Haspelknecht: The Story of Early Coal Mining Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Components
• Preparation
  • Resource boards
• Coal Mining
  • Coal mining in the Pinge
  • Pinge exhausted
  • Coal Mining in the Shaft and Tunnel
  • Pit water
• Game flow
  • Action Phase (Spring, Summer, Autumn)
  • Resources
  • Development
• Own Workers
  • Farmer
  • Farmhand
  • Synergy bonus
• Contract Workers
  • Coal-digger
  • Coal-miner
  • Haspelknecht
• Examples of combining workers
• Scoring, Payment, and Storage Phase (Winter)
• Development tiles
• Game End
• Development Tile Reference
  • Level 1
  • Level 2
  • Level 3
  • Level 4
• Variants for Experienced Players
• Credits

Goal of the Game

In Haspelknecht, the players take upon the role of farmers who exploit the presence of coal in their lands in the southern part of the Ruhr region. Coal was found here close to the earth's surface. The game takes place during the 16th century, a time where the lands were mostly covered with forests and roads were rare.

The players will obtain unique developments, expand their farm, free the coal deep in the ground from pit water, and bring the coal to the surface. The game has many paths that lead to victory.

Components

Boards

• 1 Year wheel board, displaying game phases, turn order chart and score track
• 4 Player boards displaying a farm and a mining area
• 3 Resource boards: 1 displaying two action pools and two reserve pools; 2 displaying one action pool and one reserve pool

Tiles

• 20 Development tiles: 5 each of levels 1 to 4
• 4 Assist tiles: 1 per level
• 16 Building tiles: 4 barns, 4 charcoal burners, 4 coal storages, 4 watermills

Markers and Tokens

• 24 Action markers: 4 each of 6 different action markers corresponding with development tiles
• 44 Player disks: 11 in each player color
• 36 Action disks: 13 black, 13 brown and 10 yellow
• 24 Debt chits
• 16 Thaler coins
• 1 Year marker
• 4 "Coal-miner and Haspelknecht" tiles
• 4 Improved farm-hands
• 1 Bag
• 18 Pit water
• 1 Phase marker

Misc

• 80 Black coal cubes
• 34 Wood
• 18 Food
• 1 Rulebook

Coal, wood, food and pit water are unlimited. If there is not enough, find an alternative replacement.

Preparation

Each player receives 18 coal cubes, 11 player disks in one color and a player board displaying workers, a farm and a mining area.

Each player places a coal cube on every indicated place on his player board (18 in total).

Depending on the number of players, the development board is formed from 12 to 20 hexagon tiles. The board will always contain four rows of 3-5 tiles of the same color. The assist tiles are placed alongside the development tiles.

• 2 players: 12 development tiles (3 of each color)
• 3 players: 16 development tiles (4 of each color)
• 4 players: 20 development tiles (5 of each color)

The action markers and buildings that correspond to the development tiles in play are conveniently placed next to the board. The same goes for coins, debt chits, resources, pit water and the "Coal-miner and Haspelknecht" tiles.

For your first play, it is recommended to use the tiles that have the lowest numbers per color and place them in numerical order with the assist tiles attached.

In 2 and 3 player games, the extra development tiles and their action markers are returned to the box.

Variants can be found at the end of this rulebook.

Place the phase marker on the first 'pit water' field and place the year marker on the first year on the Year wheel board. All players place one of their player disks on the "0/50" space on the scoring track.

Before starting the first round, the players randomly determine turn order and place their disks on the turn order chart accordingly. Each player now has 9 disks of his color remaining and places these beside his player board.

Resource boards

In the middle of the table, within reach of all players, a number of resource boards are placed. Take the resource boards where the player symbols are less than or equal to the number of players.

Each resource board shows an action pool and a reserve pool. Depending on the number of players, a number of action disks are used and placed in the drawing bag:

• 2 players: 7 black disks, 7 brown disks, 4 yellow disks
• 3 players: 10 black disks, 10 brown disks, 7 yellow disks
• 4 players: 13 black disks, 13 brown disks, 10 yellow disks

Prepare the resource boards. For each reserve pool, draw 3 action disks and place them in the reserve pools. Then, for each action pool, draw 6 disks from the bag and place them in the action pools. After this, the drawing bag should be empty.

