are put back into the box.

The well-shuffled hill cards are placed on the table as a face-down stack. The goat stands ready next to the stack of hill cards.

Course of Play

The youngest player is the starting player.

In turn, clockwise, each player plays one card face up. The cards played out — one from each player — are called a "trick".

The player with the lowest card played in that trick may turn a hill card face up and lay it in the middle of the table. By the way they lay the hill card and by placing the wooden goat, that player determines which of the two numbers the hill is to be formed with.

The player with the highest card played gets the trick and places the won cards face down in front of themselves. That player leads the next trick. Cards that have been placed down may no longer be looked at.

A hill card is laid only after the first, second, third and fourth trick. The remaining tricks are played without any further hill cards coming into play.

With the first hill card the player stands the goat on the chosen number. The second, third and fourth hill cards must each be laid at a right angle against a hill card already in play (see the example).

The second hill card must be laid by the player against the hill part with the wooden goat on it. The player may choose which part of the second card they lay against the wooden goat. In the example, they may lay either the 3 hill part or the 7 hill part against the first hill card, and so raise the number of goats on the hill either to 7 goats or to 11 goats.

The goat is then stood on the hill in such a way that it does not cover any number. The players can then see the total sum of the hill at any time.

Example

First hill card, then second hill card — 2 possibilities:

Sum 7 (4 + 3)
Sum 11 (4 + 7)

With the third hill card, the hill made of the first and second hill cards is enlarged further. The fourth hill card completes the hill.

In this way a hill of 4 cards comes about, which determines how many goat heads the players may have at most in their cards at the end of the game.

End of the Game

The game ends after the eighth trick.

Each player adds up the goat heads on the cards of their tricks (see the example). If the sum is above the goat limit, that player cannot win.

The winner is the player with the most goat heads who does not exceed the limit. If there is a tie in points, there are several winners. A player who has not got a single goat also wins if all the other players are above the limit. If all players end above the limit, there is no winner.

Example of the Final Scoring

1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 18 goat heads

Goat limit: 17 (4 + 7 + 5 + 1)

Marion has 18 goat heads,
Hubi has 17 goat heads,
Dennis has 12 goat heads,
Philippa has 4 goat heads.

Marion is eliminated, because she has more goat heads than the limit. Hubi wins, because of the players who are not above the limit he has the most goat heads.

Variant

Alternatively, as many rounds may be played as there are players taking part. After each game the players then receive as many points as they have got goat heads, and note them on a sheet of paper. Anyone who is above the limit receives 0 points for that game. Players without a trick receive points equal to the number on which the wooden goat stood. Whoever has the most points after the set number of rounds wins.

Credits

You have bought a quality product. Should you nevertheless have cause for a complaint, please contact us directly. Do you still have questions? We are glad to help you:

AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit GmbH, Waldstraße 23-D5, D-63128 Dietzenbach, www.amigo-spiele.de, E-Mail: [email protected]