Thrill Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Material
• Set-up
• Play of the Game
  • Who starts?
  • Who must push?
  • What happens in the event of a tie?
  • How do you push?
  • Did any disks fall off?
  • How does the game continue?
  • Out of chips?
  • Who wins?
• Now Some Hints
• Variant
  • Additional game material
  • Set-up
  • Play of the game
  • Weight-cards
  • Wagers

Game Material

1 gameboard, 1 pusher, 1 base, 1 rubber ring, 7 big disks, 10 medium disks, 15 small disks, 60 big chips, 15 small chips, 24 wager-cards, 12 weight-cards, 1 weight

A constant dilemma, in which the players - and the valuable chips - become bit by bit - ever fewer! Whenever a player is out of chips, he's out of the game. The winner is the last player left.

Set-up

The gameboard is socketed into the hole in the base and is held in place by pushing the rubber ring over the neck of the board from the underside of the base. These two parts can be left assembled thereafter.

The pusher is placed in accordance with the illustration (page 2 of the German rules) on the slightly larger half of the board ("sliding surface"). It can now be pushed forward (up to the blocking edge) and backward (up to the two small retaining pins).

All the disks are placed face-up in any order on the somewhat smaller half of the board ("playing surface") - except for two big and two medium disks, which are placed next to the board.

[2 medium and 2 big disks in reserve; all the others are placed on the playing surface]

Slide the pusher up to the blocking edge to make sure that none of the disks stick out into the sliding surface. Afterwards, pull the pusher back again.

Give 10 big chips to each player.

[Each player: 10 blue chips]

The small chips, the various cards, and the weight remain in the box; they are only used in the variant game.

Play of the Game

Who starts?

The youngest player starts. He is the Disk Boss for the first round. He selects one of the four disks that has not yet been placed on the playing surface and sets it in front of himself where all the players can see it. This disk must now be placed, using the pusher, onto the playing surface so that it is grouped in with the other disks.

[The Disk Boss selects a disk from the reserve]

Who must push?

This is determined by a bidding round. Each player secretly takes any number of his chips (it's possible to chose 0) into his hand and puts his closed fist on the table. Once all players have done this, players open their hands and reveal their bids. Whoever bid the fewest chips must push.

[Players with the fewest chips must push]

All players then give up the chips they bid; they are collected in a pile beside the board.

[All chips used to bid are lost]

What happens in the event of a tie?

If several players bid the same fewest number of chips, the one closest to the Disk Boss's left must push; the Disk Boss himself is considered to be the farthest from his left for purposes of breaking ties (a considerable advantage!).

[Ties are broken according to seating order!]

Example:

A: 0 chips, B: 1 chip, C: 0 chips, D: 2 chips, E: 0 chips

B and D will not have to push in any case, since they did not bid the fewest chips.

• If A is the Disk Boss, C will have to push.
• If B is the Disk Boss, C will have to push, as well.
• If C is the Disk Boss, E will have to push.
• If D is the Disk Boss, E will have to push, as well.
• If E is the Disk Boss, A will have to push.

How do you push?

The player who must push - let's call him Max - pulls the pusher back all the way and then places the disk chosen by the Disk Boss at any point between the pusher and the blocking edge (see the cross-hatched area in the illustration on page 3 of the German rules). Then he must slowly and steadily slide the pusher forward, pushing the disk onto the playing surface. Once Max has begun pushing, he may not reposition the disk. The pusher must always be pushed forward all the way to the blocking edge (even if disks have already fallen off).

[The pusher must always be pushed to the blocking edge]

Did any disks fall off?

For all disks that fell off during the pushing process, Max must pay:

• for each small disk 1 chip
• for each medium disk 2 chips
• for each big disk 3 chips

[Fallen disks cost: small disk = 1 chips, medium disk = 2 chips, large disk = 3 chips]

The paid chips are placed with the others on the storage pile.

Fallen disks are placed in the reserve and can be placed back on the board again later in the game.

[Fallen disks go into the reserve]

How does the game continue?

The Disk Boss for the next round is Max. He selects a new disk from the reserve and places it in front of himself. Another bidding round takes place; the player who bids the fewest chips becomes Max and must push, etc. This process continues, from round to round, with the players' chip supply steadily growing smaller.

[Max becomes the new Disk Boss]

Out of chips?

If Max should not have enough chips to be able to pay for all the disks that fell off when he was pushing, he is out of the game.

[Whoever can't pay is eliminated]

If he should end up with exactly zero chips left (for example, he must pay 4 chips and he has exactly 4 chips left), he is still in the game.

[You can keep playing if you end up with exactly 0 chips]

If a player is eliminated, the player to his left becomes the Disk Boss for the next turn and chooses the next disk. Otherwise the game plays the same with fewer and fewer players.

Who wins?

Play continues until only one player is left. That player is the winner. (It is possible for a player who has no chips left to still win the game!)

[The last player left wins]

Now Some Hints

1. It is a good idea to keep the actual number of chips that you have left secret. This is especially true if you have no chips left.

   [The number of chips you have left is secret]

2. It is also useful to make comments on the current game situation in order to confuse or mislead the other players: "Well, there's a lot of room left on the playing surface - the big disk will fit in easily..." when, in reality, the situation is very tight and you are planning on bidding at least 3 chips.

   [Make comments on the game situation - even if you're bluffing]

3. When it's your turn to push, you may rotate the entire board into a comfortable position for you. If any disks fall off while you're doing this, however, you must pay for them - therefore turn verrry carefully!

Variant

Additional game material

• 12 wager-cards: "No disk falls"
• 12 wager-cards: "At least 1 disk falls"
• 12 weight-cards
• 15 small chips
• 1 weight

Set-up

In addition to the 10 big chips, each player also gets 6 cards: 2 wager-cards and 2 weight-cards. The weight and the small chips are set beside the board. All other preparations remain the same.

[Each player: 10 big chips, 2 wager-cards, 2 weight-cards]

Play of the game

The game remains the same, with the following modifications:

First Max announces (and this is binding!) if he is going to play a weight-card or not. Then everyone (including Max) can play a wager-card. After wagering is complete, Max places the disk and possibly - depending on his announcement - the weight.

Weight-cards

Twice in the game each player can place the weight. To do this, he places - if he is Max - one of his two weight cards face-up in front of him (it is then removed from the game) and then places the weight on any disk on the playing surface. The weight may not touch more than one disk. When the player has finished the pushing process, he takes the weight off the disk again and sets it back beside the board. If the disk that had the weight on it falls off when the weight is removed, Max must pay for it. If the disk with the weight on it falls off during the pushing process, Max must pay double the penalty amount for that disk.

[A player can place the weight on any disk twice in the game]

Wagers

Each player can, if he wishes before Max places the disk, make a wager on whether or not at least one disk will fall off. To do this, he places the appropriate wager-card - face-down - in front of him.

All played wager-cards are turned face-up after pushing is complete. Whoever wagered incorrectly loses his card (it is removed from the game).

Whoever wagered correctly gets his card back plus one small black chip from the reserve. Whenever a player has three of these chips, he may cash them in for one big blue chip that he can then use as normal.

[Whoever wishes can wager: incorrect wager: lose the card; correct wager: get the card back + 1 small chip]

[For 3 small chips get 1 one big chip]

Whenever a player is eliminated, he loses all his remaining wager-cards, weight-cards, and small chips. Then, as previously described, the player to his left continues the play.

The winner is still the last one left in the game.