Coal Mining

Each player board has 2 areas, the Pinge and the Tunnel, where players break down coal with their workers. The Pinge and the Tunnel must be kept free from pit water.

Pinge (or Binge) is a German word which at best can be translated as a mine slump or mining sink hole. It is a direct result of mining activity close to the earth's surface.

Coal mining in the Pinge

Each player has an area on his player board called the Pinge. At the start of the game, there are 7 coal cubes on each player's Pinge.

The Pinge also has 2 fields with a wood symbol. Players access the coal cubes from left to right. Any coal cubes up to the first empty wood symbol can be excavated.

If an empty wood symbol in the Pinge is covered with a wood, then the player can also excavate the coal cubes to the right of the placed wood up to the next empty wood symbol.

A player can place wood at any time. By placing wood, the player extends the area where coal can be excavated.

Coal cubes are removed from the Pinge when it is excavated, and wood has to be placed in the Pinge. Coal cubes excavated from the Pinge are placed directly in the player's Farm area.

Pinge bonus: A player receives 2 victory points when he excavates all 7 coal cubes during the first year of the game. If this goal is met in the second year, only 1 point is received.

Pinge exhausted

Once all coal cubes have been excavated from the Pinge, it is exhausted. Then, coal excavation in the Tunnel starts. Move all remaining pit water in the Pinge to the designated area in the Shaft and return the wood placed in the Pinge to the general supply.

Finally, place a "Coal-miner and Haspelknecht" tile on the player board so that it covers the Coal-digger and Pinge.

Coal Mining in the Shaft and Tunnel

When the coal close to the surface was exhausted, the early miners went deeper into the ground. A shaft was first constructed, and then a tunnel would be built. Once this was done, coal could be excavated and be brought back to the surface.

Coal can only be excavated from the tunnel when the Pinge is exhausted.

The tunnel is the mining area where coal cubes are excavated underground. The tunnel has 7 areas which contain a total of 11 coal cubes. These coal cubes can only be accessed for excavation from the left to the right.

The tunnel also has 7 fields with a wood symbol. As players have to access the coal cubes from left to right, any coal to the left of the first empty wood symbol can be excavated.

If an empty wood symbol in the tunnel is covered with wood, the player can excavate the coal cubes to the right of the placed wood up to the next empty wood symbol.

A player can place wood at any time. By placing wood, the player extends the area where coal can be excavated. At least one wood has to be placed in the tunnel before any coal can be excavated from the tunnel.

The Miner, the Farmer, and the Farmhand are able to excavate coal cubes from the tunnel. The Coal-digger is no longer available.

Unlike the Pinge, excavated coal cubes are not moved directly from the tunnel to the player's farm area. The coal is first placed in the designated area in the Shaft, located to the left of the tunnel. The coal cubes have to be reeled up by the Haspelknecht. Once they have been reeled up to the surface, the coal cubes are moved to the player's farm area.

The tunnel scores victory points at the end of the game. Players will receive victory points depending on the completed areas of the tunnel. Each completed area earns 1 to 3 victory points. Acquired developments can provide additional victory points.

Note: During the same phase, the Farmhand or the Farmer can only excavate coal cubes in either the Pinge or the Tunnel! However, it is possible to excavate the last coal cube from the Pinge with one of the workers and then use the other worker to excavate the first coal cube from the tunnel during the same phase.

Pit water

Pit water or mining water is water that collects in a mine and which has to be brought to the surface in order to enable the mine to continue working.

During the game, pit water will gather in the Pinge or Shaft. The player's Workers will have to remove pit water to enable coal excavation.

Placing pit water: Until completion of the Pinge, pit water is placed on the water field in the Pinge area on the player board. After completion of the Pinge, pit water is placed on the water field in the Shaft at the bottom left of the player board.

Removing pit water from the Pinge: Once there are at least 2 pit water tokens in the Pinge, pit water has to be removed before any coal cubes can be taken. Removed pit water goes to the general supply.

