Ochs & Esel
Ochs & Esel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
The aim of the game is not to be left sitting on the donkey (Esel) and to get rid of your own cards as quickly as possible. As soon as a player manages this, he ends a round (Durchgang). The other players now receive minus points for the cards they still hold in their hands. The tricky part: the higher the value of a card, the easier it is to play it; but the higher is also the number of minus points the card brings if you still have it at the end. The donkey is extremely dangerous, because it is worth 20 minus points.
Whoever has the fewest minus points after 5 rounds wins the game.
Game Components
110 cards, consisting of:
- 104 number cards (8 each of the values 1-13)
- 4 jokers
- 1 donkey (Esel)
- 1 ox (Ochs)
Please also have paper and pencil ready. (Not included in the game.)
Setup
First, the cards with the ox and donkey are sorted out. The player with the longest ears receives the donkey; he is the starting player in the first turn round. The ox is removed from the game entirely. It is only needed in the Ox variant, which is explained at the end of these instructions.
The starting player's right neighbour shuffles all the remaining 108 cards and then deals each player as many cards as the following table shows. Depending on the number of players, some cards are left over; the dealer sets these aside, as they are needed again for the next round. Each player now takes his cards into his hand.
| Number of players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cards per player | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Unused cards | 69 | 56 | 43 | 30 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
Note: The starting player now has one card more than the other players, since he additionally holds the donkey in his hand.
Gameplay
A game consists of 5 rounds (Durchgänge). (The players can also agree on a different number to change the length of the game.) Within a round, several turn rounds are played, in which every player gets a turn once. If at the end of a turn round at least one player has no cards left in his hand, the round ends.
The starting player begins and plays one or more cards of the same number value from his hand. Then the next player in clockwise order takes his turn. He must now either raise or pass.
Note: The starting player may also play the donkey right at the start, see "Donkey".
To raise, a player must play exactly the same number of cards as the starting player, but with a higher number value. If he cannot or does not want to do this, he must pass.
The starting player of a turn round therefore always determines the number of cards at stake. If he plays only one card, the other players may also play only one card. If, on the other hand, he plays a triplet (three cards of the same number value), then all the others must also play a triplet or pass. The number value must always be higher than the value last played.
Note: The suits of the cards have no meaning.
When every player has had a turn, that is, has raised or passed, a turn round ends. The player who played the highest card(s) becomes the starting player of the next turn round. The cards played are set aside face down; they have no further meaning. All that matters is getting rid of your hand cards as quickly as possible.
Example for a game with 5 players: Anna is the starting player; she plays 3 cards, all of which have the value 6. Beate raises by laying out 3 cards with an 8. Christian passes. Darius plays 3 cards with an 11 and thus raises. Erika passes. Since everyone has now had a turn, the turn round is over, and the cards played are put aside. Darius has played the highest cards and therefore becomes the starting player for the next turn round.
Joker
There are 4 jokers in the game, which can take on any number value from 1 to 14. If a player plays a joker together with other cards, the joker automatically takes on the number value of those cards.
Example: 2 cards with an 11 and a joker are equivalent to 3 cards with an 11.
A joker played on its own, on the other hand, has the value 14. It is then the highest card of the turn round and cannot be topped. This also applies if several jokers are played at once, i.e. a pair with the value 13 can only be topped by a pair of jokers.
If a player has a joker in his hand at the end of a round, it brings him 14 minus points.
Note: In a donkey turn round a joker always has the value 1, see "Donkey".
Donkey
A player can play the donkey only when he is the starting player of a turn round. This initiates a donkey turn round, for which some special rules apply:
- The donkey can only be played as a single card and has the value 0.
- No player may pass and nobody has to raise. Instead, each player must play exactly 1 card, regardless of whether its value is higher than, equal to or lower than the cards played before.
- A joker always has the value 1 in a donkey turn round.
- Whoever has played the highest card in the donkey turn round must take all the cards played in this turn round into his hand, including the donkey. If several players have played the card with the highest value, then the one who played this value last must take all the cards played in this turn round into his hand.
A donkey turn round must not be followed immediately by another donkey turn round! A player who has received the donkey in this way may therefore not play it again immediately. This is possible at the earliest in the turn round after next, provided that the player is then also the starting player.
Note: Right at the beginning, in the first turn round, the player who received the donkey (= starting player) can play the donkey immediately!
The donkey always stays in the game until the end of a round. Whoever has it in his hand at the end of a round receives 20 minus points for it.
Example for a donkey turn round: Christian has the donkey and is the starting player. He plays the donkey and thereby starts a donkey turn round; nobody may now pass. Darius plays a 2, then Erika follows with a 1. Next it is Anna's turn, and she plays a 2 like Darius. Then Beate lays a joker, which counts as a 1. Now every player has had a turn, and the turn round ends. Darius and Anna played the highest card, but Anna's 2 came later than Darius's. Therefore Anna now takes all five cards of this turn round into her hand. She becomes the starting player, but may not immediately play the donkey again.
End of the Round
As soon as, at the end of a turn round, at least one player has no cards left in his hand, a round ends.
Note: If a player plays his last card in a donkey turn round and has to take all the cards into his hand at the end of the turn round, the round is not over. Unless, that is, another player has got rid of all his cards.
Now the scores are tallied; all players count their minus points:
- Each number card counts minus points equal to its number value.
- Each joker in the hand counts 14 minus points.
- The donkey counts 20 minus points.
Example: At the end of a round Anna still has 3 cards in her hand: 3, 10 and joker. For these she receives 3+10+14=27 minus points.
Each player's minus points are noted down. Then a new round begins. The player who last had the donkey in his hand keeps it and becomes the first starting player of the new round.
Whoever has the fewest minus points after 5 rounds wins the game.
Ox Variant
In this variant the ox also plays. The player with the longest ears is the starting player here as well, but he does not receive the donkey. Instead, the ox and donkey are laid in the middle of the table at the beginning of a round.
Whoever plays the highest card(s) in the first turn round must take the ox into his hand. Whoever plays the highest card(s) in the second turn round must take the donkey into his hand. Neither ox nor donkey may be played again directly after the turn round in which you received it, but at the earliest one turn round later.
Just like the donkey, the ox can be got rid of only when you are the starting player of a turn round. An ox turn round proceeds exactly like a donkey turn round, i.e. only single cards can be played, nobody may pass, a joker has the value 1 and the ox has the value 0. However, whoever has played the highest card in the ox turn round does not take all the cards into his hand, but lays all the cards of this turn round face down in front of himself. These cards count as minus points at the end of the game; the player cannot get rid of them again! Here a joker counts 1 minus point, and the ox itself is worth 0 points.
Here too: if several players have played the card with the highest value, the player who played this value last receives all the cards.
Whoever plays the highest card in a donkey turn round takes all the cards of this turn round into his hand, as usual.
At the end of a round, the ox in a player's hand brings 15 minus points. The donkey counts 20 minus points as usual.
Attention! Ox and donkey may never be played in the same turn round. If, in an ox or donkey turn round, a player comes up who has only the donkey or ox left in his hand, he must, as an exception, pass.