Extrablatt
Extrablatt Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Material
- 4 Game Boards
- 1 FAX Board
- 1 FAX Card Holding Board
- 12 Check Cards (Checks)
- 4 Info Cards
- 90 FAX messages (Headlines)
- 12 FAX messages (Clock Cards)
- 2 FAX messages (Duck/Advert)
- 20 Extra Turn Cards
- 14 Duck/Advert Cards
- 81 Edition Markers
- 1 Game Clock
- 12 Photo Cards
- 1 Rule Book
- 100 MOZ Layout Cards (4 x 25)
Goal of Play
The Winner is the player whose newspaper has the highest circulation. This goal is clear. The question remains as to how the number of copies circulated is determined. The determination of the number of copies in the edition is a principal item of the game.
We recommend studying the examples at the end of the rules. A complete scoring of the newspapers may be found there. It will be easy to see which stories score for each edition at the conclusion of the game. There are also tactical notes for the game. Reading this account is particularly important for beginners and/or your first game. It will make the first game easier, and facilitates understanding the game.
Game Preparation
The Players
Each player receives:
- 1 Game board
- 1 Extra Turn Marker
- 3 Check Cards
- 25 Layout Cards (with matching symbols)
The Check Cards are best distributed as follows: First, form 4 piles of 3 checks each. Which 3 checks make up 1 pile are listed on the Information Card, or you may group them by matching the background designs on the checks. Rubber band each pile separately, mix them up, and distribute them to the players face down, so no player knows who has which pile.
When playing with 3, remove 1 group of checks from the game. This should not be the group with the "12000" check. It is best to place the pile with the 12 aside, mix the remaining piles, and then remove one group of checks.
Each player receives a set of 25 Layout Cards. Each card in the set has a matching MOZ logo (black print with rectangle edge or oval edge, or white print with rectangle edge or oval edge). The cards may be used horizontally or vertically when one "writes" the article.
The following cards are found in each layout set: 4x Size-4, 4x Size-6, 4x Size-8, 2x Size-9, 2x Size-10, 4x Size-12, 2x Size-15, 2x Size-18, 1x Size-20
The Table Center
In the center of the table place:
- FAX-Board
- FAX holding board with face down FAX messages
- Game Clock
- Photo Cards (12)
- Info Cards (4)
The clock is set to 12 o'clock. The photo cards are placed face up. The info cards serve as memory aids for card distribution and scoring.
Separate the clock cards and the Duck/Advert cards from the normal FAX (headline) cards. Mix the Headlines, and divide them into 3 piles of 30 cards each. Mix 5 Time Cards into the first pile. This pile is the Starting FAX Pile. Mix the remaining 7 Time Cards, and the 2 Duck/Advert (Zeitungsente / Anzeige) cards, in the second pile. This is the Speed FAX Pile. The third pile remains unchanged, and forms the Normal FAX Pile.
All three FAX piles are put face down the appropriate fields of the FAX holding board. 3 FAX messages are drawn from the Starting FAX pile for each of the 5 columns on the FAX Board. If any Time Cards are drawn, advance the time on the clock 1 hour for each.
Remaining Material
The remaining components (Extra Turn Markers, Advert/Duck cards, and the Edition Markers) are returned to the box, and should be handed out as needed by one of the players. The starting player is chosen at random.
Play Sequence
The Turn Possibilities
A player may do one of three actions during a turn: the basic play, the removal of FAX messages, or playing a Time Card to attack an opponent. After doing one of these 3 things, the next player in a clockwise direction begins his turn.
Basic Play
The player selects 1 FAX message from the FAX board. Players may choose the lowest message in any of the 5 columns. Each player will thus always have a choice between 5 messages. If a player already has a certain message on his sheet, then he may not take the same message again.
Now the player decides how large a Layout Card he would like to use for the selected message in his newspaper. He selects from his own set of Layout Cards. He puts the Layout Card, with the FAX message (headline) on top, on his newspaper. There are certain regulations for adding Layout Cards to the board, and these are explained later under "Layout Card Placement Rules".
The size of the story is important for the final scoring. There are 3 copies of each FAX message in the game. Several players may have the same message (headline) in their newspaper. Only the largest of these will actually score points. If two or more identical stories have the same layout size, then they all will score.
