Spider & Fly Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Assembly (Spelopbouw)
• Preparing the Game (fig. 1)
• Playing the Game
• Winner

Contents

• 1 game board (the spider's web)
• 1 normal die
• 1 die with spiders (the spider die)
• 1 stick (stokje)
• 1 point cap (puntdop)
• 1 spinner cap (draaidop)
• 1 piece of thread
• 1 spider
• 1 weight (gewichtje)
• 8 flies (two of each of four colours)
• 4 rubber feet

Object of the Game

Make sure you are not caught by the spider, and be the first to free your two flies from its web.

Assembly (Spelopbouw)

Diagram labels: draaidop – spinner cap; puntdop – point cap; stokje – stick; draad – thread; spin – spider; gewichtje – weight; spelbord (web) – game board (web); rubber voetjes – rubber feet.

Preparing the Game (fig. 1)

1. Detach the four rubber feet and attach them under the four legs of the web.
2. Place the web on the table and carefully push the stick into the middle hole until it sits firmly. Push the point cap onto the top of the stick.
3. Pass one end of the thread through the hole at the top of the weight and tie it fast.
4. Pull the other end of the thread through the spider until it sits on top of the weight. Press the spider firmly on.
5. Attach the spider and the weight to the top of the stick. First place the spinner cap on the point cap. Take the free end of the thread and wind it once around the spinner cap. Lay the thread there in the recess and pull it through the slot (fig. 1A). See figures 1B and 1C for the correct position.
6. Test the spider by letting it spin around along the edge of the web. When it stops, it should slide easily into one of the eight slots leading towards the middle of the web. The thread must stay taut (fig. 1C). If the spider does not fall smoothly into the slots of the web, make the thread a little longer or shorter. Cut off all surplus pieces of thread.
7. There is a hole in the underside of the weight through which the top of the spinner cap fits. The game is now ready for action.

Figure labels: fig. 1A – fastening the thread to the spinner cap; fig. 1B – correct position of spider and weight when fastening the thread; fig. 1C – correct position of thread with spider and weight when they have swung out.

Playing the Game

1. Each player chooses two flies of one colour. Before the game begins, these flies are placed in the little dish (bakje) in the middle of the web.
2. The player who throws the highest number of pips with the normal die begins. The player to the left of that player goes next, and so on.
3. Each turn, the players throw both dice. The normal die indicates how many places one fly may be moved. The other die shows the spider twice. If you throw the spider with that die, the spider must be taken off the stick and spun around the web.
4. The first player to have thrown both dice moves one of their flies exactly that many places further. Start at no. 1 (see fig. 2) and continue around the circular track. Count each hole (gaatje) and each slot (gleufje) as one place.
5. If you do not throw the spider on the spider die, your turn is over. If you do throw the spider, it is taken off the stick and spun around the outside of the web, until it comes to a standstill in one of the slots. The spider can push the flies of your opponents back through the slot towards the centre, but it can also push back your own flies. The spider does not have to be spun hard, but it must go all the way round the web at least once before it stops. If a fly is knocked over by the spider without falling back into the dish, it may simply be set back in its place and continue on.
6. Players take turns to continue throwing the two dice, moving one fly per turn and, when one die indicates it, spinning the spider. A fly that has been pushed back to the middle may be moved again from the start on the player's next turn.
7. A fly may pass over another fly on its path through the web, but it cannot stop on an occupied space. If one or both flies cannot move the number of places indicated by the die, they must stay where they are. The spider must still be spun if the other die shows it. Each turn, choose carefully which fly you want to move, and try not to end up on the slots where you could be caught.
8. A fly can only escape from the web by throwing exactly the right number to land on the end point (fig. 2).

Figure 2 labels: eindpunt – end point; beginpunt – starting point; zes plaatsen verder gaan – move six places further.

Winner

The winner is the player who is the first to free both of their flies from the spider's web.