Millionenspiel
Millionenspiel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Game board
- 1 pawn
- 2 dice
- 15 Pension cards, five each in the values 5, 50 and 500
- 1 Million Bank note
- Play money: chips in the values 1, 10, and 100; and notes in the values 1,000; 10,000 and 100,000
Summary of the Game
The object of the game is to wager your stakes skillfully and become the first millionaire. The length of the game can vary greatly, between 15 and 90 minutes.
There is only one pawn for all the players. It will move around the circular track with every roll of the dice. Players win or lose money depending which color space the pawn lands on. Betting on where the pawn lands, is the essence of the game.
Preparation
- The players choose a banker to administer the money.
- Each player gets a pension card worth 5 and five blue chips worth 1 each as starting capital.
- The pawn is put on the black space with the arrow.
- Each player rolls both dice once. The highest roller takes the dice and begins the game.
Play
The player to the left of the rolling player bets first, and then the other players bet in clockwise order. Bets consisting of chips and/or bank notes are placed in front each player on the big green area in the middle of the board. Everyone should clearly see how much each player has bet. Players can bet any part of their stakes. They can bet the whole stake or nothing at all. Whoever wants to bet nothing says "I pass".
Once bets are placed, they cannot be changed. The player rolling bets last. The sequence is important for tactical reasons. The rolling player must be able to judge the advantages and disadvantages for himself and his opponents in moving the pawn to a certain color and bet accordingly, high or low.
The Roll
The rolling player waits until all players have bet, then rolls both dice. The pawn is moved on the board the number of spaces rolled in the direction of the arrow.
Rules About Rolling
- The rolling player can refuse the first throw if he wishes and roll again. However, he may refuse only the first throw. This rule also applies if he rolls doubles (see below).
- After the first throw, the rolling player announces whether he will accept this roll or refuse it.
- After a double, the player rolling must roll again. The pawn moves the total of both rolls. If doubles are rolled several times in a row, then all the rolls are added up. The pawn must be moved accordingly.
If the first roll is a double, the player rolling can refuse it and roll again. If he accepts it, however, he must roll again to add to the double.
Meanings of the Spaces
The numbers in the corners of the board serve as reminders for the meanings of the colored spaces. The action carried out, depending which color the pawn lands on, applies to all players, not just the player that rolled:
- Blue: All players win an amount equal to their bet from the bank.
- Yellow: All players win 10 times the amount of their bet from the bank.
- Red: All players win 100 times the amount of their bet from the bank.
- Beige: All players lose their bet to the bank.
- Green: All players lose any money they did not bet to the bank.
- Black: The rolling player must throw one die and follow the instructions below.
Instructions for One-Die Rolls
- 1: The rolling player loses all his money to the bank.
- 3: The rolling player loses his bet to the bank.
- 5: The rolling player loses all money he did not bet to the bank.
- 2: The rolling player wins 1,000 from the bank.
- 4: The rolling player wins the bets from all the other players.
- 6: The rolling player wins all the money not bet by the other players.
Once wins or losses are paid, the players take their bets off the board. The dice are passed to the rolling player's left. A new round of betting begins.
Money
Money cannot be loaned or given away. The bank cannot make change into lower denominations.
Important: When a player has more than 10 chips/bank notes of the same denomination, he must immediately exchange 10 of them with the bank for the next-higher denomination.
If all players are broke, the pawn is moved to the black space with the arrow and pensions are paid (see below). If at least one player has money, the game proceeds normally. Players who have no money can still roll and move the pawn.
The Pension Cards
As soon as the pawn reaches or passes the space with the arrow, pensions are paid to the players. Each player receives the amount on the pension card he holds. At the start of the game, each player has a card worth 5 chips.
Pension cards are not cash. They cannot be used in betting, exchanged for cash or borrowed against. They serve only to identify how much each individual player receives when a pension is paid. Pensions guarantee everyone a chance to play even if they should lose all their money.
Each player can buy pension cards with the numbers 50 or 500 and thus increase their pensions. The pension cards can only be increased in sequence, from 5 to 50 and from 50 to 500.
You must buy a pension card before the pawn passes the arrow. A 50-pension card costs 1,000 and a 500-pension card costs 10,000. These amounts must be paid with exact change. The old pension card is turned in to the bank. Each player can possess only one pension card. Pension cards do not count toward a player's total cash at the end of the game.
End of the Game
As soon as a player is capable of winning 1,000,000 with the next throw and ends the game, the banker puts the 1,000,000 bank note in the middle of the board before the dice are rolled. He takes it back if the player does not win the million.
The first player to reach one million wins the game. If several players reach one million simultaneously, the player with the highest total wins. If there is still a tie, the player that bet first wins.