Ludoviel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Idea of the Game
• Components
• Basic Rules
• The Games
• Rule 1: Ludingo (3 to 6 players)
• Rule 2: Ludostyle (3 to 6 players)
• Rule 3: Ludofacts (2 to 5 players)
• Rule 4: Ludo Mio (from 2 players)
• Rule 5: Ludossa (from 3 players)
• Rule 6: Ludoviel (3 to 8 players)
• Rule 7: Haste Ludo (3 to 8 players)
• Rule 8: Ludosolo (1 player)

The Idea of the Game

Every year an enormous number of new games appears. Some private collectors, game centres and the game archive in Marburg know and collect them all. But even if one does not know them all, it is surprising how many games the average player has sitting in the cupboard. And then there are the classics that everyone knows anyway. Why not make a "Game of Games"? Since that title is already taken (well, who knows, ad hoc, the publisher?), we chose a title for Ludophiles, Ludopaths and game collectors.

By the way: since we are sure that you will think of plenty of further rules for "Ludoviel", there is a forum for new game rules at www.ludoviel.de. But for now, have lots of fun with "Ludoviel"!

Components

• 119 playing cards
• 16 wooden cubes each in purple and green
• 1 start player card
• 1 hourglass (approx. 30 seconds)
• 1 die
• These rules

A die belongs in every good game. Besides, it sells better - at least a publisher's representative claims so (well, who knows, ad hoc, the publisher?). You can use it to roll for the start player, if nothing more exciting occurs to you.

Since game circles mostly include more men than women, and since (game) collecting, contrary to all prejudices about collecting women, also seems to be very widespread among men, these rules speak of players. All female players are, of course, included.

Basic Rules

A game title may be named only once within a round. Different editions of a game are permitted, as are translated versions. In case of doubt, the simple majority of the playing group decides whether an answer is correct.

The Games

The collection contains eight games:

1. Ludingo (3 to 6 players)
2. Ludostyle (3 to 6 players)
3. Ludofacts (2 to 5 players)
4. Ludo Mio (from 2 players)
5. Ludossa (from 3 players)
6. Ludoviel (3 to 8 players)
7. Haste Ludo (3 to 8 players)
8. Ludosolo (1 player)

Rule 1: Ludingo (3 to 6 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Bingo" again, best at an English seaside resort among British housewives.

Setup: The card deck is shuffled. Each player receives 7 cards, which they take into hand face down. A start player is determined.

Object of the game: The first player to have only one card left in hand wins.

Course of play: The start player names any game. Whoever among the other players has a card that applies to that game knocks on the table as quickly as possible and offers that card. If no one knocks clearly first, the start player names a new game.

• If the card applies to the named game, the player may lay it down. He then names a (different) game himself.
• If the card does not apply, he must take it back into hand and draw a penalty card from the stack. The player whose turn it is names a different game.
• If someone offers a card whose correctness no one can judge, he takes that card back into hand without drawing a penalty card. The player whose turn it is names a different game.
• If no player offers a matching card, the player who named the game may lay down a matching card himself. If he cannot, he must draw a penalty card. He then names a different game.

Each player may offer only one card per round, and at most one card is laid down per round. At any time, each player may discard a hand card and draw two new cards from the stack in its place.

Whoever has laid down a card may name the next game. If no one in the round other than the player who named the game knows that game, that player must draw a penalty card.

Rule 2: Ludostyle (3 to 6 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Lifestyle" again, published in 1989 by Ravensburger.

Setup: A start player is determined, who receives the start player card. He shuffles the deck and places it face down on the table in front of himself.

Object of the game: The game ends when a player has won 10 cards.

Course of play: Whoever is on turn draws four cards from the stack and picks one of them to play. He lays it face up on the table in front of his left neighbour as the keyword card. He places the other three face down in the middle. The player to his left now names either:

• a game to which this card applies, or
• the author of that game, or
• the publisher in which it appeared, or
• a specific utensil (not: pawns, but: tiles with a specific motif).

If he succeeds, he takes a card from the middle. He passes the keyword card on to the left. In this way play goes around the table, and the player on turn may also name a new property and receive a card. In case of doubt, the majority of the players decides whether a property was named correctly. A player who can think of nothing passes. If everyone passes in turn, any cards not yet assigned are set aside. Whoever names the fourth property receives the keyword card as points.

If the four properties have been named, or no one can think of anything further, the start player passes the stack and the start player card on to the left. The next player now draws four cards from the stack and plays one of them out. If a player has named an author, publisher or property but cannot later name a matching game, he must give up one of the cards he has won.