Removing pit water from the shaft: Once there are at least 2 pit water in the Shaft, pit water has to be removed before any coal cubes can be transported from the shaft to the farm area. Pit water in the Shaft can only be removed by the Haspelknecht. If there is 5 or more pit water in the tunnel, no coal can be excavated. Removed pit water goes to the general supply.

Game flow

The game is played over 3 rounds which represent 3 years. Each round is divided into 3 action phases (spring, summer and autumn), followed by a payment, scoring and storage phase (winter). Players will keep track of all phases of the round by using the phase marker. A year has the following phases, followed clockwise on the year wheel board:

1. Spring action phase: Every player takes action disks, up to two times, and places them on his player board. The player order is then changed accordingly. After that, all players place their action disks simultaneously on their player boards. Finally, the action disks are resolved in player order.
2. Summer action phase: See Spring action phase. (Yellow disks on a Farmer field generate a summer bonus of 1 extra food.)
3. Autumn action phase: See Spring action phase.
4. Autumn Pit Water: Each player receives a pit water.
5. Winter payment phase: Each player pays the cost (in food and Thaler) as indicated on the winter chart on the year wheel board or takes a Debt chit for each food and/or Thaler not paid.
6. Winter scoring phase: Players count the number of coal cubes on their farm area and score victory points according to the coal chart on the year wheel board.
7. Winter storage phase: Each player stores resources in his buildings. Resources in the correct buildings will earn the players victory points. Finally each player returns the resources he cannot store to the general supply.
8. Next year: After a year is concluded, move the year marker to the next year. A new year starts.
9. Spring Pit Water: Each player receives a pit water.

Acquired developments can change some of the rules.

Action Phase (Spring, Summer, Autumn)

An Action phase is divided into the following steps:

1. Refilling the resource boards
2. Taking action disks
3. Determining player turn order
4. Planning and executing actions

1. Refilling the resource boards

This is skipped in the first phase of the first round. At the beginning of each action phase, all players return all their action disks, whether used or unused. The disks are put into the drawing bag.

The 3 disks in the reserve pool are moved to the action pool and added to the disks that were not taken in the previous action phase.

Then 3 action disks are drawn from the bag and placed in each reserve pool. Then, for each action pool that contains less than 6 disks, draw as many disks from the bag and place them in the action pools until the action pools each contain 6 disks. After this, the drawing bag should be empty.

It is possible that a resource board contains more than 6 disks. In this rare case, the final resource board that has to be supplemented will get less than 6 disks.

2. Taking action disks

The action disks are taken in 2 steps.

In the first step and in player order, each player takes action disks from one of the action pools. He chooses 1 pool from which he has to take all disks of one single color. Then the next player follows. During the first step, if there are 6 disks of the same color in the pool, a player may take all 6 disks.

Some of the action pools show a water symbol. When a player takes action disks from one of these pools during the first step of taking action disks, the player also receives 1 pit water.

If a player took less than 5 disks during the first step, he may take disks a second time. After conducting the second step, a player may not have more than 5 action disks.

Special rule for the first round: If a player takes less than 5 disks during the spring action phase of the first round, he may return his one pit water to the general stock.

Example: A player took 3 black action disks in the first taking. When it is his turn to take action disks in the second step, he chooses an action pool which contains 3 brown disks and 1 yellow disk. He takes 2 brown disks from that action pool. The player now has the maximum of 5 disks.

Every player places his action disks on the cart fields of his player board. The disks taken during the first step are placed on the cart field marked 1. The disks taken during the second step are placed on the cart field marked 2.

3. Determining player turn order

Then each player adds up the values of his action disks placed on the cart field marked 1. Yellow disks are worth 3 points each, brown disks 2 points each and black disk 1 point each.

The player with the lowest total value places his turn order marker on the leftmost field of the turn order chart (marked I). The other players follow in order of increasing total value.

In case of equal values, the last player in the current turn order (the player who took his resource disks last) will go before the other player(s) in the new turn order.

4. Planning and executing actions

The players can use their action disks, food and Thalers to plan actions for their workers. The players can do planning simultaneously. If players feel that their actions depend on what other players do, the players can decide to conclude planning in turn order.

