Game: Olympia 2000

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EndersGame — 2008-08-31T11:55:34+00:00

Actual game: Mr Salmonellos beats the other three competitors to win four points in the last event of the games

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EndersGame — 2008-08-31T04:20:44+00:00

Mr Hurlos quite easily wins the discus in the first event of the Quadathlon with a throw of 122m

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Profesor Mora — 2007-06-30T00:53:30+00:00

Front cover

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Profesor Mora — 2007-06-30T00:42:57+00:00

Back cover

Thread: Review - Olympia 2000

CliffRo — 2007-03-24T05:28:09+00:00

Olympia 2000 (Hans im Glück 1994) is a hand management card game with some bluffing thrown in for good measure. This is a quick playing, entertaining, light card game with some basic strategy present.

Olympia 2000 is a solid game that makes frequent filler appearances. It is one of those games that is easy enough to play in front of the television during “The Big Game” as well which raises it value some as well. It is an easy game to pick up as most card games tend to be which lends itself to be a good transition game for the non-gamers.

Play begins by placing the Competition Card in the middle of the table. This is a cardboard token that shows the current event taking place as well as the next scheduled event. The Laurel Chips are laid out for each of the five Events in the game in a row. The 5 Events are: Archery, Discus, Long Jump, Marathon, and Combination. Each of these Events has a Laurel Token in the denominations of 2-6. These are placed in the rows in ascending numerical order. In a 4 or 5 player game, the “6” Tokens are omitted. The Consolation Tokens, white tokens each with a “1” printed on it, are placed to the side of the Competition Card in a pile. Two Random “2” Laurel Tokens are chosen from the Events and placed on the Competition Card on the “I” and “II” spots determining the first 2 Events to take place in the game. A start player is chosen and each player is dealt 4 cards from the 55 card deck. The rest are placed as a draw pile. The cards have numbers on them next to an icon that depicts hoe strong the athlete is in each of the 5 Events. The lower the number, the better the athlete is in that particular Event. The picture in the middle shows overall how good the athlete is. The muscled ones are good, the pot-bellied ones not-so-good. There are also ones on crutches who have a special ability.

Play begins by determining the Event for the round. The Laurel Token on the “I” is the scheduled Event and all cards played will use this Event’s point value. Each player chooses one of their cards from their hands and plays it face down in front of them. Once all players have chosen their cards, all the cards are revealed. Each player reads out the position (point value) on their card for the scheduled Event. The winner is the player who player the highest position (lowest point). There are no ties. There is only 1 position for each Event on all the cards. The winner takes the Laurel Token and places it in front of them face up. Any player who played an Athlete Card with an athlete on crutches takes a “1” as consolation as well. This is done even if that athlete managed to actually win the Event as well.
The player who played the worst position (highest number) now gets to determine the future Event to be played. Players who played a card with “Disqualified” for this Event did not place and therefore do not count for worst position. First that player slides the Event on the “II” to the “I”. Then the player chooses one the uppermost Laurel Token of any Event and places it on the “II” space. The cards that were played are the discarded.
The Start Player draws a card and looks at it. That player may keep that card or pass it to ANY player they choose that has not received a card this round. If the Start Player has already dealt every other player a card, they must keep the last card for themselves. This continues until all players have 4 cards again. If at any time the Start Player keeps a card, the rest of the dealt cards are dealt without looking them to the players who have not received one yet. The Start Player then passes the cards to the player to their left, who becomes the new Start Player for the next round. If all players played a “Disqualified” card then no one takes the Laurel Token, all players draw a new card blindly and the Laurel Token is competed for again.
This continues until there are not enough cards for all players to receive new cards. When this happens, no new cards are drawn and three more rounds are played until everyone has played all of their cards. After the last round is played, all players total up their Laurel Tokens and Consolation Tokens. The highest point value is the winner.

My thoughts on this game:

Components: The cards are of good quality. The artwork is thematic and cartoony to assist with the light-hearted feel of the game. The tokens and board are of sturdy cardboard and don’t rub off very easily. I have a German version, I am not sure if there were others, but the game seems language independent. The events are distinguished by individual icons and numbers. Only the “Disqualified” are in German and they are easy to figure out.

Rules: The rules were in German but I somehow ended up with a translated version from one of my friends. They were very easy to read and this game is very easy to teach.

Loser Wins: I like the fact that the loser of a round gets to decide future events. This leads to some varying strategies and good interaction. It also seems to prevent a runaway winner as well.

Fun Factor: Olympia 2000 is a very fun and light game. It makes an excellent filler and you can get a whole bunch of games in relatively quickly. It is not a brain burner or a meaty strategy game by any means. It is easily taught and quick enough to entertain non-gamers as well.