The Removal of FAX Messages
Instead of the basic play, one can remove 1 or 2 FAX messages from the FAX Board provided these are the lowest messages in their column. These are removed from the game. Time Cards are excluded from this. The only way to remove these is to play them (see next).
Playing the Time Cards
General
If a player takes a Time Card from the FAX Board, he can intervene in the organization of another player's newspaper. A Time Card can only be played if it is the lowest card in a column on the FAX Board.
There are 2 courses of action:
- Place an Advert
- Place a Duck
The game clock indicates which of the two actions may be chosen. From 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock, only Adverts may be placed. As soon as the clock pointer stands on 8 o'clock, only Ducks may be used.
The two FAX messages Duck / Advert (Zeitungsente / Anzeige) are handled like the Time Cards. If one of these two messages is played, the player concerned will play either an Advert or a Duck, according to the time on the clock.
Exchanging the Check Cards
The player selects an opponent in whose newspaper he wants to place an Advert or a Duck. The two players each secretly exchange a check card, and then reveal them. Whoever played the higher check card of the two will get to place the Advert or Duck on his opponent's paper. The higher check always wins - with one exception: The 1000 check always beats the 12000 check.
The exchanged checks remain with their new owners, so the check distribution is constantly changing.
Advert Play
The player takes one of his own Layout Cards and places it on the newspaper of his opponent. Then he selects one of the small Advert / Duck cards from the general supply, and places it (Advert side up) on the Layout Card he has just placed on his opponent's newspaper. The Time Card is removed from the game.
Adverts are worthless during the final scoring.
The largest Layout Card you may use for an Advert is size 12.
The Layout Card must be placed against another Layout Card, i.e. it must rest against the edge of the other with least one square. This other Layout Card may NOT be another Advert.
The Advert may NOT be put into the Headline Section (front page, red section), not even part way. If the winner of a check exchange action cannot place an Advert (e.g. because he does not have a suitable Layout Card, or because the opponent's only articles are within the Headline Section), then the loser does not get an Advert placed in his newspaper. Otherwise the winner must place a card in the loser's paper.
If the challenger (the player of the Time Card) won the check exchange action, he receives 2 "Extra Turn" markers. If the challenger loses, the opponent DOES NOT receive any "Extra Turn" markers.
Placing Ducks
The player must specify, before the check exchange action, within which section of his opponent's paper (e.g. Sport, Politics) he wants to place the Duck. The player must have a similar section in his own paper in which a Duck could be placed.
The winner of the check exchange action puts a small Advert / Duck card on an article of the opponent's paper within the announced section, naturally with the Duck side upward. This article is worthless during the final scoring.
Ducks may be put in the Headline Section (front page) area. The winner gains NO "Extra Turn" markers for placement of a Duck.
Playing "Extra Turn" Markers
By playing an "Extra Turn" Marker, a player may take two turns in a row. One may do this only once per round.
One may obtain "Extra Turn" markers only when placing Adverts, and then only if one was the challenger and won the check exchange.
Layout Card Placement Rules
General
The Layout Cards represent the articles in the newspaper, and are present in many different sizes. These are used to cover the small boxes on the players' game boards. How many small boxes are covered is listed on each Layout Card (the number in the circle).
The Layout Cards are printed on both sides, and are useable either horizontally or vertically. The cards must align exactly with the small square boxes on the board. They may not be put over the Logo of the newspaper (MOZ), and also may not cross the double (thick, red) lines of the game board, or extend outside the squares. It is not possible to place a card so it crosses over both game board halves (the fold).
The 6 Different Info Sections
There are 6 different types of FAX messages (Politics, Business, Sport, Arts, Local and General Interest), which are all colored differently. All messages (headlines) of one type must be connected. If one has already begun a section (e.g. the Sport section), then one must set the next message in the Sport section adjacent to the first message. That is, the two Layout Cards must be touching on an edge of at least one square.
If a new section of the paper is opened, then the first message (article) in this section may touch no other section, not even at the corners. The first Layout Card in each section must be placed in complete isolation. Later on, different sections may be adjacent. They grow together, as it were, during the course of the game.
The Headline Section
The Headline (Front Page) section is the red-border part of the game board. Messages within this section count double in the final scoring. This section is, therefore, very important. Layout Cards may lie either in the headline section or the normal section, but may not straddle both. (Otherwise, no correct scoring evaluation is possible at game end). It is, however, possible to put a part of the Sport section (for example) into the Headline Section and another part of the Sport section into the "normal" section.
