Game: Auf falscher Fährte

Image

puppi — 2006-03-28T11:03:43+00:00

Image

puppi — 2006-03-28T10:22:28+00:00

Image

puppi — 2006-03-28T10:08:58+00:00

Image

puppi — 2006-03-28T10:08:52+00:00

Thread: Session Report

Dan Bosley — 2002-06-15T13:33:43+00:00

People were switching tables again. Next I ended up in a 3-player game of Auf Falscher Fahrte with Steve and Bonnie. The title means “On the Wrong Track”.

This was my first 3-player version of the game. I think the 4-player version is slightly better.

Steve proved to be a master of the game. Never once did he finish last in any round (which scores you zero for that round). I managed to get the old goose-egg twice, and Bonnie did it 3 times in a row!

The game is a nice twist on trick-taking games. I don’t think I’d want to play it for an entire evening, but it’s a great little card game for the 30 to 40 minutes it takes to play.

You don’t know for sure until several tricks into the round if you want to be winning or losing the tricks. You can make an educated guess. But you might guess wrong.... if you just won the last 3 tricks, when really, you should have been trying to lose them....sigh!

And one more thing to keep in mind is that the currently losing player in that round gets to change the trump suit (if he wishes) when each player has 4 cards left. That can throw a monkey wrench in your plans!

Final scores:

Steve - *14*
Dan - 10
Bonnie - 8

Ratings:
Steve - 8
Dan - 8
Bonnie - 7a

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2002-06-11T01:03:04+00:00

Before heading into something heavier we opted for this new card game that none of had tried.

All I can say is "JOE CHEATED". This is a great trick taking game with a twist. Like most trick taking games it is comprised of differnt suites and numbers in those suits with a trump color involved.

The twist comes by not knowing if you want to take the most or the least tricks until after the fifth round (four player game). Out of your hand of cards you pick a number (suit doesn't matter) that combined with your opponents picks will determine if you want the most or least tricks. These cards are left face down and a single card is revealed after the 2, 3, 4, & 5th trick. If the combined numbers add up to more than 23 you want the most tricks and vice versa for 23 and under.

Trump is determined arbitrarily at the start of the game as red but then is determined when 4 cards are remaining in your hand by the person with the least tricks (in a game where you want the most tricks ... already established) & vice versa with the most tricks.

Points are awarded 4 for the least/most tricks (depending on which you are pursuing) 3 for second, 2 for third, 0 for last. Most points after a recommended 8 rounds wins.

We played 6 rounds:
*Joe* 22 rated 8
Rick 16 rated 7
Corwin 11 rated 8
Dan 9 rated 8

Joe didn't cheat but he did feel his vast experience in trick taking games helped seal his victory.

Thread: General Comment

BoardGameGeek — 2002-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

What a stupid and silly card game. The information you need to actually successfully play a hand seems to always arrive JUST after you commit yourself how to play the hand. And allowing one player to change trump just before the end of the hand just causes chaos.

I found myself frequently proclaiming "What a stupid game!" and desperately wanting to play it again.

Which of course means I bought two copies. This was my favorite new game from the 2001 Gathering of Friends, and I expect to be cursing this one for some time to come.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-07-13T08:36:53+00:00

Having just played this the previous week, there was enough interest to
give the game another go. The late-nite crew of Joey, Jim, Dave and I
played six hands (I hope I have this terminology correct!).

For those interested in the mechanics, I've described the game in some
detail in last week's report. In this game, I grabbed an early lead and
maintained it throughout, finishing first or second in the first 5
hands. In spite of my score of zero on the final hand, I had built
enough of a lead to cement my victory.

Finals: Greg 18, Joey 15, Jim 12, Dave 8

Ratings: Greg 7, Jim 7, Dave 6.5, Joey 6.5

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-07-05T17:17:42+00:00

Spouey departed for home, leaving four of us for just one more game.
Again, I suggested a 'new' game, Auf Falscher Fährte, a trick-taking
game designed by Jürgen Kraul.

Just a few years ago, I wasn't a fan of trick-taking games at all. I
had never played many of them and didn't particularly enjoy those that I
did. I also had no clue as to strategy so found myself frustrated and
feeling a complete lack of control. Eventually, however, as I played
more and more of them ... which was an easy thing to do considering the
virtual avalanche of trick-taking games being produced in Germany ... I
began to learn various tactics and strategies. My enjoyment level
increased dramatically and I am now a HUGE fan of these type of games.
Good thing, too, lest I would be missing out on some fantastic games.

Auf Falscher Fährte is pretty basic as far as trick-taking games are
concerned. Most of the traditional rules are followed. No fancy
'Sticheln' or 'Mit List und Tucke' mechanics employed here. The deck
consists of four suits numbered 0 - 12 each, along with four jokers.
The lead player plays a card, the suit of which must be followed by
everyone else IF they have that suit in their possession. If not, they
are free to play any suit. The only exception is the four jokers (which
are an optional rule, but I always use) which can be played at anytime.
These jokers won't win a trick, but they do allow the player who played
it to change the trump suit at the end of the hand. Trump begins the
game as 'red' and can be changed to any of the four colors. The high
card of the trump suit wins the trick. If no trump suit was played,
then the high card of the 'lead' suit wins the trick. Pretty basic
stuff.

The twist in this game is a variation on the method utilized in Was
Sticht. All cards, including jokers, are dealt to the players (the game
plays with 3 or 4 players). Before the trick-taking rounds begin, each
player analyzes his hand of cards and sets aside one card. These four
cards will be gradually revealed during the course of the hand, one each
after hands 2, 3, 4 and 5. The values on these cards will be tallied.
If they exceed 24 in cumulative value, then the idea for this round is
to collect the MOST tricks. If they tally 23 or less, however, the idea
is to collect the FEWEST tricks this round. Very clever.

This method forces players to play semi-blind the first few hands,
attempting to discern whether the final tally will require 'most' or
'fewest' tricks. One-by-one the cards are revealed, giving a bit more
information to the players. Carefully watching the cards played by your
opponents in these first few hands in an attempt to ascertain their
strategy can prove quite helpful in determining your own strategy.
However, they are often doing the same thing and the information you
gather could be misleading.

Once all cards are played in a round, points are awarded. If the hand
was 'most' tricks, the player collecting the most tricks receives 4
points, the player with the next highest total receives 3 points,
followed by the next player with 2 points. The player taking the least
tricks receives zero points. This scoring is reversed if the hand was
'least' tricks. In either case, if there is a tie between players for
LAST place, neither of these players receives points that round.

The game lasts a pre-set number of hands (the rules suggest 2x the
number of players, but we find 6 rounds is ideal) at which point the
player with the highest cumulative total is victorious.

John was doing quite well in our game, capturing first place three of
the first four hands, while finishing second in the other hand. I was
remaining close, but poor Joey was suffering, not scoring any points
until the fourth hand. In rounds 5 and 6 I was able to close the gap on
John as I finished second in both hands, while John was shut-out in
round 5 and only scored two points in the final round. We tied for the
victory.

Round-by-round scores:

John: 3 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 0 + 2 = 17
Greg: 4 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3 = 17
Dave: 2 + 3 + 3 + 0 + 3 + 0 = 11
Joey: 0 + 0 + 0 + 3 + 4 + 4 = 11

Ratings; Greg 7, Joey 7, Dave 6, John 6

Image

2001-05-11T04:10:16+00:00