Mensch ärgere Dich nicht: Das Kartenspiel
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht: Das Kartenspiel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 50 number cards numbered 1-40 (2x each of 1-10 and 1x each of 11-40)
- 130 dice cards (22x each of 1-4 and 21x each of 5-6)
A number card shows a figure; a dice card shows a die.
Object of the Game
Everyone knows Mensch ärgere Dich nicht: you try to bring your playing pieces home as quickly as possible. This card game is quite similar, except that here the playing pieces on the way home are represented by number rows. By playing dice cards (hereafter simply called "dice"), everyone collects number cards (hereafter simply called "figures") and uses them to build their own ascending number rows. In doing so, the other players can have their figures taken away ("kicked out"). If someone reaches 40 with a row of figures, they receive victory points for it. The winner is whoever, depending on the number of players, has a certain number of victory points.
Setup
The figures are laid face up in ascending numerical order in the middle of the table. They are laid out according to the coloured backgrounds as shown (4 rows of 10 cards). The background colours merely make sorting easier and otherwise have no further meaning. In a 2-player game the duplicate cards are removed from the game; with 3 or 4 players, spaces 1-10 are laid out twice (the two identical cards lie on top of each other).
The dice cards are shuffled well and everyone receives 2 dice face down in hand. The remaining dice are placed as a face-down draw pile.
Course of Play
The youngest player starts. On your turn, you play one die onto the discard pile, take the figure corresponding to the value of the die and lay it face up in front of you. You thus "move" your figure forward that many spaces. Then you draw 2 dice so that you again have 2 dice in hand. Then it is the next person clockwise's turn.
If the draw pile is used up, the discard pile is shuffled and made available as a face-down draw pile.
Forming Number Rows
With the first figure you form the start of your number row. When starting a row (at 0) you may, as an exception, play both dice at the same time (otherwise, during the course of the row, only 1 die may be played at a time). In this case the sum of both dice counts as the number of the first figure of the row.
Example: Marie starts her row by playing a 2 and a 6 together. She takes the 8 figure from the middle of the table and lays it in front of her as the first card of the row.
In later rounds you extend your figure rows by playing 1 die and adding its value to the last figure in the row. You then take the corresponding new figure matching the sum and lay it to the right next to the figures already lying there. Then you refill your hand to 2 dice.
Example: In the next round Marie plays a 4 and takes the 12 figure (8 from before + 4 = 12). In the following round she plays a 3 and takes the figure 15. So with the start figure 8 and the two figures 12 and 15 she forms a row.
You can also open further figure rows in front of you. However, you may own at most 3 rows at the same time (regardless of how many you have already finished). To extend one of your rows, you may play only 1 die at a time.
Stealing Figures from Others
If a figure is no longer in the middle of the table, you can steal the corresponding figure from someone else. It does not matter whether the figure is at the end, in the middle or at the beginning of a row. If the figure is taken from the middle of a row, you push the figures of the row together and close the resulting gap. If the figure sought is with two players (this can only apply to the values 1-10), you may choose from whom you take it. If the figure sought is in your own row, you must take it from there.
Example: Lukas's row ends at figure 9. He plays a 3. Since the figure 12 is not in the middle of the table, he takes the 12 from Marie and adds it to his row.
Scoring
As long as a row has not been finished, figures can be stolen from it. To finish a row and secure the points, the row must be completed with exactly the 40. For this the die must fit exactly. If neither of your dice fit, you must extend another row or start a new row. Letting dice pips lapse is not allowed.
Only when a row is completed with the figure 40 (the figure reaches the goal) do you receive points for that row. Each figure of this row counts 1 point. In addition, each star shown on the figures counts 1 point. The figure 39, for example, brings 4 points: 1 for the card plus 3 points for the stars. The points achieved are noted on a sheet.
Afterwards the figures of this row are put back in the middle of the table. All other rows are not affected by this. Even if you have already completed and scored rows, you may continue to own up to 3 figure rows.
Example: Marie's figure is on 38. She plays a 2, takes the 40 and thereby finishes her row. Some figures were stolen from her in the meantime. Otherwise the jumps from 8 to 15 and from 20 to 28 would not have been possible either. For the number of figures in her row she receives 7 points and for the displayed stars 4 points. 11 points are noted for her. Afterwards she sorts the figures back into the middle of the table.
(The example row shown: 8, 15, 20, 28, 33, 38, then 40.)
Tip: If you do not have the right die to finish a row, it may help to begin a new figure row with 2 dice. Afterwards you can immediately draw 2 new dice and so increase your chance of drawing a suitable die for the other row.
End of the Game
You win and end the game immediately when you reach or exceed
- 30 points in a 4-player game,
- 35 points in a 3-player game, or
- 40 points in a 2-player game.