Each worker has a space where the action disks or other requirements can be placed. Below the fields are symbols showing which actions the worker can perform.

When all players have planned their actions, in turn order, the players will execute all their workers' actions.

Players decide in which order the workers perform their actions. A single worker has to finish his actions before the next worker can perform their actions. It is possible in a single player's turn that a worker finishes the Pinge and the following worker works in the tunnel.

Resources

Place 1 or more action disks of the same color to receive one or more resource(s) (food, wood, or coal). Per disk placed, you get 1 resource of the same color. Yellow disks are for food, brown disks for wood, and black disks for coal mining. Food and wood are taken from the general supply.

Food and coal are placed in your farm area. Wood can be used immediately in your mining area or can also be placed in your farm area. Wood is the only resource which can be used immediately. It is used according to the rules as explained in the Coal Mining section.

Coal cubes are taken from the appropriate mining area on the player's player board. Coal can only be excavated if the excavation is not hindered by pit water. Black action disks can be used to remove pit water or to excavate coal.

With one black disk, a personal worker can either:

• remove 1 or 2 pit water
• excavate 1 coal cube

Example: For the Mining Timber development tile (No. 31), the player needs 4 action disks. One of those has to be black. The other 3 disks can be of any color. The player places 2 black and 2 brown disks on the farmer.

Development

Once per phase, the farmer can do a development. At the start of the game, this can only be done with the farmer.

To acquire a development, place the required action disks as shown on the top side of the development tile on your worker's field.

The requirement shows colored and grey disks. For colored disks, the corresponding colored disk must be used. Grey disks can be of any color of your choice.

Own Workers

Farmer

The farmer can use action disks in various ways: produce resources, excavate coal, remove pit water, or acquire a development. Only one of these actions can be used in a single phase. Exceptions are removing pit water and producing coal, these two actions can be combined.

Important: Only when the farmer develops, disks of different colors can be placed on the farmer.

Summer bonus: During summer a player receives one additional food when the farmer produces at least one food.

Farmhand

The farmhand can use action disks in various ways: produce resources, excavate coal, or remove pit water. Only one of these actions can be used in a single phase. Exceptions are removing pit water and producing coal, these two actions can be combined.

Synergy bonus

If the farmer and farmhand both produce the same resource or both work in the mining area to remove pit water or to excavate coal, then the player receives an additional action as if there were an additional disk for the worker who was activated last in this phase. (See Example 2 below.)

Contract Workers

The contract workers are specialists: the Coal-digger, Coal-miner, and Haspelknecht. Each can be activated only once during an action phase by paying 1 of their requirements.

The Coal-digger is available in the beginning of the game. Later in the game, the Coal-digger will be succeeded by the Coal-miner and Haspelknecht.

Coal-digger

To pay the Coal-digger, you have to place exactly 1 yellow disk, 1 food, or 1 Thaler on the Coal-digger's field.

The Coal-digger only works if he is paid. He performs 2 actions.

• If there is more than 1 pit water, the Coal-digger will remove 2 pit water per action until there is less than 2 pit water.
• If there is less than 2 pit water, the Coal-digger excavates 1 coal cube per action.

The Coal-digger only works in the Pinge.

Coal-miner

The Coal-miner comes into play when the Pinge is exhausted. The miner excavates coal in the tunnel only.

To pay the miner you have to place exactly 1 food or 1 Thaler on the miner's field.

The miner only works if he is paid. He then excavates up to 3 coal cubes. He cannot remove pit water.

Coal excavated in the tunnel is moved to the shaft.

Haspelknecht

Haspelknecht, or Haspler, can be translated as reel farmhand. In early coal mining, he took care of the vertical transport in the shaft.

The Haspelknecht removes pit water from the shaft or he reels coal up from the shaft to the farm.

To activate the Haspelknecht, you have to place exactly 1 yellow disk, 1 food, or 1 Thaler on the Haspelknecht's field.

The Haspelknecht only works if he is paid. When paid, he can perform up to 3 actions. Per action, he can remove 2 pit water from the shaft or excavate 1 coal back to the surface. Excavated coal is stored in the courtyard area on the player board. If there is more than 1 pit water in the pit, he must remove it first.

