Fäkalini: Klempner & Zauberer Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Sequence of Play
  • Course of a Turn
  • Distribution of the Magic Tiles
  • Two Special Dice Results
• End of Game

Object of the Game

Through the clever use of the dice, the players collect magic tiles (Zauber-Plättchen), for which they receive points. But beware: Black Holes can cause you to lose points you have won by the end! Whoever has the most points in the end is the winner of the game.

Components

• 1 small game board (in 2 parts)
• 7 Nichtlustig dice (3 grey and one each in the four player colours: blue, red, green and violet)
• 4 Fäkalini tiles (in the player colours)
• 44 magic tiles (of which 28 are points tiles (tiger/rabbit) and 16 are "Black Hole" tiles)

Setup

• Before the first game, carefully punch all parts out of their frames.
• Assemble the game board and place it in the middle of the table.
• Each player chooses a colour and places the Fäkalini tile of that colour in front of them. This way everyone can always see who is playing which colour.
• The 28 points tiles (with a tiger on one side and a rabbit on the other) are placed as a supply next to the game board. Note: In a 2-player game, 10 of these tiles are returned to the box.
• The 16 "Black Hole" tiles are shuffled with the spiral side facing up and placed as a face-down pile next to the game board.
• The dice are placed ready. Note: In a game with fewer than 4 players, the dice of the player colours not chosen are removed from the game.
• The player with the most magical gaze becomes the starting player, and the show can begin.

Sequence of Play

The game is played in individual rounds. The starting player begins. The other players follow clockwise.

Course of a Turn

Whoever is on turn is Fäkalini. Therefore, at the start of their turn they place the die of their player colour on the space that shows Fäkalini's top hat (= Fäkalini space). The top-hat side of their die faces up. They then roll all the other dice and must decide:

Either they plumb (klempnern) or they perform magic (zaubern).

a) Plumbing: They must place all dice that show a toilet in the upper row. Dice placed here do not score any points. Other dice results may not be placed in the upper row. After that, they must roll all remaining dice again.

Example: Player Red is Fäkalini. They decide to plumb and place the blue and the green die, both of which show a toilet, in the upper row. They must roll the remaining 4 dice (the 3 grey ones and the violet one) again.

b) Performing magic: They must place exactly one die on a space in the lower row. However, dice showing the toilet side may not be placed here. After all, work and pleasure should not be mixed. Only in the lower row can points tiles be won. After that, they must roll all remaining dice again.

Example: After their next roll, Player Red decides to perform magic and places a grey die showing a tiger in the lower row. They must roll the remaining 3 dice (2 grey and the violet one) again.

Each time the player has rerolled all the remaining dice they have not placed, they must again decide whether to plumb (if they rolled toilets) or perform magic (for the other die faces).

The player keeps doing this until they have placed all dice on the game board. Then the magic tiles for the dice in the lower row are distributed.

Distribution of the Magic Tiles

Dice showing a toilet or a time-travelling duck yield nothing.

Everything the grey dice show in the lower row is received by the player whose Fäkalini die is on the Fäkalini space. Each opponent receives what their own die shows in the lower row.

• For each tiger, take a points tile and place it in front of you with the tiger side facing up. Each tiger is worth 2 points at the end.
• For each rabbit, take a points tile and place it in front of you with the rabbit side facing up. Each rabbit is worth 1 point at the end.
• For each Black Hole, take a "Black Hole" tile and place it in front of you without looking at the back. Since Black Holes can mean a loss of points at the end, nobody wants them!

Incidentally, because Black Holes are so unpopular, they are rarely invited to birthday parties or tea parties. To everyone's regret, they usually turn up anyway, chew with their mouths open, laugh at their own bad jokes and behave quite badly overall. It is best to avoid Black Holes beyond this game as well.

Once all magic tiles have been distributed for the dice in the lower row, the next player takes their turn. They become the new Fäkalini and therefore place their die with the Fäkalini side facing up on the Fäkalini space, roll all the other dice, and so on.

Two Special Dice Results

1. The time-travelling ducks

• If a player has a duck showing in their roll, they may place it in the lower row instead of another die when they choose to perform magic.

• However, the duck is not placed on a free space. Instead, with the duck the player must exchange a die that they have already placed in the lower row from a previous roll. The exchanged die must then be rerolled together with all the other remaining dice.

• Tigers, rabbits or Black Holes – but no other ducks – may be exchanged with a duck. As usual, only one duck may be placed in the lower row in one roll, even if several were rolled. And of course ducks may never be placed in the upper row for plumbing.

  Note: Should the (very rare) case arise that a player rolls only ducks and there is no die in the lower row that they may exchange with a duck, they must reroll these dice.

2. The true Fäkalini

• If a player has a Fäkalini in their roll, they may, instead of plumbing or performing magic, exchange this die for the die that lies on the Fäkalini space. This means that, within the same turn, another player becomes Fäkalini. The original player nevertheless remains on turn.

• The exchanged die (of their colour) must be rerolled together with all the other remaining dice.

  Note: The three grey dice do not carry a Fäkalini.

End of Game

• As soon as, at the end of a turn, all points tiles (white tigers/rabbits) or all Black Holes have been distributed, the game ends. If there are not enough matching tiles left in the supply, no tiles are distributed at the end of that turn and all players come away empty-handed.

• Before the winner is determined, all players must reveal their Black Hole tiles and score them. There are 6 goldfish, 4 tigers, 5 rabbits and 1 "little pile" (Häufchen):

  • Goldfish: Whoever reveals a goldfish suffers no loss.

    This is because goldfish are completely worthless. No, really. When did a goldfish last make a contribution to culture, science or art? Or pay you a compliment? Exactly. No loss.

  • White tiger or rabbit: Whoever reveals a tiger or a rabbit must hand in a corresponding points tile. They therefore lose 1 or 2 points.

  • The dreaded "little pile" (Häufchen): Whoever reveals the dreaded "little pile" automatically loses the game, regardless of how many tigers and rabbits they have collected!

    No magician, however good-looking and talented, can save his show when excrement suddenly flies out of interdimensional holes in the space-time fabric. Yes, poo is a real party-killer. Feel free to try this at the next family celebration if you do not believe us.

• The player who now has the most points has won. If several players are tied, the one who has collected more tigers wins. And if there is still a tie, there are several winners.

  All players congratulate the winner while gossiping behind his back about his outrageous luck. The other players also commit to addressing him only as "Great Fäkalini" until the next game – even in unsuitable situations, for example during visits to Grandma or police checks. The "Great Fäkalini", in turn, commits to wearing a thin moustache and a funny hat until the next game. Yes, it is not always easy to be a good winner.