Anno Domini: Flopps
Anno Domini: Flopps Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Cards
The front side (black) names an event of world history, though not always a world-shaking one. The back side (colored) names the Year of the Lord, ANNO DOMINI, in which this event took place.
ANNO DOMINI is an expandable game. You can buy further series and mix them with this one — we warmly recommend the Wild Mix. Every new color in the mixture will increase the fun of the game. But of course ANNO DOMINI can also be played with the cards of a single series.
Deal
Now deal 9 cards to each player. At random, of course — choosing is strictly forbidden. And one more thing is strictly forbidden: looking at the back sides.
Everybody lays their cards out in front of them, face up, with the black-printed event side showing. The rest of the cards is placed as a stack in the middle. Here too: events facing up, the colored solution year (the back side) not visible.
Important: leave the cards on the table during the game! When you move your cards, slide them; do not wave them around in the air — otherwise your fellow players will unintentionally learn solution years that you had better keep secret.
A Chain of Unholy Events
The chain begins with the top card of the stack. Event 1 is read out loud and the card is placed on the table visible to everybody — its back side stays secret from everybody.
The owner of the game begins.
They choose one of their cards, read it out, and place it above the first card if they believe their event 2 took place before event 1; they place it below the first card if they believe their event 2 took place after event 1.
Going around, the players add one of their cards to the chain of events in this way. They may insert their card anywhere in the chain, so also between cards that have already been laid out, if they believe their event fits in there chronologically.
Doubt
Doubt is often better than blind trust.
Whoever is on turn and believes that they have discovered mistakes in the existing chain of events may correct them before they insert their new card and pass the chain on.
But they may also decide not to add a further card and instead to publicly doubt the chronological order of the events. In that case a round of play comes to an end.
All cards of the chain are turned over from top to bottom.
- If the chronological order is correct, the doubter is punished: they must take four new cards from the stack (as always: without looking at the back sides).
- If the chain of events shows any error whatsoever, the doubter's predecessor — the player who laid down an event last — takes two new cards from the stack.
Be it even a single little year, and completely independently of who laid down the chronologically faulty card: the last one gets bitten by the dogs.
So whoever does not express any doubt and lays a card into the row thereby accepts the whole chain of events, and under some circumstances has to take responsibility for it towards the distrustful next player.
After the round of play, the cards of the chain are cleared away. They have done their duty for today, they may go (after Schiller — 1783).
A New Round
A new round begins with a new starting card from the stack.
The first player is now the doubter. Then it goes nicely around again.
Special case: the new beginning is somewhat harder for a player who has only a single card left. Instead of one card they must take two cards from the stack straight away, order these, and insert their last card.
Reversal of the Direction of Play
The reversal of the direction of play happens immediately and once only, as soon as a player has only two cards left.
Winning
The winner is whoever is the first to get rid of their last card — in a correct chain, of course. Without doubt the following player will express doubt once again. If a mistake comes to light, there are two new cards, and the game goes into overtime.
Explanations and Examples
The Decisive Year
The decisive year is printed clearly and in bold on the back side of the card.
Supplementary comments, including indications of month and day, remain without influence on the game.
Some cards offer spans of time as the solution, for example '1903 – 1907' or '5th c. BC'.
Explanations:
- c. (Jh., century) means century. A century lasts from the year 01 to the year 00. Example: the 20th century began in 1901 and ends with the year 2000.
- um (around, approximately) means that the event cannot be pinned down exactly in time. For the purposes of the game, 5 years before and after are recognized as correct. Example: in the case of 'around 1900', the years 1895 to 1905 count as correct.
The First Appearance
The first appearance of a thing, the beginning of an event, is what counts, unless a span of time is clearly asked for.
Examples:
- A) 'Humans on the Moon' asks about the first Moon landing by Apollo 11 — an answer such as '2025' is wrong, even though it cannot be ruled out that there will again be humans on the Moon at that time.
- B) 'Sweetened condensed milk on the market' asks about its market launch. That it is still available today is splendid, but has nothing to do with the matter.
Simultaneous and Chronologically Overlapping Events
Simultaneous and chronologically overlapping events are handled according to the principle 'In dubio pro reo'. The chain counts as correct.