Example: There are 5 pit water in the Shaft. The player uses one yellow action disk on his Haspelknecht. With this he gets 3 actions. Per action, he can remove up to 2 pit water or reel up one coal cube. He removes 4 pit water and moves 1 coal to his farm area.

Examples of combining workers

Example 1: The player has three yellow and two brown action disks. In the Pinge there is two pit water and no coal has been removed.

During the planning phase, the player places one yellow and two brown action disks on the farmer to do the development of the Bucket (tile 21). He places one yellow disk on the farmhand to get one food. He places one yellow disk on the Coal-digger to remove two pit water from the Pinge and take one coal from the Pinge to the farm area. The food and the coal is placed in the farm area and cannot be used to activate a worker during this turn.

Example 2: There is 3 pit water and 1 coal in the Pinge, and the player placed 2 black action disks on the farmhand and 2 black action disks on the farmer. The player has 4 wood in his farm area.

The player uses his farmhand: 1 black action disk to remove 2 pit water and 1 black action disk to excavate the last coal cube from the Pinge. The cube is placed on his farm area. Then the player moves the remaining pit water from the Pinge to the tunnel and places the "Coal-miner and Haspelknecht" tile to cover the Pinge area. The player then places all his wood in the tunnel and then activates the farmer who moves 2 coal to the shaft. Then, due to the synergy bonus an additional coal is excavated from the tunnel and moved to the shaft.

Scoring, Payment, and Storage Phase (Winter)

Each winter 4 phases will take place:

1. Scoring points
2. Paying leases to the nobility
3. Storage
4. Next year

With certain development tiles owned by the players, the winter phase can be influenced in their advantage.

1. Scoring points

Each player counts the coal cubes in his farm area to determine the number of victory points he scores.

Players do not receive points for 1 or 2 coal cubes. 3 coal cubes will yield 2 victory points, after which every extra coal cube will yield 1 more victory point (see the coal chart on the year wheel board).

2. Paying leases to the nobility

Each player must pay a lease for his lands to the nobility. During the first round you have to pay 2 food, the second year will cost you 2 food and 1 Thaler, the third year costs 2 Thalers and 1 food. The costs per year are displayed on the year wheel board.

Players have to take one debt chit for each commodity they cannot pay. Debt chits will cost you victory points at the end of the game. Payment is obligatory. If you possess the appropriate commodities, you must pay.

3. Storage

Each player can store one single unit of food, wood, or coal in the farm area on his player board. Stored resources can be used later in the game.

The winter phase ends with each player returning his extra resources (the resources he cannot store) to the general stock.

A player is granted 1 victory point when he stores 1 unit of wood on the farm area. Acquired developments can provide additional storage and victory points.

4. Next year

A year is finished, and the year marker is moved to the next year. A new year starts.

The game ends after 3 years.

Development tiles

If a player wants to acquire a development, the following rules must be followed:

• On the top row, a player can acquire any development tile.
• On non-top rows, a player can acquire a development tile if the development tile is adjacent to a development tile the player already owns.
• Alternatively, a player can acquire a development tile if the development tile is already owned by another player and not adjacent to a development the player already owns. In this case the player has to pay a resource, as indicated on the assist tile, to the last player who previously acquired this development (the current top disk). The resource the player pays is taken from his farm area.

Additional cost, to pay to the player whose disk is on top of the development tile, if the player has no development adjacent to the targeted development:

• Level 1: no costs (top row)
• Level 2: a coal cube, wood, or food
• Level 3: a coal cube
• Level 4: a food

If a player obtains a development, he immediately gains victory points. The points are also displayed on the assist tiles.

• Level 1: 1st player: 1 victory point
• Level 2: 1st player: 2 victory points, 2nd player: 1 victory point
• Level 3: 1st player: 3 victory points, 2nd player: 2 victory points, 3rd player: 1 victory point
• Level 4: 1st player: 4 victory points, 2nd player: 3 victory points, 3rd player: 2 victory points, 4th player: 1 victory point

At the beginning of the game, in 4 different levels, a number of development tiles are placed on the table. When acquired, these development tiles provide players with victory points and/or advantages during the game.

