Kakerlakentanz
Kakerlakentanz Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Materials
- 112 dance cards (in four dancing styles: Ouch, Buzz, Flap-Flap, Meep)
- 16 taboo dance cards (with mirror ball: 4 per dancing style)
- Rules of the game
Idea and objective of the game
It is disco time! Time to dance for what you are worth! As quickly as possible. However, don't forget that cockroaches have their very own, special style of dancing…
As quickly as the players have to play their cards in turn, they have to do the relevant "dance" correctly. This means that they have to do the right moves, and name the dance at the same time. Watch out – you are not allowed to make any wrong moves on the dance floor! The first person to get rid of all his cards, wins.
Preparing the game
All 128 cards are shuffled well and dealt out such that each player has the same amount of cards. Any excess cards are put to one side. Each player picks up his cards and holds his pile face down. Now it is time to shake a leg!
Playing the game
The youngest player starts. Quick as a flash, he puts the top card in his pile face up onto the table, and performs the accompanying movement ("dances") and, at the same time, without hesitation, says the name of the illustrated dance:
- "Ouch": briefly stand up
- "Meep": pinch your nose
- "Flap-Flap": flap your arms
- "Buzz": circle your finger
The game continues in a clockwise direction. In turn, each player puts his top card on the communal discard pile in the middle of the table, does his "dance" and says the name of the dance according to the following rules:
Dance rules
- The player must correctly perform and name the dance according to the card he has just put down!
- The dance the players can see on the pile / the dance which has just been performed and named, may not be performed and named. This means that, if a player plays a card with the same dance as the dance which has just been put down, he has to perform and name a different dance. Example: a Flap-Flap card is lying on the top of the pile. Rüdiger plays another Flap-Flap card and pinches his nose and says "Meep". Since a "Flap-Flap" card is currently visible on the discard pile, Rüdiger isn't allowed to perform and name this dance ("Ouch" or "Buzz" would also have been correct in this case).
- Any time a player plays a taboo dance card, he has to shout out "Stop".
- If the dance on the card the player has just put down is the same one as the currently visible taboo dance card, the player is not allowed to perform and name the dance.
Taboo dance card
Each of the four dancing styles also has four cards, each depicting a large mirror ball. Any time a player puts down such a taboo dance card, he must shout out loud "Stop!" From now on, this dance is taboo – it is forbidden to perform and name this dance as long as the taboo dance card is visible.
Once a taboo dance card has been put onto the discard pile, no cards may be put onto this pile for the time being. The next cards are then put onto a second pile next to the first one, until such time as a taboo dance card is also played onto this second pile. The player who puts down this card shouts out "Stop!" and all players once again put their cards onto the first pile, etc.
The dance on the relevant visible taboo dance card is taboo. This means that, as long as the card is visible, it is not permitted to perform or name this dance. The player must perform and name a different dance.
Attention! When changing from one discard pile to another, two taboo dance cards are visible for one single move: this means that both dances are taboo!
Wrong moves
Any wrong dance, any incorrect word, any stuttering, the muttering of "aahs" and "oohs" as well as hesitation in excess of 3 seconds is considered a wrong move! If the player makes a wrong move, he has to pick up all the cards already played, and he starts a new round.
The end of the game and the winner
The first player to get rid of all his cards ends the game and is the winner!
Example:
- Amelie plays a Buzz card, circles her finger and says, "Buzz"!
- Rüdiger plays an Ouch taboo card and shouts out, "Stop!"
- Edgar changes the discard pile, puts down a Flap-Flap card, flaps his arms and says, "Flap-Flap"!
- Claudia also puts down a Flap-Flap card, pinches her nose and says, "Meep"! (Ouch is taboo, and Flap-Flap was the last card played by Edgar. Buzz would have also been correct).
- Amelie also plays a Flap-Flap card, circles her finger and says, "Buzz"! (Ouch is taboo, Meep was the last to be said and performed, and Flap-Flap was the last card to be played).
- Rüdiger plays a Meep taboo card and shouts out, "Stop!"
- Edgar changes the discard pile, plays an Ouch card, circles his finger and says, "Buzz"! (Meep and Ouch are taboo dance cards for this move, hence both of them are taboo. Flap-Flap would have been correct too in this case).
- Claudia plays a Meep card, flaps her arms and says, "Flap-Flap"! (Meep is taboo, Buzz was the last to be said, and Ouch was the last card to be played. Flap-Flap is the only option in this case).
- Amelie plays an Ouch card, circles her finger and says, "Buzz"! This is a wrong move, and she has to pick up all cards on both discard piles! (As indicated on the card, Amelie should have stood up and said "Ouch", since the Ouch taboo card is no longer visible and no Ouch card was either played or named in the last move).
Variant for younger children
Play according to the rules above, but without the taboo dance cards.
Have fun doing the wild cockroach dance!