Die kleinen Drachenritter
Die kleinen Drachenritter Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 Player tokens (2 knights and 2 princesses)
- 50 Item tokens (red, orange, yellow, green and blue)
- 1 Boulder token
- 1 "D6" die with differently coloured faces
- 1 Scaly Wall
- 1 Brace for the Scaly Wall
Goal of the Game
Return the stolen treasures.
Who Wins?
The player whose knight or princess first looks into the dragon's lair wins. A glance will scare off the troublesome Nils, and the knight or princess can then return the stolen treasures without hindrance.
(Figure captions: "Victory!" — a knight looking over the wall; "Not successful!" — a knight that did not reach the top.)
Player's Task
Players must build a staircase from the various items scattered around the dragon's lair. The task demands virtuoso control of the fingers, the ability to concentrate, and holding one's breath.
Setup
Assemble the Scaly Wall and insert it into the box, as shown in the picture on page 1. Place the box in the centre of the table so that everyone can reach it without difficulty. The surface of the table becomes the surroundings of the dragon's lair.
Players take their seats. It is best to sit in pairs facing each other. If there are two players, they sit on opposite sides of the Scaly Wall.
Sort the building items by colour. Lay the items out on the table, in the surroundings of the dragon's lair, so that all players can see them. Keep the die and the boulder token at hand.
The youngest player goes first. Turns pass clockwise. The first player chooses a knight or a princess; the choice then passes to the other players.
Course of the Game
The first player rolls the die. To build the staircase, the player must take an item of the same colour as the one rolled on the die. Carefully line it up and lean it against the Scaly Wall. This item becomes the base of the staircase to Nils's lair. The player may place the item upright, on its side, or upside down. The main thing is that the staircase grows upward and the items do not slide apart.
Items that have been placed against the wall may not be moved.
(Diagram captions: "Central column (items may not be leaned against it)"; "Only one player may build here".)
Note: Building the staircase is allowed only on your own part of the Scaly Wall. (Each side is divided in half by a special central column, which leaves room for 4 players.) Items may not hang over the edge of the Scaly Wall or rest against the central column. You may not try to rearrange items that are already placed in the staircase.
If the colour rolled on the die has run out, the player may take any item they like.
Careful! Collapse!
If your staircase begins to sag and collapse, and the items scatter, all the items that fell from the staircase must be returned to the surroundings of the dragon's lair. Items that remain standing may be left in place.
If the staircase only tilted and stayed standing (even if it touched the central column), you are lucky! Building may continue. However, items may not be leaned against the central column during further construction.
Watch Out! Boulder!
If the white face comes up on the die, it means Nils has decided to drop a boulder onto your staircase. The player sitting opposite takes the boulder token and, without looking, rolls it down your side of the Scaly Wall.
Attention! No peeking!
If you are unlucky, the staircase may collapse or lose several items. All items that fell from the staircase must be returned to the surroundings of the dragon's lair. If the staircase remains standing, building can continue, but items may not be leaned against the central column.
If the white face comes up on the die and your staircase does not yet contain a single item, you may take any item you like from the surroundings of the dragon's lair and begin building!
(Diagram captions: "Top of the Scaly Wall"; "Boulder token".)
End of the Game and Determining the Winner
When a player is confident that the staircase they have built is high enough for their knight or princess to look over the Scaly Wall into Nils's lair, they place the knight or princess figure on the top item of the staircase and count aloud, slowly and loudly, to five.
A player wins if their knight or princess has looked over the Scaly Wall with both eyes and stayed standing for the duration of the count. The knight's or princess's eyes must be clearly visible to the players sitting opposite.
Remember that knights and princesses may not lean against the central column!
If a knight or princess is unable to look over the wall, do not be discouraged. Simply place them next to each other and continue building the staircase.
If a knight or princess has fallen and items have fallen from the staircase, the items must be returned to the surroundings of the dragon's lair and play continues.
The winners are the knights or princesses that can look over the Scaly Wall with both eyes for at least five seconds! They confuse Nils and return the stolen treasure!
Three Players
If there are three players, the player who sits opposite the other two will drop the boulders for Nils onto the staircases of both players whenever a white face comes up on the die.
This same player also checks whether the knights or princesses can look into Nils's lair. This player must build the staircase on only one half of the Scaly Wall and tell the other players which half that is.
If a white face came up on the die for this player for the first time, the younger of the two players sitting opposite drops the boulder for Nils. On the second occurrence the second player drops the boulder, and so on.
Two Players
The players sit opposite each other, on different sides of the Scaly Wall. Be sure to tell the other player where you will build the staircase into Nils's lair.