Development tiles can be owned by all players. A player can own each development tile once and receive the appropriate advantage.

To acquire a development tile, the player places the number of action disks of the correct color on his Farmer. When the action is executed, the player places one of his player disks on the development tile to show that he now owns it.

The player disks are stacked on a development tile. The player places his disk on top of already placed disks. The bottom disk belongs to the player who took the development first. The top disk belongs to the player who took the development last.

Game End

The game ends after 3 completed years.

At the end of the game, victory points are awarded as follows:

Tunnel: Players receive 1 to 3 victory points for each emptied section. The number of points is printed on player board.

Tunnel bonus:

• If the player owns the Wheelbarrow development, he receives 1 victory point for each emptied section that has the corresponding symbol.
• If the player owns the Oil Lamp development, he receives 1 victory point for each emptied section that has the corresponding symbol.
• If the player owns the Lorry development, he receives 1 victory point for each emptied section that has the corresponding symbol.

Development bonus:

• If a player owns the Hand Cart development, he receives 1 victory point for each agricultural (fork) symbol on development tiles the player has.
• If a player owns the Coal Driver development, he receives 1 victory point for each mining (hammer and pick) symbol on development tiles the player has.

Buildings bonus: Players receive victory points for the number of building symbols on development tiles the player has:

• 1 building symbol – 1 victory point
• 2 building symbols – 3 victory points
• 3 building symbols – 6 victory points
• 4 building symbols – 10 victory points

Unused action markers from development tiles: Players receive 1 victory point for every unused action marker.

Thaler coins: Players receive victory points for the number of coins the player has left:

• 1 Thaler – 2 victory points
• 2 Thaler – 5 victory points
• 3 Thaler – 9 victory points
• 4 Thaler – 14 victory points
• Every additional Thaler – 6 victory points

Debt chit deduction: Players lose victory points for the number of debt markers a player owns:

• 1 debt chit – minus 1 victory point
• Each additional debt chit – minus 2 victory points

Pit water deduction: If the player has more than 1 pit water, the player loses as many points as the number of remaining pit water minus 1. So, 1 pit water - no deduction, 2 pit water - minus 1 victory point, 3 pit water - minus 2 victory points, etc.

Winner: The winner is the player who has the most victory points. In case of a tie, the player who removed the most coal from his mining area is declared the winner. If this is equal as well, the tied player who stands first in the player order wins.

Development Tile Reference

Level 1

11 - Carrying Pole The player immediately receives 1 Thaler.

12 - Barn The player adds this additional building to his player board. With this building, the player can store 1 unit of wood, food, or coal. If the resource stored during the winter storage phase is a food, the player gains 2 victory points.

13 – Pickaxe The player obtains the tile with the improved farmhand. The improved farmhand can do the same as the farmhand but the improved farmhand can also obtain development tiles, just like the farmer. The player places the "Improved farmhand" tile on top of the Farmhand on the player board.

14 - Hauling Cable The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The player can use the marker to immediately remove 1 pit water and gain 1 victory point. After use, return the action marker to the general supply.

15 - Charcoal Burner The player adds this additional building to his player board. With this building, at any time the player can exchange 2 wood for 2 coal and 1 victory point. The coal is taken from the general supply.

Level 2

21 - Bucket The player no longer obtains pit water during the pit water phases in spring and autumn.

22 – Wheelbarrow The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The action marker with the yellow disk can be used as if it is a yellow action disk. After use, return the action marker to the general supply. At game end, the player receives 1 victory point for each section in the coal tunnel with the corresponding cart symbol where all coal cubes have been removed.

23 - Ladder The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The action marker with the brown disk can be used as if it is a brown action disk. After use, return the action marker to the general supply.

24 - Coal Storage The player adds this additional building to his player board. With this building, the player can store 1 unit of coal and 1 unit of wood. If a coal is stored during the winter storage phase, the player gets 1 victory point.

25 – Windlass The player can remove 1 pit water immediately. The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The marker can be used to activate the Haspelknecht to do 3 reeling actions without pay. After use, return the action marker to the general supply. If the Haspelknecht is paid in the phase when the action marker is used, the Haspelknecht can be activated twice that phase.

