Simsala Hopp Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• The Tournament Begins!
• A TURN Works Like This
• End of the Tournament
• For Expert Magicians and Adults

Setup

Source: the separate German setup sheet ("Spielaufbau") that the rulebook refers to.

Game components

1 magic castle:

• 1 box base
• 4 towers
• 4 walls
• 1 red transparent sheet "Magic Arena"

15 animal tiles:

• Front sides show 15 frogs
• Back sides show 5 white rabbits, 2 rabbits in each of the 4 player colours, and 2 cats

1 hourglass 1 hourglass holder 4 bats as scoring markers 1 magic wand 1 rulebook 4 magician cards 8 cups

Before the first game

• Carefully punch all parts out of the punch boards.

• Take all the components out of the box.

• Build the magic castle with help:

  1. Carefully push one tower onto each corner of the box base.

  2. Each tower has a round intermediate floor with a peg pointing towards the middle of the box. Lay the red sheet "Magic Arena" over the pegs, using its holes, and press the sheet gently downwards until it rests on the intermediate floors.

  3. Insert the 4 walls into the brackets of the towers. The sides with the coats of arms must face outwards. Each wall must be pressed downwards between its brackets until it rests on the intermediate floors of the two towers to its left and right. It may be necessary to bend the towers slightly outwards. Place the walls by the colour of their coats of arms, from left to right, starting with the yellow coat of arms. Yellow is followed by orange, then blue, and finally violet.

  The Magic Arena is now ready!

• Each player chooses one magician card. They sit at the wall with the matching coat of arms and place their magician card in front of them.

• Then each player takes the bat in the colour of their magician.

• Each wall has 4 recesses between its battlements. These recesses are the spaces on which you move your bats when you score points in the tournament. Each player places their bat on the start space marked 0.

• Firmly attach the hourglass holder to the tower to the left of the start space, and place the hourglass in it.

• With 2 or 3 players, the unused magician cards and bats are not needed and are set aside.

The Tournament Begins!

A ROUND works like this:

Within a round, each player is the magician once, using Transformation. A round with 4 players consists of 4 turns (see "A TURN works like this" below).

The other players are the spectators in each turn. They can also collect tournament points.

The youngest player begins as magician. After each turn, the role of magician passes to the next player clockwise – until each player has been magician once. Then the round winner is determined and receives a cup.

An overview of one TURN:

1. All players: Prepare the Magic Arena
2. Magician: Get the magic wand ready
3. Spectators: Turn the hourglass
4. Magician: Simsala Hopp – transform!
5. All players: Simsala Stopp – time is up!
6. Spectators: Use a "Lazy Spell"
7. All players: Count points

A TURN Works Like This

1. All players: Prepare the Magic Arena

Make sure that all 15 animal tiles lie in the Magic Arena with the frog side facing up. Shuffle the 15 frogs and spread them evenly across the Magic Arena, with some space between them.

2. Magician: Get the magic wand ready

• Take the magic wand.
• Always hold the wand by the end without the ball.
• Guide the wand, with the ball, between the box base and the Magic Arena.

3. Spectators: Turn the hourglass

The spectators are in charge of the hourglass. They turn it over and call out loudly: "Simsala Hopp!" Then they put the hourglass back into the hourglass holder.

4. Magician: Simsala Hopp – transform!

On the command "Simsala Hopp!" the magician begins to transform as many frogs as possible into white rabbits and into rabbits of their own colour.

Transforming works like this:

• Move your hand holding the wand so that the ball at the other end gently taps against the foil from below.
• With careful tapping, the animal lying above the ball in the Magic Arena hops into the air.
• If you tap hard enough, the animal turns over – and is transformed!
• If you tap a little harder still, several animals transform at once.

But be careful: do not tap too hard! Otherwise a valuable animal may quickly fly in a high arc over the castle wall and out of the castle. Animal tiles that land outside the Magic Arena stay there until the next magician's turn! Rabbits outside the Magic Arena do not score points.

Tip for the magician: Did you accidentally conjure up rabbits of the spectators' colours or cats? These animals give you no points; they only help your fellow players. So transform them back into frogs as quickly as possible!

Tip for the spectators: Watch the hourglass – but also keep a close eye on where the rabbits of your own colour are! Then you can later use a "Lazy Spell", which will earn you points …

5. All players: Simsala Stopp – time is up!

When the hourglass has run out, the spectators call out loudly: "Simsala Stopp!"