Example: Thorsten plays "It is packed in a square box". Andrea, his left neighbour, says "Alex Randolph" and receives the first card. Friedemann has nothing to add and passes. Martina names the game "Veleno" and receives a card. Thorsten is now on turn himself and passes. Andrea names the publisher "Tutti Giochi" and receives another card. Friedemann passes again, so Martina now names "the black round plastic game board with troughs" as a specific utensil and takes the last card for herself. Martina and Andrea now each have two cards; the others have none yet. Andrea chooses the next keyword.

Rule 3: Ludofacts (2 to 5 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Category" again, by Spartaco Albertarelli, published in 1995 by eg.

Setup: One green and one purple wooden cube each are placed in one of the fields of an imagined 4x4 grid (see diagram). The German "Je ein grüner und lila Holzwürfel" is rendered literally here. The fields should be chosen large enough that they can represent intersection points of cards laid out at the ends of the rows. A start player is determined and receives the start player card. His right-hand neighbour takes the hourglass. Pencil and paper are also needed.

Object of the game: The first player to reach 50 points wins.

Course of play: The start player shuffles the card deck and lays out four cards each to the left and above the 4x4 field formed by the wooden cubes (eight cards in total, see diagram), so that at each intersection of two cards there are two wooden cubes. Purple wooden cubes are worth 1 point and green ones are worth 2 points.

The right-hand neighbour of the start player turns the hourglass over. For 30 seconds the start player now names games to which both properties that cross in one field apply, and takes the purple wooden cube from that field. Whoever names the second game to which both properties at the intersection apply takes the green wooden cube. After the hourglass has run out, disputed namings are briefly discussed, and if necessary the player must return cubes. Then the next player on turn plays. A game may be named only once per pass (Durchgang); this also applies across different intersection points.

This continues around the table until either all wooden cubes have been removed or everyone has passed. Each player receives as many points as his wooden cubes are worth (write them down). Then a new round starts. All wooden cubes are again laid out in a 4x4 grid, and the stack and the start player card are passed to the left.

Example: Andrea is on turn and names "Monopoly" for field 1. She takes the purple cube. "Monopoly" may not be named again in this pass, even if it would also fit field 2. In addition, for field 1 she thinks of "Acquire". She also takes the green cube here.

(Diagram of the example: the numbers are field numbers, not points. Column: "Set in America"; rows: "Published before 1980" and "You have to collect money".)

	Set in America
Published before 1980	1
You have to collect money	2

Rule 4: Ludo Mio (from 2 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Mamma Mia" again, by Uwe Rosenberg, published in 1998 by Abacus.

Setup: A start player is determined and receives the start player card. He deals 6 hand cards to each player. The stack is placed face down in the middle.

Object of the game: The first player to reach 18 points wins the game.

Course of play: Whoever is on turn may either play a card or name a game to which at least 5 cards from the pile built up during the course of the game apply.

The start player chooses one of his hand cards, reads it aloud, places it in the middle and draws a card to replace it. The next players follow in the same way: each lays down a card so that the cards underneath remain face down and an open pile arises.

If a player believes that the pile contains at least five cards that fit a game, he does not play a card but names that game. The open pile's cards are now assessed one by one. If at least 5 cards fit the named game, the player receives 1 card for this set of 5, plus each further card that fits the named game. If fewer than 5 cards are found, each of the other players receives one card from the face-down stack. The cards won are placed in front of the player as points, each card being worth one point. All remaining cards of the open pile are placed back in the middle as an open pile.

The "namer" begins the next round. He reads one of his hand cards aloud and places it on the open pile. Then each player in turn places a card on the open pile or names a game.

Example: After several rounds Hartmut names the game "Monopoly" instead of laying down a card. He takes the open pile and checks which cards fit Monopoly. These are "It is packed in a square box", "There is money in it", "It contains at least one die" and "It is about living, houses". The rest do not fit. Hartmut puts the pile back. All other players each receive a card from the face-down stack. Had one more card fitted, Hartmut would have won one card; had two more cards fitted, he would even have won two cards.

Rule 5: Ludossa (from 3 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Hossa!" again, by Andrea Meyer, published in 2000 and 2003 by BeWitched-Spiele.

Setup: The deck is shuffled and placed face down in the middle. Each player receives 6 hand cards. A start player is determined and receives the start player card.

Object of the game: The first player to play all of his hand cards wins.

Course of play: The start player draws three cards from the stack and lays them face up on the table. He now tries to name a game to which all three cards apply. If he succeeds, he may remove one of the face-up cards and add one of his own hand cards, so that three cards are again face up. Otherwise he passes and draws a card from the stack.

The left neighbour is now on turn and proceeds in the same way. If for an entire round no one can think of a game that fits the three face-up cards, those cards are removed. The left-hand neighbour of the player who placed the third card then turns over three new cards from the stack and tries to name a game to which the cards apply. Play continues in this way until a player has no hand cards left.