The Pictures
There are 2 pictures for each of the 6 types of FAX messages. The pictures can be put as messages on the game board, but are bound by certain rules.
First, one must already have a certain message on the game board (e.g. Politics - Frei Statt Bayern). If this same message appears again at the bottom of a column on the FAX board, then one can take this message and add it to one's newspaper as a picture. One selects an additional Layout Card and puts it on the game board along with the FAX message. The Layout Card with the new message must rest against the Layout Card with the original message. Then one takes an appropriately colored picture (in this case, Politics) from the supply, and puts it on the newly placed Layout Card.
Only when placing a picture may one take a message from the FAX board identical to one that already appears in one's newspaper. Under no circumstances may one ever take a third matching message from the FAX board.
Ducks may be put on pictures. The Duck ruins the picture only, and not the original article. If the Duck is placed on the original Article, then the picture is not affected by it, and does count in the final scoring.
Pictures have certain advantages. They count like every other message, and increase the circulation of the edition. They also increase the size of the appropriate Article. E.g. if the article from the Politics section (Frei Statt Bayern) was a size 12 Layout Card, and the picture was a size 6 Layout Card, then the entire article (Frei Statt Bayern) is now a size 18.
The Game Clock
The Game Clock represents the time pressure every newspaper bigshot knows. The pointer stands on 12 at the beginning of the game. The pointer advances by 1 hour for every Time Card placed on the FAX board. After all 12 Time Cards have been placed on the FAX Board, the pointer will be back on the 12.
The Game Clock is divided into 3 sectors of different colors. These sectors play a large role in the scoring. Each message placed during the yellow phase (zero o'clock to 4 o'clock) brings 10000 points in the final scoring. Thus the 10 printed in the yellow sector. In the blue sector each message brings 20000, and in the red sector 30000. The later a message is placed, the better for the edition.
No Edition Markers are placed on an article when it is first placed on the board. As soon as the pointer leaves the yellow range (and points to 5 o'clock), mark all articles with a 10-marker (excluding Adverts and Ducks). Do the same when the pointer leaves the blue range. All articles which have not already been marked with a 10 should now be marked with the 20 markers. At the end of the game, mark the remaining messages with the 30 Markers.
FAX Board and FAX Holding Area
At the beginning, the FAX Board is fully laid out with FAX messages. The messages are removed by the players; only the lowest message in a column is accessible.
When a column becomes empty, refill it, at the end of the turn, with messages from the FAX Holding Board. The messages must be drawn from the Starting Pile until this is used up. Afterwards, the player must choose between the Speed Pile and the Normal Pile. One may not take from both piles at the same time, unless one pile is exhausted. By choosing either the Speed Pile, or the Normal Pile, players may thus influence the tempo of the game.
Game End
The game ends as soon as the last Time Card is taken from the FAX Board, and played as a Duck. Afterwards, the circulation of the individual newspapers is determined and thus the winner is determined.
Final Scoring
The Final Scoring is done in a specific sequence. It is important to observe this order correctly. The Scoring Pattern and the edition values are each printed on the Info Cards. The edition values for each player should be noted on a sheet of paper.
Bonus for the Headline Section (Front Page)
Each player counts the empty spaces within their Headline Section, i.e. the small square boxes NOT covered with a Layout Card. The player with the fewest empty spaces gains a bonus of 60000. The runner-up gets 30000.
If several players are tied, then each player receives the bonus. Example: 2 players covered all spaces within the headline section; 60000 is credited to both players; the next player receives no bonus.
Remove Ducks and Adverts
Before further scoring takes place, remove all Ducks and Adverts from the game boards. They score no points.
Bonus for the Largest Info Sections
Bonuses are assigned for each of the 6 sections of the paper. These go to the players who covered most spaces with stories of a particular type. Simply add the numerical size values of the stories in each section. First place (e.g. within the "Sports" section) receives a bonus of 60000, second gets 30000. Bonuses are awarded for each of the 6 sections. If several players are tied, then all receive the bonuses.
