Telebohn
Telebohn Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The Bohnanza variant "Telebohn" contains 33 cards and one rulebook. The 33 cards are: 1 "Active Player" indicator card, 18 text cards ("Sonderaktion", special action) and 14 bean cards "Schnittbohne" (snap bean).
The snap beans have an unusual bean-o-meter (Bohnometer): whoever harvests snap beans receives special action cards. These are text cards that the player can use later in the course of the game. Only at the end of the game does a snap bean harvest pay out in the same way as for any other bean variety, namely up to four bean talers.
Setup
Telebohn was originally to be called "Vodabohn". It can only be played together with the card game Bohnanza, which was published by AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit. The basic rules of that game are assumed knowledge for this rulebook.
With three to five players, each player receives one "3rd Bean Field" card, which they place in front of them. The bean cards (including the snap beans) are shuffled. Beforehand, two garden beans are set aside.
Each player places one bean card on each of their three bean fields: the bean cards are laid out face up, from left to right, next to one another. The bean card on the right is therefore the third bean and goes on the "3rd Bean Field" card. Only the lettering on the brown background of the "3rd Bean Field" card should remain visible. The remaining bean cards form the face-down draw pile. The two set-aside garden beans are placed face up underneath the draw pile. These beans cannot be drawn or turned over; they are only shuffled into the draw pile later in the game (see "Empty Draw Piles" below).
Each player receives five bean cards as their hand. Attention: unlike in any other Bohnanza variant, the order of the cards in one's hand may be changed!
The remaining bean cards form the face-down draw pile.
The text cards are shuffled. Each player is dealt two text cards face down, which they look at and place face down in front of themselves. The remaining text cards form the face-down text card draw pile.
Bean-o-meter
Just as in Bohnanza, in Telebohn only beans of the same variety may be planted on a bean field. When a bean field is harvested, the bean-o-meter shows how many bean talers (Bohnentaler) are earned. A bean taler is indicated by the player turning one of the bean cards over to its back side and placing it face up in front of them with the bean taler showing.
The snap bean, which is represented fourteen times in the game, has a more elaborate bean-o-meter than all other bean cards (see the diagram in the original rulebook). Harvesting 1 snap bean earns nothing. Harvesting 2 snap beans: draw one text card from the text card draw pile. Harvesting 3 or 4 snap beans: draw two text cards. With 1 to 4 snap beans planted, no bean talers are paid out, so all harvested beans go to the discard pile. Bean talers are only paid from 5 snap beans on: harvesting 5 or 6 snap beans, draw two text cards and additionally receive one bean taler. Harvesting 7 or more snap beans, draw two text cards and additionally receive two bean talers.
Translator's note: the diagram on the original shows the rewards for harvests of 2, 3, 5 and 7 snap beans: one text card; two text cards; two text cards plus one bean taler; two text cards plus two bean talers. This matches the text above.
At the end of the game, the snap bean bean-o-meter changes: instead of text cards, only bean talers are paid out (see "Game End" below).
Text Cards
Each text card has three meanings.
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First, it is worth 10 bean pennies (Bohnenpfennige) if the player has not used it by the end of the game. As in the Lookout Games game "Mutabohn", 100 bean pennies are worth one bean taler in Telebohn too.
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Furthermore, every text card is a defence card against hostile takeovers (see "Defending against a Hostile Takeover" below).
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Finally, every text card enables a special action, which is described on the card. Both the active player and the passive players may play text cards and carry out special actions when it is their turn to act with a regular action. Some special actions can only be played in connection with a regular action. All others are carried out in addition to the regular action. The regular actions are explained under "Turn Sequence". Even a player who passes may play a special action. Once the special action described on the text card has been carried out, the text card goes to the text card discard pile.
Turn Sequence
The starting player is determined by lot. They receive the "Active Player" card, which they place in front of them with the depicted bean face up. A round lasts until the active player passes this card on. Play proceeds clockwise.
The active player has five actions to choose from. Apart from action d, they may perform them as often as they like and in any order. After each action of the active player, the passive players may react (see "Reaction of Passive Players" below). The five actions are:
a) Play Hand Cards
The player places hand cards on one of their three bean fields. On an empty bean field, any number of hand cards of the same variety may be placed. On a planted bean field, any number of hand cards may be placed that have the same bean variety as the cards already lying there.
b) Merge Bean Fields
Bean fields on which the same bean variety is planted may be merged: one bean field is placed completely on top of the other. Which bean field stays where it is and which one is moved is up to the player. Example: it is allowed to take a bean field with any number of beans and place it on a field with only a single bean. Equally, it is allowed the other way round: the single bean may be replanted.
A planted bean field may not be moved onto an empty bean field.
c) Turn Over Bean Cards
Empty bean fields may be filled with cards from the draw pile. A player who has at least one empty bean field may draw a bean card from the draw pile. They look at the card. Then they decide on which of their own empty bean fields to place the bean card. It is not allowed to place the drawn bean card on a planted bean field. Often the active player can carry out action b directly after action c. Within action c, the players are not allowed to play hand cards (this is action a).
d) Harvest a Bean Field
Unlike the other regular actions, the active player may harvest a bean field only once per round (according to the Bohnanza rules). They show that the harvest has been carried out by turning the "Active Player" card over. On its reverse it reads accordingly: "The active player has already harvested a bean field."
