Ostfriesisches Schafe-Schubsen
Ostfriesisches Schafe-Schubsen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Material
- 2 two-sided game boards of 100 (land- or water-) squares on both sides each
- 1 imp card and 1 cherub card
- 8 card sets of 8 player colours, each with values between 0 and 9
- 8 wooden disks of 8 player colours
- 8 sheep labels (to be stuck to the wooden disk of the same colour before the first game)
- 16 four-leaf clover pads
- 12 lifesavers
- 8 quick rules
- This rulebook
Preparation
Each player receives one card set, the correspondingly coloured sheep as well as one quick rules. Additionally, each player receives one to four lifesavers depending on the number of players. Cards and sheep not required are put back into the game box.
| Number of players | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of lifesavers | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
The player with the most mischievous look will be the starting player and receives both the imp and cherub cards.
This player places both game boards side by side to create one continuous trail – the dyke.
The four-leaf clover pads are placed face up next to the dyke. Each player puts her/his sheep on square 0 of the first (left) game board.
Course of Play
Several rounds are played. Each round consists of four game phases:
- Determine the Scope of Move (all players simultaneously)
- Evaluate the cards (successively in clockwise order)
- Evaluate the round (jointly)
- Prepare next round (all players simultaneously)
1. Determine the Scope of Move – all players simultaneously
All players simultaneously place one to three cards face-down in front of them, this will determine the Scope of Move for their sheep for the current round. The combination of cards chosen will create a 1, 2 or 3 digit number, therefore the cards have to be put on the table in a way that clearly indicates which card represents the ones, the tens and the hundreds. The numerical values are NOT added!
Example: For a Scope of Move up to 9 squares only one card needs to be played. A player intending to have a Scope of Move of 10 to 99 squares has to choose two cards. For more than 100 squares three cards are required. If a player wishes to get rid of cards for tactical reasons she/he can play the 0 card, though it may not affect the Scope of Move, e.g. "087" can be played. If you do not want to show the other players how many cards you have chosen you can simply cover the played cards with your hand until they are turned face up.
Examples for scope of move (as shown in the rulebook): 085, 109, 43, 7.
As soon as all players have chosen a Scope of Move by selecting the appropriate hidden card/s the evaluation will follow.
2. Evaluate the cards – successively in clockwise order
The starting player begins and performs the following steps in order. Then the other players will follow in clockwise order.
a) Turn the cards face up: The player reveals her/his cards played.
b) Apply four-leaf clover? The player may play one or more four-leaf clover pads collected during the course of the game by placing them face-up. Doing this could, for example, change the Scope of Move for her/his sheep. The four-leaf clover pads are explained in detail at the end of this rulebook.
c) Move sheep: The player moves her/his sheep on the game board according to the chosen Scope of Move. All sheep move from left to right. Each step in ones means an upward movement by one square. If a sheep leaves the board at the upper edge it will re-enter the board at the lower edge in the next column along. For each step in tens a sheep is moved horizontally by one square to the right. For simplification all squares have been numbered consecutively so you can easily count a move.
Example: Yellow has chosen a Scope of Move of 85 which will move her/his sheep 85 squares. The yellow sheep moves 8 squares to the right for the tens, then 5 squares up for the ones. However, with the third step of the ones it leaves the board at the top and reappears one column to the right at the lower edge of the board and then fulfills the rest of the steps.
Hint: In order to avoid confusion it is recommended that the sheep be left on its starting square while the Scope of Move is used to determine the destination square, once this is done the sheep can be moved.
During a move a sheep can cross other sheep or water squares without any consequences. However, it is important where a move ends. These special cases are explained at the end of this rulebook.
d) Compare Scope of Moves: The player compares her/his own Scope of Move with the ones already revealed by the previous players. As a result the player may receive the imp or the cherub card.
- Imp: If the player's Scope of Move is less than or equal to the Scope of Move of the player currently holding this card she/he will receive the imp card (you do not want to get the imp).
- Cherub: If the player's Scope of Move is higher than the Scope of Move of the player currently holding this card she/he will receive the cherub card (you do want to get the cherub).
In the case of a tie the player who is later in the turn is always worse off.
