Schätz it if you can
Schätz it if you can Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 75 question cards
- 9 wooden blocks
- 5 score markers
- 1 wooden bar
- 1 card holder
- 1 cover card
An explainer video is also referenced on the card holder graphic in the original rulebook.
Setup
- Take the nine wooden blocks, the card holder, the wooden bar, and the question card stack out of the box and place everything in the middle of the table. Caution: the question stack is pre-sorted by difficulty and secret! Always keep the cover card on top of the stack.
- Everyone chooses a score marker and places it on the start space of the score track on the edge of the box. Put all remaining score markers back in the box.
How to Play
Schätz it is played over several rounds. You play in clockwise order.
Whoever most recently misjudged badly starts the round.
Starting the Round
If you start the round, carry out the following steps in order:
1. Draw a Card
Draw the bottom card from the question stack and slide it into the card holder as described.
- Draw the bottom card from the question stack…
- …turn the card holder to its back side (the yellow field with the arrow points downward) and immediately slide the card in from below.
- Turn the card holder to its front side, immediately close the control window with the wooden bar…
- …and slide the card upward until the question and the first two terms are visible. Now everything is ready!
2. Read Aloud
Read the shown question and the two terms out loud.
3. Estimate
What do you think: what is the correct order for the two terms? Give your guess using the color-matching blocks by arranging the blocks on the arrow field of the card holder. Each block represents the term in the matching color. The arrow on the card means "Order from … to …!"; so "light <-> heavy" means: "Order from light to heavy!"
Important: your guesses are always only about the relationship of the terms to each other. You find out the concrete values for the individual terms after the round.
Example: Josefine arranges the first two terms in the order grey – light blue.
After that it is the turn of the person to your left.
Is It Your Turn?
Has the person to your right given their guess? Then it is now your turn, and you have two tasks:
1. Doubt or Wave Through
Your first task is to judge the order of blocks on the card holder: is it correct or wrong? Decide now: do you want to wave the order through, or doubt it?
Wave through: Do you think the order is correct? Then say out loud: "All correct!" Since the person before you apparently did everything right, they receive two points as a reward — even if it later turns out they made a mistake. By waving it through, you now take over responsibility for the entire order — including any mistakes! The control window (more on that below) stays closed the whole time.
Scoring: every time you gain points or minus points during the game, immediately move your score marker forward or back the corresponding number of spaces on the score track.
Doubt it: Do you think the order is wrong? Then say out loud: "I have my doubts!", and open the control window by removing the wooden bar. The control window shows you the correct solution. There are now two possibilities:
- The order is in fact wrong: you sly fox! For doubting correctly you receive one point. A person before you evidently made a mistake and therefore gets nothing. Put the blocks into the correct order and close the control window again afterward. Important: it doesn't matter who before you made the mistake. Either way, the person before you gets nothing when the order is wrong.
- The order is correct: oops, you should have trusted the others more! As a penalty you receive one minus point. The person before you receives two points for their correct guess. Close the control window again now.
Example: Alisah doubts Josefine's order and opens the control window. The control window shows: Josefine ordered the terms correctly.
2. Estimate
Regardless of whether you doubted or waved through, it is now your turn to estimate. To do this, slide the card in the card holder up by one term and read the new term out loud. Then give your guess, in the way described above, using a block, as to where in the order the new term belongs.
After that it is the turn of the person to your left.
Example: Alisah places the next term (yellow). Her guess for the correct order is: grey – light blue – yellow.
You continue playing this way, going around the table, until you have ordered all nine terms. Have you placed the ninth term? Then the person to your left may doubt the order one last time.
One Last Doubt
Is it your turn, and has the person before you placed the ninth and therefore last term? Then, as usual, you may doubt the order or wave it through. If you wave it through, the person before you receives two points as usual. That ends the round.
For this last doubt, all the rules described above apply, with two exceptions:
1st exception: To check the order, the doubted person carefully opens the control window so that only they can see the correct solution. They keep the correct order secret at first and only announce out loud whether the order is correct or wrong.
- Is the order correct? Then the doubted person shows everyone the opened control window, and you receive points or minus points as usual. That ends the round.
- Is the order in fact wrong? Then you receive one point as usual, and the person before you gets nothing.
2nd exception: If the order is wrong, the doubted person closes the control window again. Because now you get one more chance to arrange the order correctly and thereby earn another point. Rearrange as many blocks as you like. Then open the control window for everyone to see. Is your guess correct? Then you receive one more point. Is your guess wrong? Then you keep the one point for doubting correctly. That ends the round.
End of Round
Have you played the card all the way through? Then you can now pull it all the way out of the card holder. On the card you will also find values for the individual terms. Make sure the back of the card stays hidden (it has a question on it that you'll play later). Then slide the card into the question stack as described, and play the next round.
- Pull the card out of the card holder…
- …and place it directly below the cover card.
Are you sitting to the left of the person who started the last round? Then you now start the next round!
Game End
The game ends once everyone has started a round. Of course you can also agree to play more rounds.
Do you have the most points on the score track? Congratulations! You have won. Do several of you have the most points? Then you share the victory.
About the Terms and Values
All terms and values were researched carefully. However, different sources sometimes give differing values. For this reason, average values were used in some cases in the game. In these cases, care was taken to ensure that, even with larger deviations, the order of the terms still remains valid. Some values are also rounded.
The moses. Verlag and the author thank all the diligent playtesters from Mainz, Berlin, and Osnabrück.
Rules Adjustments (V2, February 2024)
The following adjustments were published by moses. Verlag as an official errata/update sheet for the rulebook.
Dear Schätz friends,
for this edition of SCHÄTZ IT IF YOU CAN we worked on giving you an even better play experience. Follow the notes below and let the Schätz-it fever grab hold of you!
1. Rulebook
You may ignore the "One Last Doubt?" section if you wish. Why? Without it, things are simply much easier and faster! Have you placed the ninth term? Then the person to your left may wave through or doubt one more time. Distribute points as usual. Then the next round begins!
2. Score Chips
The score chips offer an alternative to the large score markers on the edge of the box. You can play either with the score markers on the box edge or with the score chips. There are three different kinds of points:
- 2-point chip: you receive this when you have placed a term and the next person waves through your decision.
- 1-point chip: you receive this when you have correctly doubted someone.
- -1-point chip: you receive this when you have doubted someone "wrongly" (i.e., the person before you was in fact right).
At the end of the game you must add up your score chips. The person with the most points wins.
Have fun estimating!
Your moses. Verlag