Aku Ankka
Aku Ankka Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Game board, 250 question cards, 50 event cards, 6 character pawns and plastic stands, 6 cardboard Ensilantti dimes, i.e. the Number One Dime (5 fake and 1 genuine), 6 cardboard Route cards (1 for each character), a spinner, a step counter and a marker pin (pelikeila), 24 character tokens (4 for each character).
Object of the Game
Be the first player to complete all of your destinations and deliver the Ensilantti to the money bin.
Setup
When playing for the first time, attach the arrow to the spinner: press the round holder through the hole in the spinner from the back side, then press the arrow onto the holder from the front side of the spinner.
Lay out the game board on the table where everyone can reach it. Separate the event cards from the question cards and shuffle the event cards carefully. Place the cards in their own piles beside the game board, text side down. The question cards may be made into more than one pile.
Each player takes one character, that character's Route card and that character's character tokens. At this point, decide together whether you will play a normal game or a quick game. If you play a quick game, place the Route cards in front of the players with the side marked "pikapeli" (quick game) face up. In a normal game, place the card the other way round. Each player places their character on the plastic stand and then places the character on the starting point shown on their Route card. Place the step counter beside the game board, where everyone can see it. Place the marker pin on top of the step counter.
Drawing the Ensilantti
Place the genuine Ensilantti and the fake Ensilantti on the table picture side down, so that there are as many dimes as there are players. Shuffle them and deal one dime to each player. Everyone now checks their dime, and any player who has received a fake Ensilantti immediately returns it to the game box. Only the player who received the genuine Ensilantti places it picture side up in front of them. The owner of the Ensilantti must always keep it visible to the other players.
Course of Play
In the game, players try to visit the destinations on their own Route card faster than the other players. The holder of the Ensilantti tries, as the final task, to bring the Ensilantti to Roope Ankka's money bin. The other characters try to capture the Ensilantti for themselves, so that they can carry it to the money bin and win the game.
The youngest player begins the game. The player whose turn it is always has 5 steps available during their turn, and the use of these steps is tracked by moving the marker pin on the step counter. At the start of a new turn, the marker pin of the step counter is placed on "5". Steps may be used for four purposes:
- Movement: moving your character one space on the game board costs 1 step.
- A question: one question costs 2 steps. You may choose this option only while standing in a circle that has a coloured (not white) background. When you answer correctly, you may draw an event card, which may give you extra steps or the right to use Pelle's invention machine, for example. Among the cards are also Milla Magia, the Beagle Boys and other villains, so be on your guard!
- Spinning the Wheel of Fortune: spinning the Wheel of Fortune costs 2 steps. By spinning the Wheel of Fortune you may win extra steps, which will speed up your journey towards victory.
- Capturing the Ensilantti: when your character reaches the game board circle where the Ensilantti holder's character stands, and your character has visited at least as many destinations as the holder, you may capture the Ensilantti for yourself at a cost of 1 step.
Uses of Steps
You may freely combine the uses of steps during your own turn, as long as the total number of steps used does not exceed the number of steps available. Unused steps are tracked by moving the marker pin on the step counter. A player must use all of their steps on their own turn, except when stepping into the money bin as the winner!
Route Card Destinations
During the game you must visit all the destinations marked on your Route card in the order given on the card. When you reach a destination, leave one of your character's tokens there. This makes it easy to check who has visited which destinations.
The destinations shown on the rules page (picture labels) are:
- Aku's House (Akun talo)
- Iines's House (Iineksen talo)
- Grandma's Farm (Mummon maatila)
- Roope's Money Bin (Roopen rahasäiliö)
- Billionaire Club (Miljardööriklubi)
- Statue of Julle Ankanpää (Julle Ankanpään patsas)
- Pelle's Workshop (Pellen paja)
- Karhukoplan mörskä (the printed label, kept untranslated)
- Margarine Factory (Margariinitehdas)
Questions and Answering
The questions in the game are divided into four topic areas:
- Aku and Companions (Blue): these questions concern the residents of Ankkalinna, their likes, hobbies, enemies and much more.
- Stories (Green): these questions concern Aku Ankka stories published in Finland.
- This and That (Yellow): this topic area contains miscellaneous questions about the Aku Ankka world.