3. Evaluate the round – jointly
As soon as all players have moved their sheep the round is evaluated:
The player owning the imp loses one lifesaver (the sheep remains on the game board). However, if this player does not have any lifesavers available she/he is eliminated from the game and the sheep is removed from the game board. The cards of this player as well as any four-leaf clover pads not played yet are put back into the game box and are out of play.
The player with the cherub card is allowed to select one of the four-leaf clover pads, if available.
Note: The allocation of imp and cherub cards does not depend upon who has travelled the least or the furthest on the dyke in that round. Only the lowest or highest Scope of Move matters!
All cards played in this round are now placed face down on each player's personal discard pile in front of them.
4. Prepare next round – all players simultaneously
All players check the number of cards in their hand. If a player has LESS than 4 cards left, she/he must take all the cards from her/his discard pile so all their cards will be available for the next round.
The player that received the cherub card in the current round will be the starting player for the following round. She/he also takes the imp card so she/he will start the next round with both cards.
All four-leaf clover pads played and lifesavers used in this round are put back into the game box and are out of play.
End of Game
If at the end of a round only 2 sheep are left on the dyke the game ends. The player whose sheep is further behind on the dyke, i.e. in second place, wins the game.
In the rare case that at the end of a round less than 2 sheep are left on the dyke, the player who stayed the longest on the dyke wins.
The race is finished now and Hallbert returns home happy. However, today was not the only day of racing – there will be hustling again tomorrow, no question!
Special Cases When Moving Sheep
I. The destination square is occupied: If a sheep ends its move on a square where there is another sheep, the latter one is shoved one square forward to the top (one step in ones, not in tens). If this square is also occupied, then the sheep in that square is also shoved forward one square. Thus a chain reaction can be started that will only stop once the last sheep shoved ends up in an empty square. Please note that sheep are always shoved forwards, even if a sheep has entered an occupied square backwards through the use of a four-leaf clover pad.
II. A sheep enters a water-square: If a sheep's move ends on a water-square or a sheep is shoved by another one onto a water-square the player has to use a lifesaver to remain on the square. A player who does not have any lifesavers left is eliminated from the game (see V.). HINT: It may happen that a player's sheep may end up on a water-square several times in the same round through the effects of other sheep and its own Scope of Move, every time this happens a lifesaver must be used.
III. The last sheep leaves the first game board: When the last sheep remaining on the first board moves off that board the active player finishes the movement of her/his sheep, then takes that board and places it to the right of the second board (i.e. in the direction of the race). The active player decides which side and edge of the board to use. The old second board is now the first board and vice versa.
IV. A sheep leaves the dyke: If a sheep leaves the second board and therefore the dyke (either by their own move or by being shoved) it is immediately eliminated from the game. In this case even lifesavers cannot help any more.
V. A sheep is eliminated from the game: If a player is eliminated from the game during the evaluation of cards, the corresponding sheep is removed from the board and the player's cards are put aside. If this player owned the imp or cherub card they are given to the remaining players according to the rules described in 2 d) "Compare Scopes of Move", lowest Scope of Move receives the imp, highest receives the cherub.
Four-Leaf Clover Pads
There are two kinds of four-leaf clover pads that can be applied to the game in different ways.
Run Back
After a player's sheep has been moved forward according to the selected Scope of Move and the resulting special cases, if any, have been resolved, the player then moves their sheep backwards, i.e. to the left, by the value shown on the pad (the tens). If more than one pad is used then use the sum of the values of the pads played. After the pad move has been resolved any resulting special cases might occur as well.
Important: If a sheep falls from the dyke while moving forward, it cannot be saved by the four-leaf clover pads!
Change Scope of Move
The Scope of Move of the sheep is increased or reduced by a value between zero and the value printed. The new value is regarded as the Scope of Move and is used for the remainder of the turn. This value is taken into consideration when comparing the Scopes of Move and deciding who gets the imp or cherub (see 2 d) "Compare Scopes of Move").
The use of the four-leaf clover pads must not result in a sheep leaving the first board in the opposite direction of the race, i.e. off the left hand side.
Variants & Extensions
Variants and extensions for a free of charge download can be found at www.hall9000.de/schafeschubsen.