Bremen
Bremen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 52 pieces (4 kinds of animals: Chicken, Donkey, Dog, Cat, with one piece each numbered "1" to "13" per animal)
- 1 rulebook
Each piece shows the number on its front side and only the animal's silhouette on its back side.
Object of the Game
The game is played over 12 rounds.
Each player plays one piece per round from the 13 pieces dealt to them at the start.
When 12 rounds have been played (that is, when every player has exactly 1 piece left in hand), if both of the following two conditions are met, all players win together. If one or both conditions are not met, all players lose together.
3 players
- Condition 1: Of the 3 players, one has won 24 pieces, another has won 12 pieces, and the remaining one has won 0 pieces.
- Condition 2: The 1 piece left in each of the 3 players' hands, plus the 1 piece placed face up in the center of the table during setup, make a total of 4 pieces, and all 4 are of different animals.
4 players
- Condition 1: Of the 4 players, one has won 24 pieces, another 16 pieces, another 8 pieces, and the remaining one 0 pieces.
- Condition 2: The 4 pieces left in the 4 players' hands, 1 each, are all of different animals.
Game Setup
- With 3 players, return the "1", "2" and "3" pieces of each animal (12 pieces in total) to the box and use the remaining 40 pieces. With 4 players, use all 52 pieces.
- Mix all the pieces to be used face down (number side down) and arrange them in one large circle. (It is good for everyone to do this together.)
- In clockwise order, each player takes one piece at a time from the circle, keeping it face down. First, the player who keeps the most chickens takes any one piece, face down. The player to their left takes the piece that is next clockwise from the piece just taken. Repeat this until each player has taken 13 pieces. With 3 players, 1 piece is left over. Place the leftover piece face up (number side up) in the center of the table.
- Stand the pieces you took in front of you, so that the numbers on their fronts cannot be seen by the other players.
Note: If at this point any player has 8 or more Chicken pieces in their hand, they must immediately tell everyone, and all pieces must be redealt. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until no player has 8 or more Chicken pieces in hand.
How to Play
With 3 players, the player who holds the Donkey "4" piece (if the Donkey "4" is in the center of the table, the player who holds the Donkey "5") becomes the leader of the 1st round.
With 4 players, the player who holds the Donkey "1" piece becomes the leader of the 1st round.
Round 1
Starting with the leader and going clockwise, each player plays one piece from their hand face up in front of them.
First, the leader plays any one piece from their hand (any animal, any number).
Each following (non-leader) player plays one piece according to these rules:
- If you have a piece of the same animal the leader played: You must play any one piece of that animal. (Any number is fine.)
- Note: This rule is easy to forget until you get used to it. Since the pieces are shaped so that the animal can be identified by shape alone, it is good to play while checking with each other that the rules are being followed.
- If you have no piece of the same animal the leader played: Play any one piece (any animal, any number).
When every player has played one piece, decide who wins all the pieces played this round (3 pieces with 3 players, 4 pieces with 4 players) as follows.
- If one or more Chicken pieces were played: The player who played the Chicken piece with the highest number wins all the pieces played.
- If no Chicken pieces were played: The player who played the piece with the highest number among those of the same animal as the leader's piece wins all the pieces played.
Example 1:
- Player A (leader) = Donkey 7
- Player B = Donkey 4
- Player C = Dog 10
- Player D = Donkey 8
In this case, Player D, who played the "8", the highest number among the Donkey pieces (the animal the leader A played), wins all 4 pieces played this round. Player C should also have played a Donkey piece, but had no Donkey piece in hand and so played a Dog piece. The Dog's number "10" is the highest among all players, but because it is not a Donkey piece, C cannot win the pieces.
Round 2 onward
The player who won the pieces in the previous round becomes the leader of the new round.
The new leader plays any one piece from their hand (any animal, any number).
After that, as in the first round, each player plays one piece, and the player who wins the played pieces is determined.
Example 2:
- Player A (leader) = Donkey 6
- Player B = Chicken 3
- Player C = Chicken 1
- Player D = Cat 8
In this case, Player B, who played the highest-numbered Chicken piece, "3", wins all 4 pieces played this round. Players B, C and D should have played Donkey pieces, but because they had no Donkey piece in hand, each played a piece of an animal other than Donkey.
The one player who qualifies as above wins all the pieces played this round, and places them face down on their own side (take care not to mix them with their own pieces in hand that have not yet been played). The numbers on the fronts of the pieces won can no longer be checked until the game ends.
Communication during Play
From the start of setup until the end of the game, players may not tell the other players the specific numbers of the pieces remaining in their hands, nor give hints that would let them directly identify a number.
Within the limits of the above rule, you may discuss anything.
Examples of OK communication:
- "I have one I want to get rid of, so I'd like someone to play a fairly high number next."
- "If you start with a Chicken next, we'll win!"
Examples of NG communication:
- "I have a Chicken '8' in hand, so it's fine!"
- "I don't have any number bigger than that left in hand..."
End of the Game
The game ends when the pieces of round 12 have been won and each player has just 1 piece left in hand.
At the end of round 12, if both Condition 1 and Condition 2 described above are met, all players win. If one or both conditions are not met, all players lose.
Score and Titles on Victory
If you have won the game, you can calculate the score and measure how wonderful the players' teamwork was.
Calculate the score as follows.
- Check the "number on the piece remaining in the hand of the player who won 24 pieces."
- From the number in step 1, subtract the "number on the piece remaining in the hand of the player who won no pieces."
- Add 12 to the number from step 2. This number is this game's score.
Example: At the end of the game, each player's number of pieces won and the number of the piece remaining in their hand were as follows.
| Player | Pieces won | Number on remaining piece |
|---|---|---|
| A | 24 | 6 |
| B | 16 | 2 |
| C | 8 | 10 |
| D | 0 | 8 |
This game's score is the number of Player A's remaining piece "6" - the number of Player D's remaining piece "8" + 12 = 10 points.
Depending on the score, all players are awarded the following title. Congratulations!
4 players
| Score | Title |
|---|---|
| 24 | The Exceptionally Wonderful Best Band in Town |
| 20-23 | The Deeply Moving Band |
| 15-19 | The Thrilling Band |
| 10-14 | The Spirited Band |
| 5-9 | The Stylish Band |
| 0-4 | The Dreaming Band |
3 players
| Score | Title |
|---|---|
| 21 | The Exceptionally Wonderful Best Band in Town |
| 17-20 | The Deeply Moving Band |
| 13-16 | The Thrilling Band |
| 9-12 | The Spirited Band |
| 4-8 | The Stylish Band |
| 0-3 | The Dreaming Band |