The Rats in the Walls
The Rats in the Walls Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
2. Game Material
- 1 dice cup – "The Wall" (Das Gemäuer)
- 2 stickers (wall-brick motif)
- 2 coasters (one as a spare)
- 5 black wooden dice – each die shows 1 rat on one side and 2 rats on another side; the remaining four sides are blank
- 1 dice bag
- 30 plastic brains – "The Mind" (Der Verstand)
- 6 double-sided summary sheets (with side A and side B)
Warning: contains small parts that may be swallowed. Not suitable for children under 3 years.
3. Before the First Game
Stick the stickers onto the sides of the dice cup. The dice cup is the wall.
4. Game Setup
Depending on the number of players, each player receives a set number of brains, which they lay out in front of themselves:
- 3 players: 8 brains
- 4 players: 7 brains
- 5 players: 6 brains
- 6 players: 5 brains
The remaining brains are returned to the box.
The number of brains a player has in front of them expresses the health of their mind.
Each player receives a summary sheet.
The dice cup, one coaster, and the dice are placed in the center of the table.
5. Determining the Start Player
The player with the most wide-eyed look begins and receives the dice cup. If all players look equally mad, the start player can also be determined by dice. To do this, all players take turns rolling the 5 dice. The player with the most rats begins. If several players have the most rats, these players roll again, and so on.
6. Course of Play
The essential sequence is summarized on the game's summary sheet, and no further knowledge is needed for the "normal" course of play. However, there are various special cases that are not shown on the summary sheet.
These special cases are described in detail in these rules. When first reading the rules, it is recommended to ignore these special cases (shown in gray text boxes) and to read them only when you are unsure how to proceed in the game.
a) Beginning the Round
The player who begins is the first Dealer (Geber) of the round.
They place one die into the dice cup and close the cup with the side of the coaster that shows the cats.
b) Examining the Wall
To examine the wall, the Dealer shakes the dice cup vigorously and turns it so that the dice come to rest on the coaster.
(Note: during the course of play, 1 to 5 dice may be in the cup. For simplicity, the rules always use the plural, even when only one die is in the cup.)
Before passing the dice cup on, the Dealer may look under the cup, alone, to see what is showing on the dice.
Note: If, when looking, dice are lying on top of one another, the player may repeat the throw and then look again (repeat until all dice are lying next to one another). He must announce this. The other players may demand that he show the dice lying on top of one another.
Then he passes the dice cup to the next player (the Recipient, Empfänger). The Dealer may also roll once more after looking and before passing. However, he may then not look under the wall again and must make a "blind" announcement of the number of rats.
Special Case 1.1: If the previous Dealer claimed that 10 rats are in the wall, the current Dealer may not raise the number. Instead, he turns the coaster over and says: "The rats have led us into an eerie vault." The coaster now lies so that the 5 dice come to rest on the skull side on the next roll.
c) The Handover
During the handover, care must be taken that the dice in the cup do not move. The Dealer tells the Recipient how many rats he suspects are in the wall.
The Dealer may lie freely during the handover.
The Dealer can make two different announcements:
I. There are no rats in the wall. A Dealer can only announce this at the beginning of a round, or if the previous Dealer also announced that there were no rats in the wall. On side A of the summary sheet, the various possibilities that can follow are shown.
II. There are at least "X" rats in the wall. In this case, the Dealer must always name a concrete number of rats for "X" (any number). (Note: a single die can show at most 2 rats.) On side B of the summary sheet, the most possibilities that can follow in this case are shown.
Note well:
- A Dealer who, for the first time within a round, claims that rats are in the wall immediately loses one mind (one plastic brain, "Der Verstand"), which is placed in the center of the table.
- If rats were already in the wall at the previous handover in the same round, there are two possibilities:
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The Dealer must raise the number of rats he announces by at least 1 (compared to the announcement of the previous Dealer), if he has previously performed an examination of the wall ("Untersuchung des Gemäuers").