Remove the "Small" Layout Cards
Now the individual FAX messages/articles are compared for size. Proceed one section at a time. Since there are 3 copies of each FAX message, it is quite possible for two or three players to have the same article in their newspapers. Only the largest size article counts. The smaller stories are removed and do not count. The player with the largest receives the points from the edition marker on the story. If two or three articles for a particular headline/message are tied for largest, then all will score.
Example: Three players have "Gold für Ana Bolika" in their Sports section. The first used a size 12 Layout Card, the second a size 10, and the third a size 15. Only the third player scores for this story. On the Layout Card is a 20 Edition Marker, and this player therefore receives 20000 for this message. The other two receive nothing.
Scoring photos is somewhat more difficult. There are three rules:
- The Layout Card of the article and the Layout Card of the picture are added together for the size comparison to the other player's story with the same headline.
Example: Player A has the message "Gold für Ana Bolika" with Article Size 12 and Picture Size 6. Player B has the same message with an Article Size 15. Here player A wins the size comparison, because his Article Card and the Photo Card are added (12 + 6), and thus are larger than the article of player B. Player A receives both the credit for the article (e.g. a 10-marker) and the credit for the picture (e.g. a 20-marker). Player A scores a combined 30000 for this story.
- The Layout Card for a picture counts, even if the Layout Card for the related article does not.
Example: Player A has the message "Gold für Ana Bolika" with Article Size 8 and with Picture Size 6. Player B has the same message with a Article Size 15. Here player B wins the size comparison, because his article is still larger than Player A's article and picture together. However, Player A needs to remove only his Article Size 8. The picture remains with its 20 edition marker, and scores 20000.
- As a rule of thumb: Photos always score, unless covered by a Duck.
Scoring the Layout Cards
This was already partly anticipated above. Each message not removed due to size now scores for its edition marker. With an Edition Marker of 10, the player scores 10000. With a Marker of 20, the player scores 20000, etc.
Messages within the Headline (front page) section score double. A message with a 20 Marker, for example, within the headline section scores 40000.
The Winner is the player with the highest circulation after the scoring.
Note from the publisher: Diagram messages from the daily paper PICTURE were used on the cover of the box, as well as some other stuff my translator couldn't handle.
Appendix
Scoring Example
The following is a scoring example. This is to facilitate learning the game and understanding the play mechanics. The study of this example is particularly recommended for beginners before their first game.
For a better overview, and to save time, only 2 players, and only half of their game boards, are scored here. The scoring principles should be clear, however.
There is a diagram showing this scoring example at the end of the rules.
Laid out messages:
Player A:
- Sport
- Gold for Ana Bolika (Size 8) Marker-10
- Sportfest (Size 6) Marker-20
- Foul der Woche (Size 4) Marker-20
- Politics
- Frei statt Bayern (Size 4) Marker-30
- Wiedervereinigung (Size 6) Marker-20
- General Interest
- Babys – Article (Size 15) Marker-10
- Babys – Picture (Size 6) Marker-20
- Das Wetter (Size 4) Marker-30
Player B:
- Sport
- Sportfest Schlagzeile (Size 12) Marker-20
- Foul der Woche (Size 4) Marker-10
- Boris-Fans Schlagzeile (Size 15) Marker-20 Duck!
- General Interest
- Babys (Size 18) Marker-10
- Das Wetter Schlagzeile (Size 8) Marker-10
- Algen (Size 6) Marker-20
- Arts
- Weihnachten (Size 4) Marker-10
- Advert (Size 8)
Bonus for Headline (front page) section
The blank fields within the Headline Section are counted by both players.
Player A: Player A has only the "Babies" in the headline section, with a size 15. Altogether there are 51 fields in the headlines. Empty spaces for Player A: 51-15 = 36 empty spaces.
Player B: In the headline section, Player B has Size 12 "Boris fans", Size 15 "Das Wetter", and Size 8 "Sportfest" which total 12+15+8 or 35 covered spaces. Empty spaces for player B: 51-35 = 16 empty spaces.
Player B receives the 60000 bonus, and Player A receives the 30000 bonus.
Remove Ducks and Adverts
Player A: Player A has neither Adverts nor Ducks. His sheet remains unchanged.
Player B: With player B the message "Boris fan" is taken from the headlines (Duck) and the Advert is removed.
Bonus for the largest Info Section
The player with the largest area covered in each of the 6 sections will receive a bonus.
