Code Stack!
Code Stack! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 28 stones: four stones in each of seven colours (green, yellow, brown, blue, black, pink, red)
- 8 colour code cards (Farbcode-Tafeln)
- 1 rules booklet
Each colour code card lists the letter group that each colour stands for:
| Colour | Letters |
|---|---|
| Green | A, B, C |
| Yellow | D, E, F |
| Brown | G, H, I |
| Blue | K, L, M |
| Black | N, O, P |
| Pink | R, S, T |
| Red | U, V, W, Z |
Game Idea
Stones in different colours are stacked on top of one another. Such a stack is called a riddle tower (Rätselturm). Each colour stands for certain letters, and read from top to bottom, the stones spell out a word. One player builds the riddle tower, and the other players must work out the word by cracking the colour code.
Game Setup
Each player receives a colour code card, which shows which colour stands for which letters. Each player also needs a sheet of paper and a pencil.
The players agree whether words with three, four, five or six letters are to be guessed. The more letters a word has, the harder it is.
The players also agree whether umlauts such as ä, ö or ü are allowed. An umlaut must be represented by two letters: for ae, oe or ue, two stones are needed for the one letter.
Playing the Game
The player whose first name comes first in the alphabet begins. The other players follow in clockwise order.
The player whose turn it is thinks of a word. He then stacks stones from top to bottom to form a riddle tower, using the colour code card.
For example, for the word TASSE (cup), stones in the colours PINK, GREEN, PINK, PINK, YELLOW are stacked.
The other players look at the tower and all try at the same time to name a valid word. A valid word is any word that is in the dictionary and that can be formed from the colours of the riddle tower given. In this case, for example, the answer RATTE (rat) would also be correct. The first player to call out a valid solution is credited with one point. The stones of the riddle tower are then returned to the box with the other stones.
The next player then builds a riddle tower. If no player finds a suitable solution within an agreed time (e.g. one minute), the player who built the riddle tower names the solution word and is himself credited with one point.
End of the Game
As soon as a player has reached five points, the game ends and that player has won. Congratulations!
The players may also agree on a different number of points to win.
Further Game Variants
Don't Let Yourself Get Caught! (for 2 to 5 players)
The goal of the game is to still know a word when the other players have long since run out of ideas, or at least to pretend to.
The first player places a stone on the table, i.e. he has thought of a word that begins with the corresponding letter. He does not say the word. The second player places a stone below it. This means he is able to name a word whose first two letters match the two stones placed. The next player places a third stone below the two stones already stacked. And so on, so the riddle tower grows higher and higher.
(The original rulebook illustrates the growing stack with the example words Ball, Ast, Crash, Bratsche and Brathuhn.)
If a player can no longer think of a suitable word, he may bluff, i.e. simply place a stone under the stack and hope that the next player falls for the bluff. Or he may challenge the word of his predecessor. If that player is not able to name a valid word, he has been caught and is given one minus point. If he can name a suitable word, the challenging player receives the minus point instead. The riddle tower is then dismantled and the game continues with the first stone for a new word.
The player with the fewest minus points after ten riddle towers wins.
A tip: short, related words can produce funny but still valid combinations, for example Glashausturm (glass house tower), Hosentorknopf (trouser gate button) or Brathuhnteil (roast chicken part).
All or Nothing (for 3 to 5 players)
The goal of the game is to be the first to guess the words of the other players.
Each player needs paper and a pencil. The players agree whether four or five letters are to be used for a word.
All stones go into the middle of the table. They are available to all players. Each player stacks a riddle tower behind a hand held over it. The riddle towers are then revealed at the same time. Each player must now work out the words of the other players. Each player writes his solutions on a slip of paper. As soon as a player believes he has found all the words, he places his slip face down in the middle of the table. The next player to finish places his slip face down on top, and so on, until all slips except that of the last player are stacked in the middle. The fastest player with the correct solutions receives four points, the second fastest three points, and so on. Only solution slips on which all solutions are correct count; otherwise they score no points.
The player with the most points after an agreed number of rounds wins.
Puzzle Duel (for 2 players or 2 teams)
If two players play against each other, both simultaneously stack one riddle tower each behind a hand held over it. After both towers are revealed together, whoever first finds a suitable word for the other player's tower receives one point. The points gained are increased to two points if the opponent then does not succeed in guessing the other word within the next 30 seconds.
Puzzle Solo (for one player)
A clever riddle tower player who has no opponents available can attempt the following task. Without looking, he draws four or five stones from the box and stacks them into a riddle tower. He then tries to find a valid word for the tower using the colour code card. Of course, he may also stack more than five stones into a riddle tower.