Clifford Roberson

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:49:58+00:00

#53, #54, #55 - the overall worst 3 competitors in the QUADATHLON

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:13:01+00:00

#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 - the overall best 6 competitors in the QUADATHLON

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:12:55+00:00

Closeup of the standard portrait for a LOSER (handicapped) competitor

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:12:49+00:00

Closeup of the standard portrait for a TOP 20 competitor

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:12:43+00:00

Closeup of the standard portrait for a TOP 12 competitor

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EndersGame — 2006-09-17T06:08:01+00:00

Closeup of the standard portrait for a TOP 7 competitor

Thread: Re: User Review

EndersGame — 2006-09-16T22:47:30+00:00

gschloesser wrote:
Finally, after each round players receive a card to re-fill their hands to five.
A very good review! Although if I recall correctly, players fill their hands to four cards at the end of each turn.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2004-09-02T23:14:03+00:00

This being the final week for the 2004 Olympics, we decided it would be appropriate to play Steffan Dorra’s Olympia 2000. Kurt, Michael, R.J., Michael and I fielded our athletes in the four different events, hoping to capture the laurels and the admiration of the audience.

Kurt suffered from an abysmal start, having a stable of overweight and out-of-shape athletes. R.J., Michael and I were competing for the most laurels, until Michael scored a victory in the big 5-point combination event. Kurt finally unleashed his studs, but his comeback fell short.

Finals: Michael 11, Kurt 10, R.J. 7, Greg 6, Ashton 5

Ratings: Michael 7, Greg 6.5, R.J. 6.5, Kurt 6, Ashton 6

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2004-05-13T23:25:07+00:00

The Funkenschlag game was approaching its conclusion, so we decided to fill the remaining time with a quick game of Olympia 2000. We haven’t played this in over 3 years, so it was long overdue. This is fun game based on Hols der Geier, but with players competing for laurels in various Olympic events.

I was hammered. My stable of athletes proved as adept at winning as the New Orleans Saints. Worse, if you can believe that! It didn’t help that we had four discus competitions in a row and my best athlete in that competition couldn’t even lift the discus! Sigh.

Kurt, however, put together an impressive collection of supermen and proceeded to take a large lead in laurels. A late charge by Jules fell short.

Finals: Kurt 14, Jules 11, Willerd 8, Steve 7, Greg 4

Ratings: Greg 6.5, Willerd 6.5, Kurt 6, Jules 5, Steve 5

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2002-04-09T12:38:08+00:00

Since the Winter Olympics were still in progress, it seemed only fitting that we get in at least one game of Olympia 2000 by Steffan Dorra. The athletes were Ward, Chris Lohroff, Elaine Lohroff and myself.

For some reason, I somehow managed to lead a group of mediocre athletes to a succession of victories. It seems every time I put forward one of these 'average' guys, my opponents would enter even poorer athletes. This allowed me to grab a large lead in laurels, one which I never relinquished.

Finals: Greg 24, Chris 12, Elaine 8, Ward 5

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-11-28T01:06:26+00:00

Shanna and Michael Labranche arrived just as the game of Vinci was concluding, so I enticed them into a quick game of Olympia 2000. We were joined by Darren, Ashton and Joey. Yes, I know that the game is designed for a maximum of 5 players, but I figured it would probably work adequately with 6. It works, but there really aren't enough rounds when playing with this many.

After trailing to Shanna early, I managed to field my best athletes in the final few competitions, collecting enough laurels to seize the victory.

Finals: Greg 11, Ashton 9, Shanna 7, Darren 6, Michael 4, Joey 1

Ratings: Greg 6.5, Ashton 6, Michael 6, Darren 6, Shanna 5, Joey 5

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-10-16T18:51:07+00:00

Olympia 2000
4 players: **Rick**, William, Dan, Jy
Avg enjoyment: 6.5

Not a lot to this one, but it's interesting to note that our group was playing this for the first time, and it was our closer for the night, and honor that usually belongs to 6 Nimmt! Since we only had four players we opted to close with this and were surprised as it seemed a bit like 6 Nimmt! I'v never heard anyone on the net make the camparison, but our group agreed they had a lot of similarities. (Which meant of course that Rick won and everyone said it was all "luck of the draw." Strangely enough, that's exactly what happens when we play 6 Nimmt!)

Rick started of quick out of the gate scoring high numbers in marathon, and no one could catch him. A fun game, quite light, short. Avg graphics. The type of game someone who wants to play 6 Minnt! all the time might like just to have a different version of it. Pretty fun.