Example: Martina draws the cards "There are no dice", "It was published by the publisher itself" and "A particular place plays a role". She names the game "Eketorp" and removes the card "A particular place plays a role". She then adds the card "The packaging is not cardboard" from her hand. Her left neighbour Friedemann now names "Hossa". He removes the card "There are no dice" and adds "There are cars in it" from his hand. Andrea cannot think of a game, so she passes and draws a card from the stack. Hartmut and Thorsten fare the same way. When Martina and Friedemann also cannot think of a game, Andrea may discard the three cards and try her luck with three new cards from the stack.

Rule 6: Ludoviel (3 to 8 players)

Does this seem somehow familiar? Then play "Ein solches Ding" again, by Urs Hostettler, published in 1989 by F.X. Schmid and in 1998 by Abacus.

Setup: The deck is shuffled and placed face down in the middle. Each player receives 6 hand cards. One further card is placed face up in the middle.

Object of the game: The first player to lay down his last card and then be able to declare to which game the cards in the middle (except one, see below) apply wins.

Course of play: Whoever is on turn may add a card to the row in the middle, or challenge the display in the middle.

• Adding (Anlegen): One tries to add a card which, together with the other cards already on display, applies to one or several games.
• Challenging (Anzweifeln): The predecessor must explain to which game all the cards in the middle apply. Beforehand, he may "press" one card out of the display, i.e. that card need not apply to the named game.

If the predecessor succeeds in his explanation, the challenger must draw 2 cards from the stack. If he does not succeed, the predecessor must draw 2 cards from the stack. The display is then cleared, and a new card from the stack is laid out as the starting card. The challenger begins if the predecessor could not name a game; otherwise his left-hand neighbour begins. (The German "sonst sein linker Nachbar" does not say explicitly whose neighbour is meant; this is read as the challenger's.)

End of the game: The game ends when someone can lay down his last card and then declare to which game the cards in the middle (except one, see above) apply. If he cannot explain this, he draws two cards, and the game continues with his left-hand neighbour after the display has been cleared and a new first card has been laid out.

Rule 7: Haste Ludo (3 to 8 players)

Does this seem familiar? Then play "Haste Worte" again, by Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, published in 1997 by F.X. Schmid.

Setup: Each player takes a pencil and a sheet of paper. In addition, one player keeps a score list. The hourglass is placed in the middle so that everyone can reach it. A start player is determined; he receives the start player card, shuffles the card deck and places it in front of himself.

Object of the game: The first player to reach 35 points wins.

Course of play: The start player draws the top card of the deck and reads its property aloud. Now everyone simultaneously writes down games to which the read property applies. Whoever thinks enough time was available turns the hourglass over. Everyone may keep writing until the hourglass has run out.

Then each player secretly writes down how many games he believes he can read out first. Beware: whoever bids the lowest number reads first!

• The player with the lowest bid reads out as many games from his list as he bid. He may choose which of them to read out. All other players must now strike these games from their lists. The reader is credited with as many points as the number of games he named.
• The player with the second-lowest bid then reads out as many games from his remaining list as he bid. Again, the other players strike these games from their lists. This player also receives as many points as the number of games he named.
• Important: If two or more players have bid the same number, they may read out games in turn, beginning with the start player and going clockwise.
• A player who can no longer fulfil his bid when it is his turn still reads out his remaining games, but receives no points for them. Players who have bid an even higher number must nevertheless strike these games from their lists.

Once all players have read out their lists, the start player passes the start player card and the card deck to his left-hand neighbour, who draws the next card and reads it aloud. Games named in the previous round may now be named again. Any game on which a majority of the players agrees in case of dispute is also valid.

Example: Thorsten draws the card "It is packed in a square box". After brief thought, Martina turns the hourglass over, since only a few games occur to her spontaneously, which she can still quickly write down in the remaining time (30 seconds).

Martina and Thorsten have bid "2", Hartmut and Friedemann "3". Martina reads out first: she names "Monopoly" and the "Siedler" base game. She is credited with 2 points, and the others must strike both games from their lists if they have them. Thorsten reads "Veleno" and "Ta-Yü" and likewise receives 2 points. Hartmut is unlucky: after having to strike "Ta-Yü" he has only "Robo-Rally" and "Virus & Co" left on his list, so he cannot fulfil his bid. Friedemann is pleased: with "Siedler-Seefahrer", "Therapy" and "Fresh Fish" he can fulfil his bid and receives 3 points. By turning the hourglass quickly and bidding low, Martina has ensured that the others receive few points. Had she waited longer, the others might have pulled ahead.

Rule 8: Ludosolo (1 player)

Does this seem somehow boring? Then play new board games again, e.g. "Ludoviel" (the authors' credits are omitted here).

Course of play: Take 119 games from your game shelf and assign exactly one card to each. Have fun putting them back!