Knaster
Knaster Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game concept
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A number (2-12) is rolled each round. Each player has to either enter the rolled number in their green 5x5 grid or circle that (already entered) number on their slip.
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Once a player has completed a whole row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) with 5 numbers and achieved a useful result (three of a kind, full house, straight etc.), they have to immediately circle other numbers in this row – circled numbers are always good.
Note: The useful results are printed on the left of the slip. A detailed explanation follows at the end of the rules.
Example: The whole diagonal row is completed with 5 numbers and a straight has been achieved with this (5-6-7-8-9). Now, any three of these five numbers have to be immediately circled (as shown on the left of the slip).
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Once a player has circled all 5 numbers in a whole row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) they score the corresponding number of points in the white box next to it. There is also a point at the end of the game for every circled number on the green 5x5 grid.
Playing the game
Every player gets a slip of paper and pen. The youngest player starts. They have one throw of two dice and loudly and clearly announce the sum of these. Now every player (including the one rolling the dice) has to do the following with that number, either:
- Enter it in any free box on their green 5x5 grid or
- Circle one of that (already entered) number on their green 5x5 grid (if available).
Example: Sarah starts the game and rolls a 3 and a 6. She loudly and clearly announces "nine". Everyone now enters a 9 as the very first number in any free box on their 5x5 grid. Sarah enters the 9 exactly in the middle of her grid. Tim enters it in the top row. Linus enters it on the far right.
Once every player has entered or circled it, the game continues in a clockwise direction with the next player throwing the dice and playing the next round as just described: They have one throw of two dice, loudly and clearly announce the sum and all players have to either enter the number mentioned in any free box on their 5x5 grid or circle one of that (already entered) number (if there are several on the grid, they select one of them). The game continues in a clockwise direction until the end of the game (see "End of the game and scoring").
Example: Tim has already entered nine numbers, including the number 11 twice. It is Sarah's go, she rolls a 6 and a 5 and announces "eleven". Tim doesn't want to enter another 11 and circles one of the two 11s he already has.
Row completed with 5 numbers
Once a player has completed a whole row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) with 5 numbers during the game (regardless of whether this is with or without circled numbers) and has achieved a useful result with this (listed on the left of the slip), they have to draw the specified number of circles in the relevant row immediately – and in fact around any numbers in this row. They are not allowed to draw the circles later (during one of the later rounds) – they have to do this immediately. If a whole row has been completed with 5 numbers but no useful result has been achieved, then no numbers are allowed to be circled in this row.
Note: If a player has to draw a certain number of circles (e.g. three) but there are only a few boxes not circled in the row, they simply circle less.
Note: A row with less than 5 numbers is not complete yet and a useful result can therefore never be achieved with this.
Example: Tim has completed a horizontal row with five numbers and achieved a full house (5-5-5-7-7) with this. On the left of the slip it can be seen that Tim now has to immediately circle any two numbers in this horizontal row. He circles a 5 and a 7.
Information: He had already circled the 11 and 4 in previous rounds.
Note: It is possible for a player to enter a number so two or even three rows (theoretically even four) are completed at the same time and a useful result is achieved in each of these rows. In this case, they work through each row one after the other (in any order) and draw the appropriate number of circles in them.
Row completed with 5 circled numbers
Once a player has circled all 5 numbers in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) they score the corresponding number of points for this row. They mark the points by also clearly circling the number in the white box.
Example: Tim has circled all five numbers in a diagonal row. He scores 10 points for this and circles the 10 in the relevant white box.
End of the game and scoring
As soon as a player has entered a number in all 25 boxes they announce this loudly and clearly. Then the dice are rolled just once, the sum of the dice is announced and everyone can enter this number or circle a number. The game is then over and the scores are added up as follows:
- Every player adds up all the points in the white boxes. They also get one point for each circled number in the green 5x5 grid. The player with the highest total is the winner.
Example: Tim has scored on three whole rows and scored 26 points (9+10+7) with this. He gets 15 points for the 15 circles on the green grid. Tim has therefore scored 41 points in total.
Combinations
| Combination | Circling boxes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 3er (Three of a kind) | 1 | Exactly three of the same number: 7-8-7-7-4 |
| 4er (Four of a kind) | 2 | Exactly four of the same number: 6-3-6-6-6 |
| 5er (Five of a kind) | 3 | Five of the same number: 8-8-8-8-8 |
| 2er + 2er (Two Pairs) | 1 | Two of the same number and two of another number: 5-6-6-10-5 |
| Full House | 2 | Three of a kind and one pair: 4-9-4-4-9 |
| Straight | 3 | A sequence of five numbers: 7-10-8-6-9 |
Information: The numbers in a straight do not have to be in the right order (e.g. 4-5-6-7-8) but can be mixed up (e.g. 5-7-8-4-6). Straights with four or less numbers do not count.
Playing on your own
All the rules apply just the same. The player tries to achieve the highest possible score. Scores of more than 50 points are good, more than 80 points are brilliant and more than 100 points are spectacular. Note: You can also play Knaster with as many people as you like!