Knowledge? Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1: Prepare the Round
  • 2: Quizzing
    • The Quiz Cards
    • Reading and Resolving a Card
  • 3: Complete the Round
• Game End
• Strategic Variant

Components

• 630 quiz cards
• 1 screen for the quiz cards (Sichtschutz)
• 5 opponent markers made of wood, with stickers (Gegnermarker)
• 1 team marker (Teammarker)
• 1 game board (Spielplan)
• 1 rulebook

Opponent marker stickers: Apply the stickers as follows. Each marker has a front side (Vorderseite) and a back side (Rückseite). The front side carries the letter A, B, C, D or E. The back side carries the same letter with a small additional mark.

Card slots on the board: The board has one card slot for each marker: one for the white opponent marker, one for the green opponent marker, one for the yellow opponent marker, one for the blue opponent marker, one for the red opponent marker, and one for the team marker.

Goal of the Game

In Knowledge? you play together as a team against the game. Your opponents move around the board just like you do. Try to complete 2 laps faster than they do, and so win the game.

You play several rounds per game. In each round you play exactly 6 quiz cards. You assign each of them either to an opponent or to your team, and move the corresponding marker. The quiz cards tell you which space to move yourself or your opponent to.

If you manage to bring your team marker to the finish without being overtaken by an opponent afterwards, you win.

Setup

Place the game board in the middle of the table. Place your team marker on the marked start and finish space (1).

Place the 5 opponent markers front side up, starting at the marked space (2): place them in random order on this space and on the next 4 spaces behind it (3).

Place the box with the quiz cards next to the board, where everyone can reach it, and set out the screen.

Note: If you want to make your game somewhat more challenging, choose the marked space in the lower area of the board (4) as the first starting space for the opponents.

Gameplay

A game consists of several rounds. Each round runs through 3 phases:

1. Prepare the round
2. Quizzing
3. Complete the round

1: Prepare the Round

Draw 6 random cards from the box and make sure that the front side faces you. Place the cards on the screen so that nobody accidentally sees the back of the bottom card. Give the prepared stack to any player. Then continue with Phase 2: Quizzing.

2: Quizzing

The person holding the stack names the category of the top card: letter (ABC), number (123) or colour (palette).

The Quiz Cards

The quiz cards are divided into 3 categories. Each category tells you which element on the board is relevant for moving the markers. All markers move clockwise. Each marker moves exactly once per round.

Number cards (123): A number card always refers to one of the whole numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. This can be, for example, a quantity, a digit sum (that is, the sum of the digits of a multi-digit number), the digit itself, or similar. The number is the exact number of spaces by which you must move a marker of your choice. Each space counts as one step. You may not forgo any steps.

Note: Some cards list several terms. In these cases, the question is how many of them match the requirement stated on the card. That count is the number of spaces the marker moves.

Letter cards (ABC): A letter card always refers to one of the letters A, B, C, D or E. This can be, for example, the initial letter of a name or word, a letter sought in a designation, a letter assigned to one of 5 options, or similar. This letter corresponds to the letter of the space you move a marker of your choice to. The space must always be the nearest possible space that shows this letter. This can be a space on the board, or an opponent marker with the corresponding letter.

Colour cards (palette): A colour card always refers to one of the colours red, yellow, green, blue or white. This colour corresponds to the colour of the space you move a marker of your choice to. The space must always be the nearest possible space that shows this colour. This can be a space on the board, or an opponent marker with the corresponding colour.

Some cards refer to the "next available colour" or the "next available letter". In these cases, several colours or letters may come into consideration for the upcoming movement. You then move to the nearest available space that matches one of the options. You therefore move the marker the shortest possible distance, and you may not choose among the options.

Example: The text on the back of a card reads "C/D:". This means that you advance the marker you have chosen until you reach the next free space, or the next opponent marker, with either a C or a D. You choose whichever of the two spaces is closer to the moving marker.

Reading and Resolving a Card

The person holding the stack reads the text on the front of the top card aloud:

Example: "The first letter of the birthplace of Otto Waalkes."

Discuss as a team which letter the answer could be, and assign this card to a marker that has not yet moved in this round.