- Pictures (Red): questions in this topic area always concern the picture on the reverse side of the same card.
Every question has answer options, which the players do not have to use unless they wish to. A player who considers themselves an Aku Ankka expert may generously hand the other players a handicap by announcing that they will play the whole game without answer options. Winning without answer options is a true feat of heroism, so we recommend this option to all Aku Ankka experts!
The step circles on the game board show which topic area's question you can obtain from that circle for the step cost. You cannot buy a question for yourself in a white circle.
When a player has decided to buy a question for themselves, and 2 steps have been deducted from the steps available to them, the player sitting to their left draws the top card from the question card pile they chose and reads the question of the correct topic area aloud (and the answer options, if wanted). If the player answers the question correctly, they may draw a card from the event card pile and then follow the instructions on the card. The question card is placed immediately after use at the bottom of its own pile.
Example: At the start of Kalle's turn, the marker pin is placed on number 5 of the step counter. Kalle decides to move three steps across the board, so the marker pin is moved three notches clockwise. The marker pin now shows that Kalle has two unused steps. Kalle decides to buy a question for himself, so the marker pin is moved two notches further, and Kalle no longer has any unused steps. Kalle answers the question correctly, however, so he draws an event card. The event card is the Magic Cloak, which gives Kalle 4 steps. The marker pin is moved four notches backwards, so Kalle again has 4 unused steps, and his turn continues.
Capturing the Ensilantti
When a player steps onto a board circle with the same circle as the Ensilantti holder, the player may capture the dime, provided they have at least one unused step and they have visited at least as many destinations on their Route card as the holder of the dime. A player can therefore try to protect themselves against capture by visiting their destinations faster than the other players. When you receive the Ensilantti from an event card or through Pelle's invention, the number of destinations you have visited and the number of unused steps do not affect it. You may make only one capture attempt on your turn.
When the Ensilantti is captured from you, you must visit your next destination before you may try to capture the dime again, unless you have already visited your last destination before the money bin. A dime you have lost cannot be captured back on the very next turn, even if you visit your next destination on that turn.
The Spinner
The spinner has two functions: the Wheel of Fortune (the inner orange-shaded area) and Pelle's invention machine (the outer ring).
The Wheel of Fortune may be spun at a cost of two steps. By spinning the Wheel of Fortune you may win either 0 steps, 3 steps or 6 steps.
Pelle's invention machine may be spun only when an event card gives you the right to do so. The result is one of the following options:
- Time machine: you reach your next destination.
- Coin magnet: the Ensilantti passes into the ownership of the player whose turn it is.
- Character swap: the player may decide which other player's character they wish to swap their own character with. In this case the players also hand each other the cards they hold, as well as any Ensilantti they possess. The characters' positions on the board do not change, and the destinations visited by a character remain as they are (that is, the character tokens stay where they are).
- Molecular transporter: you may return another player's character to their previous destination.
- Downsizing machine: you have only 3 steps available on your next turn.
Winning the Game
When you have visited all the destinations on your Route card and you hold the Ensilantti, you win the game by stepping into the money bin circle.
Rules in Brief
- Each player places their character on the starting point of their Route card on the game board.
- The owner of the Ensilantti is drawn at random.
- All players try to visit the destinations on their own Route card by moving on the game board and leaving their tokens there.
- A player who does not hold the Ensilantti tries to capture it for themselves.
- On your own turn you may freely choose how to use your 5 steps. The different uses of steps and their prices are:
- Moving one step: 1 step
- Question: 2 steps (answering a question correctly lets you draw an event card)
- Wheel of Fortune: 2 steps
- Capturing the Ensilantti: 1 step
- The Ensilantti may be captured for yourself when:
- you are in the same circle as the Ensilantti holder,
- you have visited at least as many destinations as the Ensilantti holder,
- you have at least 1 unused step.
- If you lose the dime, you must first visit the next destination before the money bin (if any remain) to be able to recapture it.
- A dime you have lost can never be recaptured on the very next turn.
- The player who carries the Ensilantti into the money bin after visiting all their destinations wins the game.
The package contains a wonderful surprise picture that does not belong to the game. Here you go!