Hamster Roll
Hamster Roll Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
- A hamster ring with black wooden dividers
- 28 wooden game pieces in 7 colors (4 building sets)
- 1 black pointed pyramid
- these rules
- no hamster
Set-up
The hamster ring is put on a stable, even table — ideally in such a way that all players can look through the ring. The black pointed pyramid is put into the lowermost compartment of the hamster ring.
Each player gets a complete building set of the seven different wooden building pieces (one of each color!). In the two-player game, both players get a double building set. In the three-player game one building set is left over; this can be given to advanced players to balance the game. With four players, two teams are formed and they play against each other.
It is recommended, in the team game, that partners sit side-by-side so that each team gets two turns in a row.
Goal of the Game
The wooden building pieces are placed inside the ring. Whoever gets rid of all their pieces first wins the game.
Play of the Game
Play moves clockwise. The player with the shakiest hands begins. He must place one of his building pieces into the ring. When doing so, he chooses on one side or other of the pyramid, leaving the compartment closest to the pyramid empty, and builds in the next compartment. All players must thereafter build in the same direction (see Fig. 2).
[Fig. 2] The building direction is to the left as seen from the start player. [Translator's note: Note that the space being built in (shaded space) is not adjacent to the pyramid — this space must be left vacant. — PC]
Tip: In order to keep the game from being too easy, you should only allow one piece to be built in the start compartment (i.e. the one where the start player placed his first piece).
After the start player begins, the active player has three possible actions, from which he selects one.
He is allowed to...
- Place a building piece in the same compartment as the previous player. When doing so, he must:
- build a piece that has not already been built in that compartment.
- build his piece farther in the same building direction, i.e. the furthest advanced part of his piece must lie at a more advanced point in the building direction (towards the next divider) than the previously built piece (see Fig. 3).
- Place a building piece into the next available empty compartment — in the proper building direction.
- Place a building piece into the second most next available empty compartment — in the proper building direction.
Play continues clockwise. Very soon you will find that the hamster ring rolls around and the contents shift about.
[Fig. 3]
Built correctly: The uppermost edge of the piece that was placed last (white square) is closer to the next divider in the proper building direction than the piece that was built previously (dark rectangle). [Translator's note: Both of the first two illustrations are built correctly. — PC]
Built incorrectly: The uppermost edge of the piece that was placed last (white square) is farther from the next divider in the proper building direction than that of the piece that was built previously (rectangle).
When a Building Attempt Goes Wrong
- If previously placed pieces fall out of the hamster ring (onto the table), the active player takes all of them. If the pointed pyramid falls out, it counts as a normal building piece and may later be placed back in the ring. Pieces that fall but remain in the ring are left where they lie. The active player's turn is then over.
- If the piece that the active player was trying to place stayed in the ring when other pieces fell out, it remains where it lies. If it was not yet successfully placed or it fell out when other pieces fell out, the active player keeps it and his turn is over.
- Once a player has begun to try to place a piece, he may not change his mind. He must continue to try to place that piece in that compartment. If he is unable to successfully place it, then he must let go of it from that compartment and let it fall. If it remains in a lower part of the ring, it is not taken back and the next player then takes his turn. If it falls out of the ring, however, it is taken back. If any other pieces fall out of the ring during this process, the active player must also take them.
Constructive Passing
If a player believes that he cannot successfully build one of his own pieces on his turn (and he has not already tried to do so), he may do the following instead:
- Take any piece out of either of the two lowermost compartments in the ring and place it back into any other compartment, in the proper building direction, which does not already contain that color. This piece may be placed in that compartment in any manner that he chooses.
- If any pieces fall out of the ring during this process, including the piece that is being relocated, the active player takes them.
A Higher Power
If pieces fall out of the ring after a player's turn is complete and without any direct action by a player, they are put to one side. The next player who suffers a failed building attempt takes all these pieces into his supply, as well. It pays to be extra cautious in those situations, then!
End of the Game
The game ends when a player has no more building pieces. That player is the winner.
The Hamster Ring for Four
The four player game is played in two teams. Team members should sit directly side-by-side. If a team member has no more building pieces of his own, he takes his normal turn by placing pieces from his partner's stock. If this player suffers a failed building attempt, however, he gets the pieces that fall out and uses them to build with on future turns.
The game ends, when:
- One team has no more pieces, or
- Two players from different teams have no more pieces. The team that has the fewest pieces left altogether, wins.
Tips
- If the hamster ring has rolled away from the middle of the table, it should be drawn carefully back into the middle. It may not be rolled to do this, of course.
- It is legal to hold on to the hamster ring while you are placing a piece. Once the piece is placed, however, the ring must be released.
- It is legal to use the piece you are placing to shift pieces that are already in the compartment. This only applies, of course, if that piece is actually going to be placed in this compartment.
Turn Time Limit
(From the official Zoch/Gigamic edition of the rulebook, © 2000/2011 Zoch GmbH.)
If a player takes more than 30 seconds to place a piece, he must leave his piece where it is. It falls into the ring if it does not stay in the chosen compartment. If pieces fall out of the ring, the player must take them back.
Thanks
Particular thanks to our hamster Albert, who has worn himself out in infinite playtest rounds. But Albert may now spend his old age in a peaceful and hamster ring free world. So, we now have a hamster ring without hamsters. In the end, it is enough that Albert has become patron and namesake of this game.