Pferdeäppel
Pferdeäppel Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 2 playing pieces: one brown horse and one white horse
- 28 brown "Pferdeäppel"
- 12 golden "Pferdeäppel"
- 1 game board
1. Short Description
"Pferdeäppel" is a tactics game for two players: tense, fun, and above all quick to learn!
Each player chooses a horse.
Brown tries to catch White, or to make it unable to move. White tries not to be driven into a corner.
The game is played on a game board. The horses move as the knights do in chess: 2 squares straight ahead, then 1 square to the side. With each move, a horse also "drops something": a "Pferdeappel" (horse apple), on every square where a move is completed. The player puts a brown Pferdeäppel through the opening of his playing piece. Squares that have been "occupied" in this way may not be entered for the rest of the game. The space in which to act therefore becomes ever tighter!
Brown wins if it manages to catch White before all brown Pferdeäppel are in play. Every brown Pferdeäppel not yet used then counts as 1 point for Brown.
White wins as soon as a horse (brown or white) drops a golden Pferdeäppel. Play nevertheless continues until Brown catches White.
Each golden Pferdeäppel brought into play counts as 1 point for White.
It is advisable to play the game over several rounds. After each round, the points are recorded. After a set time or a fixed number of rounds, the player with the highest total wins.
2. Object of the Game
The brown horse tries to catch the white horse, or make it unable to move, using as few moves as possible.
The white horse tries not to be driven into a corner.
3. Setup
The game is played on a game board.
The players sit opposite each other.
Lots are drawn to decide who places the brown horse and who places the white horse.
Each player places his horse on the outer corner square of the board on his own right, as seen from his seat. The two pieces therefore stand diagonally opposite each other.
The brown and golden Pferdeäppel are placed next to the game board. Each player takes from this supply.
To begin, each player lets one brown Pferdeäppel drop through the opening of his piece onto the board.
Then play begins. White starts.
4. Play
Moving the Pieces
The horses are moved alternately, in the knight's move: 2 squares straight ahead and 1 square to the side (see figure).
[Figure: a 9 x 9 grid with a dot in the centre and arrows showing the eight knight's-move directions from the centre square.]
After each completed move, the player takes one brown Pferdeäppel from the supply and puts it through the opening of his playing piece. He may (but need not) additionally place a second brown Pferdeäppel on any free square. The exception is a square that is the white horse's last escape route.
Printed note: the leaflet writes the term both as "Pferdeäppel" and, in places, as "Pferdeappel". These are the same term; the umlaut is simply omitted in some places.
The Sequence of Play
Brown must try to catch White as quickly as possible, or make it unable to move, and do so before all brown Pferdeäppel have been used up.
If Brown succeeds, it wins the game. All the remaining brown Pferdeäppel that have not yet been used then count for it as points (1 Pferdeäppel = 1 point).
As soon as golden Pferdeäppel are thrown into play, White wins.
The game is not yet over, however. Brown still tries to catch White, with as few moves as possible, because every golden Pferdeäppel lying on the board counts as 1 point for White.
If White can still move after all golden Pferdeäppel have been placed, it receives 24 points.
If Brown is blocked during the game and becomes unable to move, White also wins and receives 24 points.
5. End of the Game
Brown wins
- As soon as it succeeds in catching White, or making it unable to move, before all brown Pferdeäppel have been used up.
White has already lost if only the possibility remains to move onto a square threatened by Brown.
Brown receives: 1 point for each brown Pferdeäppel not yet used.
White wins
- As soon as a player brings the first golden Pferdeäppel into play. The round nevertheless continues until Brown catches White.
White receives: 1 point for each golden Pferdeäppel that was brought into play.
- If White can still move after all golden Pferdeäppel have been placed, it receives 24 points.
- If Brown is blocked during the game and becomes unable to move, White also wins and receives 24 points in this case.
Draw
- The game ends in a draw as soon as White is caught, if all brown Pferdeäppel have been placed but no golden one has yet been brought into play.
Tip
It is advisable to play the game over several rounds. After each round, the points are recorded. After a set time or a fixed number of rounds, the player with the highest total wins.