Es geht seinen Gang Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Und nun beginnen wir! (And Now We Begin!)
• Grundgedanke und Ziel des Spieles (Basic Idea and Aim of the Game)
• Gewonnen hat der Mitspieler, welcher am Ende des Lebens die meisten Punkte umgesetzt hat !! (Winner Is the Player Who Has Converted the Most Points by the End of Life!!)
• Start und Spielverlauf (Start and Course of Play)
• Nun wird ausgewertet! (Now Scoring Takes Place!)
• Kurzübersicht (Quick Reference)
• Gaps in this transcription

Und nun beginnen wir! (And Now We Begin!)

Before the game each player chooses one of the coloured wooden figures.

One player (better still, an additional person) becomes the "Leiter der Komplexannahmestelle" (head of the complex-acceptance office). In the further course of play this person is called "Kasse" (cash desk). The Kasse manages the differently coloured plastic chips (Plastechips), the consumer goods (cars, houses, household appliances and so on), the male and female life partners, and the various career cards. The question cards (Fragekarten) are stacked on the corresponding space on the playing field and placed there face down.

Grundgedanke und Ziel des Spieles (Basic Idea and Aim of the Game)

During the course of a game-life each player collects, by chance and according to the life path taken, various coloured points that stand for certain qualities, skills and values:

• GREEN for Sportiness / Beauty / Health
• BLUE for Intelligence / Education / Knowledge
• YELLOW for Material values / Money
• RED for Social engagement / Relationships

These points, represented by plastic chips, can be acquired on the "dotted" spaces. For example, a space with a yellow dot gives one a yellow plastic chip from the Kasse. On certain board spaces the points can in turn be converted into corresponding cards that carry game effects. Namely:

• consumer goods are obtained at the Konsum;
• a life partner is met at the Disko (disco);
• career leaps are made on the spaces with the career ladder (Karriereleiter);
• school and training qualifications are obtained on the A-spaces.

In the Legend (Legende) the required points are stated. Against the corresponding chips one receives the desired cards. The Legend sheet is handed to each player before the game so that play flows and the overview is kept.

The game value on the cards is equal to the points converted.

Gewonnen hat der Mitspieler, welcher am Ende des Lebens die meisten Punkte umgesetzt hat !! (Winner Is the Player Who Has Converted the Most Points by the End of Life!!)

It applies, then, as in real life: one must not only possess or collect abilities, but use them wisely as well, that is, CONVERT them (UMZUSETZEN)!!!

Start und Spielverlauf (Start and Course of Play)

The start is in the birth clinic. Dice are rolled with two dice, one white and one black. The "double throw" (Doppelwurf) is scored like two individual throws.

In doing so each player first moves by the number on the white die and, where applicable, lands on a point space. Then he moves by the number on the black die and, where applicable, again lands on a point space.

With a 6 one may not roll again!

Only in the prison area is played with just one die.

First of all it is rolled to decide who starts life first: the player with the highest total begins, and the others follow in descending order. Whoever rolls a six on the start (with the white die!) must leave the start space by the short path, the early birth (Frühgeburt). All other players take the other, longer path, and have the chance of first beauty points on it.

The black arrows on the spaces indicate choices (Wahlmöglichkeiten). The red arrows are direction arrows (Richtungspfeile): whoever lands on one must follow the prescribed path.

The school, training and examination phase follows. Every player must stop at an A-space and take the examination. The remaining throw is forfeited!

For the 8th-grade, 10th-grade, 12th-grade (Abitur) and skilled-worker (Facharbeiter) qualifications one blue point is needed for each.

If one does not have this blue point available to CONVERT it (exchange it) for the corresponding certificate, the player must go onto the vocational-training path (Berufsausbildung), to take "at least" his skilled-worker examination there. Of course one can also go straight into vocational training after passing an examination.

Only after a failed Abitur examination is there still the chance to reach a diploma (Diplom): blue 3 and red 1 point are required. For this there is the "work placement" path (Betriebspraktikum), that is, proving oneself in production.

If a throw ENDS on a question space (Fragefeld), one draws such a card. Sudden turns, blows of fate and unexpected chances are noted on it.

If a certain points demand cannot be settled immediately, the question card stays with the player until payment is possible; otherwise it is deducted from the total points at the end of the game.

PRAM (Kinderwagen)! If a throw ENDS on this space, offspring arrives, provided the player has already met a life partner in the disco. He receives state child benefit (Kindergeld): yellow 2.

DISCO! Every player CAN stop here and, depending on his own (point) qualities, "get to know" one partner of the opposite sex per disco visit. The demands of the ladies and gentlemen (see the Legend) vary widely. Note: each life partner is of course unique, and therefore can be "had" only once in the disco. The remaining throw is forfeited.