Example: "We think the letter is A, as in Aurich. So the red opponent marker, which is currently on the white space, should get the card."

Place the card at the card slot on the board that matches the colour of the marker you have chosen. Then turn the card over in its slot and read the text on the back aloud.

Example: "Otto was born in Emden in 1948. Emden is in Lower Saxony and is the largest city in East Frisia."

Now move the marker you have chosen to the next available space that shows an E.

Example: "The red opponent marker now moves to the next space, or the next opponent marker, that shows an E."

You see: it does not matter whether your guess was correct or not. Where the marker is moved is always dictated by the text on the back of the quiz card.

After you have moved a marker, continue with the next card from the prepared stack.

Special movement rules:

• If an opponent marker or your team marker lands on a space where one or more other opponent markers already are, place it on top of the stack.
• An opponent marker covers both the colour and the letter of the space, or of the opponent beneath it. Therefore the colour and letter of the opponent marker lying on top are always the ones that apply.
• Your team marker covers both the colour and the letter of the space, or of the opponent, it stands on.
• A space covered by your team marker counts as unavailable when opponent markers move by letter or colour.
• The space your team marker is on counts as one step when an opponent moves by a number card. If an opponent lands on the space of your team marker with its last step, it skips this space and moves on to the next available space.
• If one of your opponents enters or passes the finish space for the first time, you immediately turn its marker over to its back side (the side with the finish flag).
• If the opponent marker you want to move lies below other markers, take it from the stack and then move it accordingly.

Very unlikely case: If you cannot move the marker you have chosen to the required letter or the required colour, because no matching space is visible, abandon the movement. Take a replacement card from the box and play it instead. You may again freely choose which marker to assign this card to.

Important: Do not clear the card you have just played. In each round, all markers (that is, the 5 opponent markers and your team marker) must move exactly once. Which markers are still available to you in the current round can be seen from whether a card is already lying at the respective card slot.

Continue handling the cards as described until the sixth card lies on the last free card slot and you have moved all markers.

The last, that is the sixth, card must be placed on the only remaining free card slot. So think carefully about which marker to assign each of the earlier cards to!

Then carry out Phase 3: Complete the Round.

3: Complete the Round

A round ends after all 6 markers have moved once: every card slot is now occupied. Clear the cards now and set them aside. You do not need them any more in this game. Leave the markers on the spaces on which they now stand.

Check whether the end of the game has been reached. If not, begin a new round with Phase 1: Prepare the Round.

Game End

The end of the game is triggered when a marker enters or passes the finish space for the second time. This can be your team marker or an opponent marker. Play all cards of the current round as usual, and move all markers that have not yet moved in this round.

You win if your team marker is furthest ahead after all movements. No opponent who, before entering or passing the finish space, had already been turned over to the side with the finish flag may be ahead of you, that is, on a space beyond the finish space.

Example: The green opponent showed the finish-flag side earlier in this round, before crossing the finish space. It has therefore crossed the finish space twice, just as your team marker has. You still win, because you are furthest ahead.

You lose if at least one of your opponents, which had already been turned over to the side with the finish flag before crossing the finish space, is furthest ahead after the final movements, and so overtakes you.

Example: The green opponent showed the finish-flag side earlier in this round, before crossing the finish space. It has therefore crossed the finish space twice, just as your team marker has. You lose, because it was still able to overtake you.

Strategic Variant

If you want to play more strategically and leave somewhat less to chance, the author recommends the following variant: play by the same rules as the basic game, but play the 6 cards in Phase 2: Quizzing somewhat differently. In this variant, after you have read a card aloud, you may not immediately assign it to a marker and resolve it. Instead, first read all the cards aloud, and only then assign them in an order of your choice.

Game flow: Distribute the 6 quiz cards of the current round among yourselves as you like. Name the categories and read the texts on the front sides aloud in any order, without looking at the back sides. Then discuss which card you want to assign to which marker. Carry out the movements in an order of your choice. Complete one movement fully before moving on to the next, by placing the card on the chosen slot, turning it over, and reading the back aloud. Then move the corresponding marker according to the basic game rules.

Repeat until you have handled all 6 cards and moved all markers. Then clear the cards and prepare a new round as in the basic game.