Examples:
- A) One event took place in the 8th century BC, a second in 805 BC, the third in the 1st millennium BC. No. 2 took place before No. 1, because the 8th century BC lasted from 800–701 BC, while No. 3 overlaps chronologically with the two other events and may be placed among them in any position.
- B) Two events happened in 1987, the third 'around 1990', a fourth in 1991. If No. 4 was placed after No. 1 and No. 2, the order is correct. No. 3 means 'between 1985 and 1995', therefore overlaps with the other three events and may be placed among them in any position, including between the two 1987 cards. Indications of month and day within the year 1987 are irrelevant; the two cards are of equal value.
Place Names
Place names without a direct connection to the event are simply place names and not cryptic hints about the year being sought.
Example: 'Neanderthals live in the Neandertal near Düsseldorf' does not mean to say that the fashion center Düsseldorf already existed in the epoch being sought.
Tactical Hints
Well — self-assurance is a virtue, above all when you know nothing. The player after you will think twice about whether they want to doubt your chain if you declare your event to be a clear-cut matter and insert it quickly, decisively and more or less sensibly.
As a devious variant, you can also play the unsure one now and then, while you place a rock-solid event in a correct chain...
Psychology and a certain feeling for sequences are much more important in ANNO DOMINI than specialist historical knowledge. Do not let your ignorance discourage you! You can safely assume that your fellow players do not have all the dates of these strange events stored in their little grey cells either, and that, just like you, they often have to guess.
Use your common sense, estimate, sell your solutions well. Never forget: what you lay down does not necessarily have to be right — above all it has to seem credible to the table neighbour playing after you.
If you have completely lost track in the face of a long chain, then go ahead and express doubt. Usually there is a nasty surprise in there somewhere.
If possible, hold back an event that you can place well in time as a safe closing card. Conversely, place the little cards that cause you great worries, to the best of your knowledge and conscience, in short chains, which are certainly doubted less often than the tapeworms.
Who Plays ANNO DOMINI?
In principle the game is suitable for 2 – 10 players; the ideal number is 3 to 6. With large groups we recommend dealing out fewer cards than the usual 9 at the start.
Children can join in as soon as they can read fluently. Experience shows that they soon make up for their smaller historical knowledge through skilful tactics — and they learn quickly. Once the used little cards are mixed back into the game, the ability to learn pays off. The group can also decide to deal fewer cards to participating children at the start.
Credits
Idea, compilation and editing: Urs Hostettler Copy editing: Klaus Bubert Graphics: Res Brandenberger
For inputs, information and playtests we thank: Andrea Strommer, Katharina Siegenthaler, the teams of ABACUSSPIELE and Fata Morgana.
The Series Published So Far
Kirche & Staat / Schweiz / Sex & Crime / Lifestyle / Natur / Erfindungen / Frauen / Seefahrer & Flieger / Sport / Kunst / Flops / Deutschland (with Uwe Rosenberg) / Münzen / Im Namen des Gesetzes / VIP / Spiel des Jahres (with Bernward Thole) / Österreich / Wort, Schrift, Buch / Showbizz / America / Europa / Im Osten / Süden / Fussball (with Mämä Sykora) / Wissenschaft & Forschung / Bern / Reisen & Verkehr / Gesundheit (with Konrad Bochennek) / Essen & Trinken / Kuriositäten / Maschinen
A Note on Sources
We are aware of one thing: even usually reliable sources can be wrong. Facts can change, research brings new findings to light. We are open to criticism, corrections and new questions (whenever possible with a citation of the source!). Where corrections are necessary, we will make them in future printings (we firmly hope for them — buy, people, buy!). A corrigenda for ANNO DOMINI can be found at urs.fatamorgana.ch/adpleite.html. We always keep it up to our latest state of knowledge. Correspondence please to [email protected].
We plan new thematic series for ANNO DOMINI at loose intervals. Information about our new releases and our range can be found for Switzerland at www.fatamorgana.ch, and for Germany and Austria at www.abacusspiele.de.
Have fun with bluffing and half-knowledge!
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