Sport:
- Player A: Player A has 3 messages in the Sport Section "Gold for Ana Bolika!" (size 8), "Sportfest" (size 6), and "Foul der Woche" (size 4). This is a total volume of 8 + 6 + 4 = 18 spaces.
- Player B: Player B has in his Sport Section "Foul der Woche" (size 4), and "Sportfest" (size 12) resulting in a total volume of 4+12 = 16 fields.
- Player A has the larger Sports area and receives the 60000 bonus. Player B gets the 30000 bonus.
Politics:
- Player A: Player A has the 2 messages "Frei Statt Bayern" (size 4) and "Wiedervereinigung" (size 6). That results in a total volume of 4+6 = 10 spaces.
- Player B: Player B does not have any messages within Politics section.
- Player A scores the 60000 Bonus, player B receives nothing.
General Interest:
- Player A: Player A has the 3 messages "Babys" (size 15), "Babys" picture (size 6) and "Das Wetter" (size 4). That results in a total volume of 15+6+4 = 25 spaces.
- Player B: Player B has the 3 messages "Babys" (size 18), "Das Wetter" (size 8), and "Algen" (size 6). That results in a total volume of 18+8+6 = 32 fields.
- Player B has the largest "General" section, and receives the 60000 bonus. Player A gets the 30000 bonus.
Arts:
- Player A: Player A does not have messages in the Arts section.
- Player B: Player B has the message "Weihnachten" (size 4) within the Arts section.
- Player B receives the 60000 Bonus, player A receives nothing.
Remove the "too small" Layout Cards
Compare the size of identical messages. Only the largest in each case will score.
- Gold für Ana Bolika: Player A: Size of 8 Marker-10. Player B: -. Player A wins and receives 10000.
- Sportfest: Player A: Size of 6 Marker 20. Player B: Size of 12 Marker 20 Headline! Player B wins and receives 40000 edition credited, because the marker scores 20000 and being in the headline section doubles the score. Player A scores nothing.
- Foul der Woche: Player A: Size of 4 Marker 20. Player B: Size of 4 Marker 10. The two messages are of equal size. Here both players score points equal to the Edition Markers on the stories: Player A gets 20000, because his message was placed within the blue range of the clock. Player B gets 10000, because his message was placed within the yellow range of the clock.
- Frei statt Bayern: Player A: Size 4 Marker-30. Player B: -. Player A wins and scores 30000. This message was placed within the red range of the clock.
- Wiedervereinigung: Player A: Size of 6 Marker 20. Player B: -. Player A wins and scores 20000.
- Babys: Player A: Size of 15 Marker 10 Headline!, Size of 6 Marker 20 Picture! Player B: Size 18 Marker-10. Player A wins, because his total message area 15 + 6 = 21 fields. He gets 20000 (Headline!) for the article and 20000 for the picture. Player B receives nothing.
- Das Wetter: Player A: Size 4 Marker 30. Player B: Size 8 Marker 10 Headline! Player B wins and receives 20000 because the message lies in the Headline section. Player A receives nothing.
- Algen: Player A: -. Player B: Size 6 Marker 20. Player B wins. He scores 20000.
- Weihnachten: Player A: -. Player B: Size 4 Marker 10. Player B wins. He scores 10000.
Scoring the Layout Cards
The determination of the circulation scoring for the individual messages has just been completed. Here are the final scores for the two players.
| Player A | Player B | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline Bonus | 30000 | Headline Bonus | 60000 |
| Sport Bonus | 60000 | Sport Bonus | 30000 |
| Politik Bonus | 60000 | General Bonus | 60000 |
| General Bonus | 30000 | Arts Bonus | 60000 |
| Gold für Ana Bolika | 10000 | Sportfest | 40000 |
| Foul der Woche | 20000 | Foul der Woche | 10000 |
| Frei statt Bayern | 30000 | Das Wetter | 20000 |
| Wiedervereinigung | 20000 | Algen | 20000 |
| Babys Article | 20000 | Weihnachten | 10000 |
| Babys Picture | 20000 | ||
| Total | 300000 | Total | 310000 |
Player B has the highest circulation, and wins the game. In this example, the weight of the Bonuses is overestimated, because they are divided among only 2 players. In a normal game, the individual messages figure more strongly in the final outcome.