Special Case 1.2: If the Dealer turned the coaster to the skull side during the examination of the wall, he may name any number of rats (but not zero).
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If the Dealer has not performed an examination of the wall, he must name at least the same number of rats as the previous Dealer (he may also name more).
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Special Case 2: If the Dealer has himself already passed on the announced number earlier in the same round as a Dealer, he may not name it again, but must raise it by at least 1.
Example: Paul says there are at least 3 rats in the wall. All other players believe this and pass on the wall without examining it further, saying: "Yes, there are clearly at least 3 rats to be heard in the wall!" Then Paul, when it is his turn again and he does not want to examine the wall again, must say: "Now there are even at least 4 rats to be heard in the wall."
d) The Takeover
When the dice cup is taken over, it matters whether the Recipient (Empfänger) believes the Dealer's announcement or not.
Basically, two cases are distinguished:
I. The Recipient believes the Dealer. The exact consequences are shown on the summary sheet. The round continues (see "e").
II. The Recipient does not believe the Dealer. The Recipient now looks into the wall and reveals the Dealer's throw.
A look into the wall always results in the player who was right gaining one mind (it is reassuring when things are as one believed), while the player who was wrong loses one or two minds (it is unsettling when things are not as one believed).
The exact consequences are shown on the summary sheet. The round is now over (see "f").
Special Case 1.3.1: If the dice lie on the coaster's skull side, then the entire game is now over. The player who would lose at least one mind not only loses that mind, but all of the mind he still has, and in his madness additionally "kills" a fellow player of his choice.
e) The Round Continues
There are two possibilities (see also the summary sheet):
I. The Dealer passes on what he received from the previous Dealer, unchanged. Note: This is only possible if there are rats in the wall! The Dealer may not examine the wall himself in this case. The game continues with a new handover (see "c").
II. The Dealer increases the rat danger. Note: This is only possible if there are not 5 dice in the cup! The Dealer adds another die to the wall. To do this, he turns the cup so that the coaster faces up, opens it, and puts one die in. Note: A player may never look at dice that he has previously accepted covered from another player! If all 5 dice are already in the cup, adding another die is omitted. Regardless of whether a die could be added, the game is now continued with a new examination of the wall (see "b").
f) The Round Is Over
It must be checked whether the end conditions have been met (see below). If they have not been met, a new round (see "a") is begun. The new start player is the player who most recently lost some of his mind.
7. End of the Game
The game ends as soon as a player has lost his entire mind.
Special Case 1.3.2: If a player loses his mind while the coaster lies on its skull side, he may "kill" a fellow player of his choice.
8. Winner
The "living" player who has the most mind at the end (the most brains laid out in front of him) has won. If several players have the most, they have won together.
9. Tip
The game gains a great deal of (eerie) atmosphere if you celebrate the madness, for example by saying with a depressed voice during the handover: "Well, I know how incredible this sounds, ... ... but there is certainly one rat in this wall ... ... though there could also be significantly more!"
10. Explanation of the Symbols on the Summary Sheet
The symbols on the summary sheet are explained below. Icons are rendered as words:
- Cup + die: Add 1 die to the wall if there are fewer than 5 dice in the wall.
- Crossed-out brain: The affected player loses 1 mind if the coaster shows the cats.
Special Case 1.3.3: He loses all of his mind if the coaster shows the skull.
- Two crossed-out brains: The affected player loses 2 minds if the coaster shows the cats. If he has only 1 mind left, he loses that one.
Special Case 1.3.3: He loses all of his mind if the coaster shows the skull.
- Plus brain: The affected player gains 1 mind.
- Crossed-out rat: No rats in the wall.
- Rat: Rats in the wall.
11. Memory Aids
- The Dealer always gains a mind if the Recipient does not believe a true statement.
- The Recipient always gains a mind if he uncovers a false statement.
- A Dealer who is believed when he says that rats are in the wall always gains a mind.
- A Recipient who believes that rats are in the wall always loses a mind.