Attention! In Telebohn too, the Bohnanza protection rule applies: bean fields with exactly one card may not be harvested if the player has at least one other bean field on which more than one bean card lies.
e) Hostile Takeover
The active player may force a fellow player to swap a bean field with them. It is not possible to swap an empty bean field for a planted bean field. To carry out a swap, the active player must fulfil two conditions.
(1) Their own bean field must be "stronger" than that of the fellow player. One field is stronger than another if it comprises more cards. For fields with the same number of cards, the bean variety with the smaller Handy-Cap value is the stronger one. The Handy-Cap value is the number of cards there are of one bean variety. This value is also printed on every bean card. One exception is the snap bean. Although there are 14 snap beans in the game, the snap bean has the Handy-Cap value 4. This is the reason why the digit 4 in the "14" on the snap bean card is more clearly visible than the digit 1.
(2) The bean fields that are to be swapped must be in the same position: a first bean field can only be swapped with a first one, a second only with a second, and a third only with a third.
Defending against a Hostile Takeover
A hostile takeover can be defended against by the "weaker" player placing one of their text cards face down on the bean field that was attacked. They choose this text card themselves. The attacked bean field is then protected from takeovers until the active player changes, or until no bean cards remain on the protected field.
A third way for the protection to be lost is if the player with the protected bean field themselves succeeds in a hostile takeover. The protection is not lost if two bean fields are merged on the protected bean field.
At the latest when the active player changes, the text card with which the bean field was protected goes to the text card discard pile.
Reaction of Passive Players
After each regular action, the passive players are asked in clockwise order whether they want to carry out the same action that the active player has just made. Even a defended hostile takeover counts as a valid action and may be copied. A player who does not want to carry out the action says "I pass". Only for special actions (text cards!) do the other players not get the chance to copy the action.
Attention: With 3 to 4 players, only a single passive player may copy the action (for five players, see "Special Rules for Five Players" below). Often the left-hand neighbour of the active player immediately takes this chance.
Exception: In the first round, all passive players may copy the actions of the first active player. Do not be surprised! The starting round can sometimes take a little longer.
A special case concerns the action "Hostile Takeover". A passive player may not carry out a hostile takeover against the active player, even with the active player's agreement. In the first round, no hostile takeovers may be made against fellow players by players who, in the same circuit, have themselves already carried out a hostile takeover.
Example for a four-player game: Anna takes over Bert, so Bert may not take over Anna. Bert takes over Dora instead. Carl may only still take over Dora, but he passes. Dora takes over Carl.
End of a Round
The active player ends the round by passing the "Active Player" card, face up, to their left-hand neighbour. They must draw bean cards from the draw pile until they have five cards in hand again. After that, all fellow players must, in clockwise order, draw bean cards until they also have five hand cards.
Empty Draw Piles
When the bean card draw pile becomes empty and the two garden beans underneath it become visible, the discard pile is shuffled and becomes the new face-down draw pile. One of these two garden beans is shuffled into the draw pile. The second garden bean is placed face up underneath the second draw pile; this garden bean is only shuffled into the third draw pile.
When the text card draw pile becomes empty, the discarded text cards are shuffled and become the new face-down pile.
Special Rules for Five Players
With five players, two players instead of one may copy the action of the active player.
Regarding action e (Hostile Takeover): the second passive player who copies a hostile takeover may neither swap their bean field with the active player nor with the other fellow player who has already copied the hostile takeover. Even with their agreement, such a hostile takeover would not be possible.
Special Rules for Two Players
The only special rules for the two-player game concern the setup. The opponents sit facing each other. The two rows of bean fields are laid out opposite one another. The "3rd Bean Field" cards are not needed. In addition, each player receives three text cards instead of two.
For the course of play, all rules that apply to the multiplayer game also apply. The only exception follows from the special setup rule: when carrying out a hostile takeover, the bean fields that are swapped are not those in the same position, but the bean fields lying opposite one another.
Unlike in the multiplayer game (see "Game End" below), the game ends right after the turn in which the bean card draw pile first became empty.
Remarks: Every action of the active player may be copied by the passive player. After a hostile takeover, however, the passive player has nobody they can take over, because the active player is protected. Two of the six garden beans never come into play, because the draw pile is only gone through once.
Game End
The game ends after the bean card draw pile has become empty for the third time (except in the two-player game). The active player may start as many more action rounds as they like. Then they harvest their bean fields and collect their bean talers one last time. After that, the fellow players also harvest their bean fields, in clockwise order.
A separate bean-o-meter for snap beans allows higher yields at the end of the game than if this bean variety is harvested during play. At the end of the game, the bean-o-meter for snap beans changes: instead of text cards there are now only bean talers:
- Up to 3 snap beans: nothing, not even text cards.
- 4 to 5 snap beans: one bean taler.
- 6 snap beans: two bean talers.
- 7 snap beans: three bean talers.
- 8 snap beans: four bean talers.
Text cards may also still be played during the final scoring.
Whoever has the most bean talers and bean pennies wins. 100 bean pennies are worth one bean taler.
Example for the Text Card "Pizza Bohnotoni"
Whoever harvests ten blue beans receives four talers. Whoever harvests eleven blue beans receives five talers with the Pizza Bohnotoni. Whoever harvests twelve blue beans receives six talers, and whoever harvests 13 blue beans receives seven talers.