Level 3

31 - Mining Timber The player obtains immediately a) 3 wood and receives 1 pit water, or b) 1 Thaler. Pit water is placed on the current pit water field of the player board.

32 - Oil Lamp The player immediately receives 1 Thaler. The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The action marker can be used to exchange 1 action disk in a reserve pool with 1 action disk in the accompanying action pool. After use, return the action marker to the general supply. At game end, the player receives 1 victory point for each section in the coal tunnel with the corresponding oil lamp symbol where all coal has been removed.

33 - Hammer and Pick The player obtains 1 wood. The player can immediately move either a) 1 coal cube from the Pinge to his farm area, or b) 1 coal from the tunnel to the shaft. The coal has to be accessible. The player obtains the corresponding action marker. The action marker can be used once at any time in a later phase. The action marker with the black disk can be used as if it is a black action disk. After use, return the action marker to the general supply.

34 - Coal Sacks The player may immediately exchange either a) 1 coal for 1 coin, or b) 2 coal for 1 coin and 1 food. The coal has to come from the player's farm area.

35 - Water Mill The player adds this additional building to his player board. With this building, during a later action phase, the player can use 2 yellow action disks to obtain 1 food and 2 victory points, or the player can use 2 black action disks to obtain 1 Thaler.

Level 4

41 - Coal Driver The player immediately receives 1 Thaler. At game end, the player receives 1 victory point for each hammer and pick symbol on development tiles obtained by the player.

42 - Lorry The player immediately receives 2 coal cubes placed in his mine shaft and a wood from the general supply. At game end, the player receives 1 victory point for each section in the coal tunnel with the corresponding lorry symbol where all coal cubes have been removed.

43 - Handcart The player immediately receives 1 food. At game end, the player receives 1 victory point for each fork symbol on development tiles obtained by the player.

44 - Horse and Cart The player immediately receives 1 Thaler and 1 food. During the scoring points phase of each winter, the player receives 1 victory point for each coal he has on his farm. The coal chart no longer applies.

45 - Small Coal Mine The player immediately receives 3 Thaler.

Variants for Experienced Players

At the beginning of the game, players can agree to play a different setup of the development tiles. Keep the following rules in mind.

The number of tiles per level should be at least 3. When playing with 3 or 4 players, the players can consider playing with the number of tiles equal to or 1 more than the number of players.

Every tile should connect to at least 1 tile of 1 level higher. Tiles cannot connect to a tile of 2 or more levels higher.

The players can decide to start with the buildings attached to their farm area if the concerned buildings cannot be obtained in the development board.

The players can decide to start with the improved farmhand if the Pickaxe development tile is not in the development board.

Attention! For a 2 player board, when tiles are placed randomly and there are not enough development tiles to receive the required 3 Thaler during the third year payment phase, an adjustment is advised.

Credits

Publisher: Quined Games bv, P.O. box 1121, 3260 AC Oud-Beijerland, The Netherlands

Designer: Thomas Spitzer

Artwork: Johannes Sich

Rulebook: Peter Oud, Wesley Fechter, Erwin Broens, Roel Vinkenvleugel, Olav Fakkeldij, Arno Quispel

Testplayers: Michael Naujokat, Andreas Molter, Martin Schipper, Frank Bernhart, Reiner Frensemeyer, Werner Boneß, Matthias Schulz, Heinz Tenk, Wolfgang Heidenheim, Petra Hoven, Gerhild Sobolewski, Roel Vinkenvleugel, Kristine Finn, Sascha Schneider, Ralf Rudolph, Ulf Glinka, Carsten Lauber, Christian Fürst-Brunner, Dietmar Gottschick, Bernd Rudi Emter, Petra Emter, Reinhard Kuschmirz, Peter Oud, Daniel Goll, Tobias Jochinke, Johannes Sich

Author and publisher thank all testplayers of the 'Spieletreffs': Bödefeld, Autorentreffen mittleres Ruhrgebiet, Spieltreff Weseke, Herner Spieleclub, Mengede spielt, Spielekult Witten.