CONSUMER SHOP (Konsum)! Here too every player CAN stop and, depending on his purse and the range on offer, buy as much as he likes. One exchanges the corresponding plastic chips for goods cards at the Kasse. Since there is a shortage economy (Mangelwirtschaft), each consumer item exists only once. The remaining throw is forfeited again!

Whoever does not want to take the military career now has various options:

• All men perform basic military service (1 1/2 years) or go to the army for 3 years.
• All female players have the choice between civilian service (Zivildienst) and 3 years of military service.

When deciding for three years, the -2, -3, -4 and so on mean moving back 2, 3, 4 and so on spaces respectively. The same applies in the military career path.

Then follows the personal decision for a civilian career path. If one generously counts the crooked path as well, these are the scientist, sports, enterprise and Party career paths. Depending on the points account accumulated, intuition and the general state of play, a career is chosen. Every life path offers the same wealth of chances, including the crooked path, and can lead to winning the game, depending on skill and luck.

CAREER LEVELS (Karrierestufen)! Every player CAN stop here and master the next available level of his own career path. The requirement is that the level (for example European champion or doctor) must still be available, and that he can hand over to the Kasse the combination of points specified in the Legend. As all career levels exist only once, a career path shared by two players is certainly not the easiest challenge in life.

Whoever chooses the crooked path (Schiefe Bahn) has some peculiarities to observe and, of course, higher risks to bear, such as pre-trial detention (U-Haft) and prison.

On the other hand, besides the "big coup" (großer Coup) with yellow 10, he also has the chance of becoming a "gangster boss" (Gangsterboss), that is, head of a criminal organisation.

In the darkly hatched area he may play with only ONE die. If he lands on a red arrow he always goes to prison automatically. Here he must stop and roll. The number rolled in prison equals the number of turns he must miss. Only on a 6 is he released at once by amnesty, and he must then roll as successfully as possible through the minus-yellow spaces.

On every path there is a sudden death: if the throw ENDS here, the player immediately goes between heaven and hell.

Then the other players gradually arrive on their life paths. The player who is still last on his life path must then, to shorten the game, immediately and automatically move to the board space in front of the last disco. Here he may try his luck once more (and then turns out the light).

Nun wird ausgewertet! (Now Scoring Takes Place!)

Each player TELLS, using his game cards and as imaginatively as possible, his life story. The source gives this example: "Got through 8th and 10th grade just barely, scraped by the Abitur with flying colours; a Trabbi from Papi; spoiled Moni in the disco and then stuffed her into the wardrobe, because Tanja was so eROTic; came onto the crooked path after an unwise political remark and rose laboriously to gangster boss, but did not survive the bank robbery ..." He then names the total of his CONVERTED POINTS (UMGESETZTE PUNKTE).

The game value of each card is clearly marked at the bottom of the card! Once again: the remaining plastic chips do NOT count!

The WINNER is the player with the highest total number of points!!!! He goes to the highest-placed cloud ...

Have fun playing! You will see: it takes its course (es geht seinen Gang).

Closing note in the original: "As we have just learned from well-informed circles in the supplier industry, there is currently a supply shortage of black dice. Mensch ärger Dich nicht ... and improvise!"

Kurzübersicht (Quick Reference)

Key to the board spaces:

• PUNKT(e) (POINT(S)): there are points when a player lands on it. Ideally, per double throw, points can be collected on two spaces.
• ABSCHLUSS (QUALIFICATION): here one MUST stop. The remaining rolled number is forfeited.
• DISKO (DISCO): here one CAN stop. For example, a player stands 2 spaces before a disco space. He rolls a 1 (with the white die) and a 4 (with the black die). He can stop, in which case the remaining number (3) is forfeited, or he can go past it.
• KONSUM (CONSUMER SHOP): handled the same way as the disco.
• KINDERWAGEN (PRAM): handled as for points. One receives yellow 2 if one already has a life partner.
• KARRIERESTUFE (CAREER LEVEL): handled the same way as the disco.
• TOT BEI ... (DEATH AT ...): only if one lands on it. The game is over for that player. The total of points converted up to then is scored.
• FRAGE-KARTE (QUESTION CARD): here the player lands. The remaining roll (which can only be the black die's) is forfeited.
• SCHWARZE PFEILE (BLACK ARROWS): a further path may be chosen freely.
• ROTE PFEILE (RED ARROWS): if one lands on one, one MUST take the prescribed direction.

Gaps in this transcription

The scan contains no Legend sheet, so the point requirements for the disco, the consumer shop, and career levels are not stated in this file, nor are the question-card texts or the card values. The rules text above is complete as printed in the original rulebook.