Biberbande Schnupperspiel
Biberbande Schnupperspiel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
66 cards:
- 45 number cards (4 each of the values 0 to 8, and 9 of the value 9)
- 21 special cards (9x Swap, 7x Peek and 5x Draw Twice)
1 score pad
Players: 2-6. Age: 6 and up. Duration: about 20 minutes.
Idea & Goal of the Game
In Biberbande you cleverly swap the cards in front of you. At the end of a round you want to have the lowest possible values in your own display. The catch: all cards lie face down and you have to remember them. Special cards also make them change positions every now and then. So you have to keep track and end the round at the right time. Whoever has the fewest points after several rounds wins.
Setup
Shuffle all the cards and deal four cards face down to each player. Place the remaining cards in the middle of the table as a face-down draw pile. Turn the top card of the draw pile face up and place it next to the pile. It forms the face-up discard pile.
Lay out your four cards in a row face down in front of you, without looking at them (no cheating!). Look briefly at the two outer cards of your row and memorize them well.
Course of Play
Whoever last gnawed on wood starts the first round. In total you play as many rounds as there are players. A different player starts each round.
Exception: In a two-player game you play four rounds.
Within a round you take turns several times in clockwise order. On your turn you choose exactly one of the following two actions and carry it out.
Action A - Draw the top card of the face-down draw pile
Look at the drawn card without showing it to the others. You now have the following options:
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If you drew a number card, you may swap it for one of the cards lying face down in front of you. Choose any one of your four cards, turn it face up and place it on the discard pile. On the space that became free, place the newly drawn number card face down.
Example: Ina draws a card from the draw pile and looks at it. It is a number card. She turns over any one of her four cards and places it on the discard pile. She places the drawn card face down in the space that became free.
Important: Make sure the others do not get to see the value of your new card.
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If you drew a special card, you may carry out its corresponding special action (see The Special Cards). Afterwards, place the special card on the discard pile.
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Place the drawn card on the discard pile unused. It makes no difference whether it is a number card or a special card.
Is the draw pile used up? Then leave the top card of the discard pile in place, shuffle the remaining cards of the discard pile and set them out as the new draw pile.
Action B - Take the top card of the face-up discard pile
You can only choose this action if the top card is a number card. Swap the drawn card for one of the cards lying face down in front of you. Choose any one of your four cards, turn it face up and place it on the discard pile. On the space that became free, place the number card taken from the discard pile face down.
Once you have carried out your action, the player to your left is next and likewise chooses one of the two actions.
The Special Cards
If you draw a special card with Action A, you may carry out its special action. Afterwards you place the special card face up on the discard pile.
Swap
Take one of the cards lying face down in front of you and swap it for a card of any other player. Important: Make sure that nobody sees the faces of the two swapped cards.
Peek
Choose any one of your four cards and look at it secretly. Afterwards put it back face down in its place.
Draw Twice
Draw one or two cards from the draw pile and use them as described in Action A. First draw the first card. If you use it 1. as a number card or 2. as a special card, the special action Draw Twice is over. If, however, you place the drawn card on the discard pile 3. unused, you may draw a second card from the draw pile and carry out Action A with it.
End of a Round (Knocking)
If you are satisfied with your four cards, after carrying out your action you may ring in the end of the round. To do so, knock clearly on the table and announce: "Last round!". Now all the other players get one more turn. Once the player to your right has carried out their action, the round ends and you score.
Important: Knocking is only allowed once every player has had at least one turn.
Scoring a Round
Turn your four cards face up. Is there a special card among them? Then draw cards from the draw pile until you reveal a number card. Replace the special card in your display with this number card. If you have several special cards, replace each of them accordingly with a number card from the draw pile.
Note: If several of you have to replace special cards at the end of the round, the player who knocked begins. The others follow in clockwise order.
Once all of you have only number cards in front of you, add up the values of your own four cards. Write down each player's score on the pad and start the next round. To do so, shuffle all the cards and deal four cards to each player again. The new round is started by the player to the left of the one who started the previous round.
Example: For Rudi, 7 points (1+2+1+3) are noted, for Ina 11 points (4+2+0+5). Justin still has to replace his special card before scoring. For this he draws a number card from the draw pile. Finally, 12 points (0+4+8+0) are noted on the pad for Justin.
End of the Game
Once you have played as many rounds as there are players, the game ends. (Exception: with two players the game ends after four rounds.) After scoring the last round, add up your points. Whoever has collected the fewest points in total wins.