The magician may no longer tap against the foil and must lay the magic wand down in front of them!

If tiles are lying on top of one another, the magician slides them apart. Take care that no tile is turned over onto its other side in the process.

6. Spectators: Use a "Lazy Spell"

If frogs are still visible in the Magic Arena, the spectators may – in clockwise order – use a "Lazy Spell". That means each spectator may use their hand to turn over one frog in the Magic Arena. In this way, you as a spectator can conjure up one more rabbit of your own colour and win a point!

The magician's left-hand neighbour begins the "Lazy Spell" – so they turn over one frog in the Magic Arena with their hand. If they do not want to use a "Lazy Spell", they say loudly: "I pass!" Then the next spectators in clockwise order take their turn with the "Lazy Spell", until every spectator has either tried a "Lazy Spell" once or has passed.

Be careful: the magician themselves may not use a "Lazy Spell"!

If no frogs (any longer) are visible in the Magic Arena, the "Lazy Spell" is not (any longer) possible.

Tip for the spectators: It can make sense to pass on the "Lazy Spell" – if both rabbits of your colour are already visible in the Magic Arena, or if you are not sure you will still find a rabbit of your own colour. Otherwise, with the "Lazy Spell", you risk conjuring up a rabbit of a different colour – and so giving a point to a fellow player!

7. All players: Count points

Points are scored only for rabbits! (Frogs give no points, and cats only play a role for expert magicians and adults – see page 4.)

• Points for the magician: First, the magician counts how many white rabbits and rabbits of their own colour are visible in the Magic Arena. The magician may move their bat forward on the walls by that many spaces (0 to 7 spaces).
• Points for the spectators: Then the spectators, in turn, may move their bats forward 1 space for each visible rabbit of their own colour (0, 1 or 2 spaces).

Example:

• Vincent Verwandlix (blue) is the magician. He may move his bat forward 3 spaces, because he has conjured up 2 white rabbits and 1 blue rabbit.
• Hanna Hexenblix (orange) may move her bat forward 1 space, because 1 orange rabbit is visible.
• Max Magix (yellow) may move his bat forward 2 spaces, because 2 yellow rabbits are visible.
• Zara Zauberix (violet) is unlucky – she may not move forward, because no violet rabbit is visible.

Next TURN

Once all points have been counted, the next player takes on the role of magician. The former magician becomes a spectator. With the new magician, you play the next turn as described in steps 1 to 7.

END of the ROUND

When every player has been magician once, you determine the round winner:

The player whose bat is furthest forward wins the round. They receive a cup and place it in front of them. In case of a tie, each player whose bat is furthest forward receives one cup.

Attention: then all players must put their bats back on the start space marked 0!

Afterwards, the left-hand neighbour of the youngest player begins the new round as the first magician, and you play again as described above.

End of the Tournament

The tournament ends when …

• … with 3 or 4 players, a magician has won 2 cups.
• … with 2 players, a magician has won 3 cups.

This magician becomes the winner of the magic tournament and is proclaimed the best magician far and wide – until their fellow players challenge them to the next tournament …

Is there a tie?

Then the "Magic Decision Tapper" decides who wins the tournament:

• All magicians who have not collected the most cups remove their bats from the wall. Then the magicians set up the Magic Arena as described in step 1.
• The magicians with the most cups place their bats on the start space marked 0.
• Now they may, in turn, tap exactly once with the magic wand from below against the foil. Anyone who taps more than once is eliminated!
• After each Magic Decision Tap, count how many white rabbits and rabbits of the magician's own colour are visible. The magician may move their bat forward that many spaces.
• The magician with the most cups whose bat is furthest forward after the "Magic Decision Tap" wins the tournament.
• In case of another tie, repeat the "Magic Decision Tap" until a winner is determined.

For Expert Magicians and Adults

Tip for daring expert magicians: If you can all already transform very well, then try to make your fellow players' rabbits fly over the castle walls on purpose. But be careful: this takes practice – a magician who casts too recklessly will quickly catch a valuable white rabbit or a rabbit of their own colour!

Variants for expert magicians and adults

The game proceeds as described above, with the following additional rules:

• Level 1 – for expert magicians and adults playing with children: For each cat visible in the Magic Arena after transforming, the magician must move their bat back 1 space on the wall.
• Level 2 – for professional expert magicians: In addition to Level 1, for each cat that the magician has skilfully tapped over the castle wall, the magician may move their bat forward 1 further space.