Activity kompakt
Activity kompakt Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 110 term cards with 6 terms each
- 1 game board
- 1 sand timer
- 4 playing pieces
- Paper and pencil are additionally required.
Object of the Game
Reach the finish space by guessing the terms that are presented.
Setup
2, 3 or 4 teams of at least 2 players each can take part (for the rules for 3 players, see below). Each team receives a playing piece and places it on the start space. The term cards are sorted by the numbers on their backs, then each pile is shuffled well and placed next to the board. In addition, paper and pencil must be made available for the drawing tasks. The team that opens the game appoints one member as the first "presenter". In the following rounds the players within each team take turns as presenter in rotation.
The Game Board
The board consists of a track of 48 spaces, a start space and a finish space. Each space is marked with a colour and a symbol. The colour indicates which term on the respective card is to be presented. The symbol indicates the manner of presentation (drawing, explaining, miming).
The Cards
The numbers on the back of the term cards indicate the difficulty of the terms. In general, 3-cards contain somewhat easier terms, 4-cards medium-difficulty terms and 5-cards rather tricky tasks. The actual difficulty of a task is, however, always subjective. The six terms on the front are marked with colours and symbols. These correspond to the colours and symbols of the spaces on the game board. The colour indicates which term is to be presented, the symbol indicates the required manner of presentation. If a team's playing piece stands on a yellow space with the symbol for drawing, the term next to the yellow square on the card must be chosen and that term must be drawn. If the term itself is printed in red, it is an "Open Round" (see "Open Round").
Play
The presenter of the first team chooses one of the card piles (3, 4 or 5) and takes the top card, in such a way that his teammates cannot read the front of the card. In normal play the player has to present the term that corresponds to the colour of the space on which his team's playing piece stands. Since at the start of the game all pieces stand on the start space, each player may at first choose a term freely, but must convey it in the required manner of presentation. This applies as long as the playing piece stands on the start space. The presenter memorises the term for about 10 seconds. If no "Open Round" is being played, he shows the card to the other teams and puts it down. Now he must present the term to the members of his own team so that they can guess it. The following rules apply to the various manners of presentation:
Drawing
The term must be drawn with a pencil. The presenter may neither speak nor gesticulate, but he may let his teammates know by nodding his head that they have guessed part of the term correctly. The drawing may contain neither letters nor numbers.
Explaining
The term must be described in words. He may use neither the word itself nor parts of it nor derived forms.
Miming
The term must be presented in mime. The presenter may neither speak, nor make any sounds, nor use or point to objects in the room. He may, however, point to his own body parts.
Attention: If a player disregards these rules, his team may not move on, and the next team takes its turn.
A time limit applies to every task, determined by the sand timer. This is monitored by the players of the opposing teams. They also monitor compliance with the rules. It should also be agreed before the game begins how exactly the terms must be guessed - for example whether, for "Tierliebhaber" (animal lover), "Tierfreund" (animal friend) is also sufficient. If the team succeeds in guessing the term within the given time, its playing piece may move forward the number of spaces corresponding to the card value. If it does not guess the term, the playing piece stays where it is. Now the next team is up. The first player chooses a card pile, takes a card, etc.
Knocking Back
When a team has solved a task and moves its playing piece forward, it may happen that it lands on a space already occupied by the playing piece of another team. In this case the playing piece occupying the space must move back one space. Knocking back is only possible when moving forward after solving a task, not when a piece is sent backwards (in such cases two pieces may stand on one space). The choice of card value makes it possible to knock back an opponent deliberately (see "Game Tips").
Open Round
If a term is printed in red, this task is played as an "Open Round". In this case the presenter must not show the drawn card to anyone (compliance with this rule is monitored), because everyone taking part in the game may guess along, not only the presenter's team. If a player of another team succeeds in guessing the term, his team may move forward 4 spaces. The presenter's team may move forward 2 spaces. If in this case both playing pieces land on the same space, knocking back does not apply. If a member of the presenter's team guesses the term, that team moves its piece forward 6 spaces. An "Open Round" exists on all cards; the point value printed on the back does not count for Open Rounds.
Rules for 3 Players
Each player chooses a playing piece and places it on the start space. In the game for three people there are only "Open Rounds", regardless of whether the term is printed in red or black. Each player tries to present the given term to his two fellow players. If the term is guessed, both the presenter and the player who guessed the term may move their playing pieces forward by the value given on the back of the card. If neither of the two fellow players guesses the presented term, the next player takes his turn. For the presentation of the individual terms and the moving of the playing pieces, the same rules apply as for the game with 2 or more teams. Knocking back does not apply in the game with 3 persons.
End of the Game
The team whose playing piece first reaches the finish space, or moves beyond it, wins.
Game Tips
- The terms consist of at least 2 words. As a whole term they are often hard to present. But if one presents the two parts separately, the task is usually much easier to solve. Example: drawing "Ohrwurm" (earworm) is very hard, but "Ohr" (ear) and "Wurm" (worm) can be drawn separately quite easily. When splitting the word in this way, one should show the guessers which part one is currently presenting, for example by first dividing the sheet into two halves with a dividing line when drawing. When explaining, one can tell this to the teammates; when miming, convey it with one or two fingers respectively.
- The possibility of knocking back an opposing playing piece gives the game an appealing tactical component. In some game situations one can influence whether one moves onto an occupied space (and thereby sends an opposing piece back) by choosing a card with the necessary point value.
- Most players have their strengths and weaknesses. If, for example, I am good at drawing but weak at the other manners of presentation, I can play to my strengths by choosing a higher card value for "Drawing" and a lower card value for "Explaining" and "Miming".
- The length of the game can be shortened or extended by agreeing before the game to increase or decrease the card values by 1 or 2.
- The game for three is, by experience, considerably shorter.