Teufel, Teufel!
Teufel, Teufel! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 large game board
- 6 devil discs
- 36 letter tokens
- 4 devil markers
- 42 cards showing people, devils and towers
- 1 rulebook
The Object of the Game
As quickly as possible, fill your devil disc with the six letters A to F and leave the game board. Whoever remains last is the loser and must spend a little more time in the underworld.
Setup
Before the first game, carefully break the 42 pre-punched cards apart. If necessary, use a sharp knife to help. The stickers with the letters are stuck onto the 36 small wooden tokens. The larger devil markers receive no stickers.
Spread the game board out on the table. Shuffle the 42 cards thoroughly and place them face down on the spaces of the board. The six specially marked spaces remain empty at the start.
Place the four devil markers on the devil space in the centre of the board. Place the 36 letter tokens within easy reach of everyone, next to the game board.
Each player chooses a devil disc. The oldest player places his empty disc on any space of the board. The other players then place their discs in clockwise order. At least three empty spaces must remain between the individual discs. The oldest player begins; the other players follow in clockwise order.
The Course of Play
Players take turns moving their devil discs across the cards and try to find their six letters. Devil markers allow a greater movement range and further small nastinesses.
However, one should not overuse the helpfulness of the devils: whoever meets a second devil immediately loses both devils, and both take two letters with them. Whoever has all of his letters together and has also been able to get rid of his devil may leave the underworld. Whoever remains in the game last has lost.
Movement
In principle, devil discs move onto an adjacent space. Movement is only horizontal or vertical; diagonal moves are not allowed. Whether the disc may continue moving or the player must end his move depends on the new card.
Face-Down Cards
On a face-down card, you must interrupt your movement and turn the card over. If it shows a letter of your own colour, put the matching letter token into your devil disc and end your movement.
If the card shows a letter that you already have in your devil disc, you have a kind of "hall pass" and may move on to the next card. The colour of the letter is irrelevant here. For example, if you have your D in the disc, you may move across all other cards with a D.
Empty Spaces
Spaces on which no cards lie are not an obstacle and may be crossed.
Face-Up Letter Cards
If you move onto a face-up letter card, you interrupt your movement. If you already have the letter of this card in your devil disc, you have effectively a "hall pass" and may move on. For example, if you have the A in your devil disc, you may move across all cards with an A.
If you move onto a face-up card with a letter of your own colour, you end your movement and put the matching letter token into your devil disc.
Devil Cards
If you turn over a devil or move onto a face-up devil card, you end your move and put a devil marker into your devil disc. If at that moment all devils are in other players' discs, you take a devil from the disc of any fellow player.
When you receive your second devil, both devils immediately leave the disc, and each of them takes one letter with it. The player decides for himself which two letters he loses. He places the two devils on the devil space in the middle of the game board, and returns his letter tokens to the other tokens.
Tower Cards
Whoever turns over a tower card, or moves onto a face-up tower card, ends his move there and may immediately carry out the following two actions:
- He may look at any one face-down card, and then return that card face down to its space.
- In a tower, he may voluntarily lose a devil, returning the devil marker to the devil space.
The Devil Space
In the middle of the game board is the devil space. At the start of the game, the four devils are placed here. Whoever moves onto a devil card takes a devil from the middle and puts it in his disc. Whoever loses a devil during the game returns it to the devil space.
If devils are standing on their space, it may not be crossed. If the space is empty, one may move across it.
Other Devil Discs
One may not move across other devil discs. The only exception is the devil move (see "The Devil Move" below). No more than two discs may stand on any one card. Thus a player can move his disc onto the card where another player's disc stands.
Whoever moves his disc onto the space of a fellow player and has a devil may place that devil into the fellow player's disc. If the fellow player thereby receives his second devil, he immediately loses both devils and must hand over two letter markers.
Passing and Swapping Cards
Instead of moving his devil disc, a player may swap two cards. Only letter cards of the player's own colour and face-down cards may be swapped. To do so, the player exchanges two corresponding cards on the board with each other. Face-down cards may not be looked at, and must be returned face down.
Cards on which devil discs stand cannot be swapped. Whoever swaps two cards may not move his devil disc again in this round.
The Devil Move
As long as a player has a devil in his disc, he may perform the "devil move":
- Instead of moving his devil disc, the player may take 2 to 4 face-up cards, shuffle them, and place them face down again on any free spaces of the game board. The player may choose from all face-up cards, including devils, towers and letters of other colours. A card may never be placed on the devil space in the centre of the board.
If a player takes letter cards of his own colour, any fellow player may demand that another player shuffle the cards. However, the player making the devil move decides where the cards are placed.
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With a devil in his disc, a player may move across face-down cards without turning them over. Face-up cards may still only be crossed if one has the matching letter.
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One may move across cards on which a fellow player's disc is standing. For this, one needs no hall pass for the card on which the fellow player stands; one does not need to have the corresponding letter. A devil also cannot move across two discs on one card.
Teufel, Teufel!
If a player receives a second devil marker, the devils play especially nasty tricks on him. A second devil is received either from a fellow player, or by turning over a devil card when one already has a devil.
As soon as the second devil is received, the player must immediately return both devil markers to the devil space. In addition, each of the two devils takes one letter token with it. The player decides for himself which two letters he loses. These lost letters can, of course, be acquired again later in the course of the game.
Getting Rid of a Devil
The game board may only be left when a player has all six letters and NO devil remains in his disc. A player gets rid of his devil under the following circumstances:
- He moves onto a tower card: the devil returns to the other markers.
- He moves onto the card of a fellow player: he places his devil into that player's disc. If this gives that player his second devil, proceed as described under "Teufel, Teufel!" above.
Attention! If the fellow player is standing on a devil card, one cannot slip him a devil. Instead, one receives his second devil oneself! A devil also cannot be handed over to a fellow player on a tower card.
Devil Disc Full!
Whoever receives his sixth letter and no longer has a devil in his disc immediately takes his devil disc off the game board.
Every player who has taken his disc off the board remains in the game: each time it is his turn, he turns over two of the face-down cards.
As soon as all cards are face up, daybreak immediately ends the game.
End of the Game
The game ends with one of the following conditions:
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Only one player still has his devil disc on the game board. This poor devil has lost the game and must remain in the underworld until the next game.
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Once all cards are face up, daybreak automatically ends the game. All players who are then still in the underworld (= the game board) lose the game together.