Scores: Rick 18, Dan 15, Jy 10, William 4

Ratings: Rick 7, Dan 7, Jy 7, William 5
Avg: 6.50

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-07-27T18:15:04+00:00

While the Bluff game was in progress, I insisted that Ann couldn't leave
without first learning a game. We were joined by Keith and Spouey, who
had been expelled from the Bluff game.

Olympia 2000 is one of my favorites of the 'Hols der Geier' variations.
For those interested, I have a review on the Westbank Gamers page. The
game was recently on a close-out special at Magnus Spielt for around
$5.00.

Ann proved an incredibly fast learner. She was consistently winning the
various events, while Spouey and I were fielding injured athletes.
Keith managed to win a few to close the gap, but Ann managed to capture
a few more to seal her victory.

Somehow, my notes were lost in the confusion, so I don't have the final
individual tallies. Ann was WAY up with nearly 20 points, while Spouey
and I were in single digits. Keith finished second with around 13 or so
points.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

This one arrived with my Kohle, Kies & Knete from a trade executed with an overseas friend. It is light and easy, but still fun (in a Hols der Geier sort of way). Lenny & I were joined by Eric Syrdal (whose Spanish power in Empires in Arms was fairly dormant).

The idea is that there are five Olympic events to compete in: Archery, Discus, Track, Long Jump and Combined. Players have cards with athletes of varying capabilities. Each athlete has ratings for the various events ... they are better in some, worse in others. Some of the athletes are very good in a particular event, while others pretty much suck at all of them. There are even some handicapped athletes who don't stand a chance of winning, but earn a token laurel from the appreciative crowd.

Basically, an event is chosen by the player who played the worst athlete the previous round. This event will be the one competed for two rounds into the future. There are tokens for each event, known as 'laurels', which are worth from 2 - 6 points. Players play an athlete card face down and then they are revealed simultaneously. The player who played the best athlete wins the laurel. The player who played the worst athlete chooses an event to be competed for two rounds forward.

Another twist is that the dealer position rotates each round. The dealer chooses the top athlete from the deck, looks at it and must decide to either keep it or pass it to another player. This continues until every player's hand is returned to four athletes.

Our game played quickly and was good, light fun. The final scores:

Greg 31, Lenny 24, Eric 17

Ratings: Eric 7, Lenny 6, Greg 6

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

For the first time in over a month, we started getting back to the numbers we're used to here in the Bayou Bungalow. Twelve gamers ... one a new face ... were on hand, and gaming was held at three tables. The new face was Clyde Castleberry, a friend of WBG veteran Clyde Hayman.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since we have two 'Eric's' in our group (Eric Syrdal & Eric Alleman), from henceforth, Eric Syrdal will be known as 'Eryk' (which is also a tribute to his Scandinavian ancestory!).

The 'early-bird crew' (John Moore, Lenny Leo, Eric Alleman and I) was able to get in a hand of this cute Steffan Dorra card game themed around the ancient Greek Olympics. Somehow, my notes got lost in the shuffle of games, so I'm recreating the scores from memory (Memory? What memory?).

The basic idea of the game is for players to place an athlete from their hand into a sporting event. There are five possible events: Discus, Long Jump, Archery, Racing and the Combined event. Each athlete is rated on his proficiency ... or lack thereof ... in each event. Some are terrific in several events, others only excel at one event, while others are plain lousy at all events.

After the initial random selection of the first two events, the player who entered the WORST athlete in the previous event gets to select the event which will be contested two turns from that point. Thus, there is a small measure of strategy here in selecting an event in which you hold an athlete who excels. Plus, if an event is being held in which you do not hold an athlete who has a chance of winning, it is a good idea to play a lousy athlete in that event in hopes of having played the worst athlete that round so you will get the next event selection.

The player who played the BEST athlete in a round captures the laurels. These begin at only 2 laurels (worth 2 points), but increase by 1 each time that particular event is held (to a maximum of 6 laurels). Again, another decision ... do you play your athlete who excels at archery during a round when only 2 laurels are at stake, or do you hold him for a possible later round when the laurels will be greater? This is risky, as it is quite possible that that particular event may not be held again .. it depends on which events are selected.

Oh ... there are several cards in the deck which depict handicapped athletes (broken legs, etc.). Any player who enters such a physically challenged athlete in an event wins the hearts of the crowd and is awarded 1 laurel. These 1 laurel tokens are limited, however, so the crowd does eventually get disgusted by players who continually enter these challenged athletes!

Finally, after each round players receive a card to re-fill their hands to five. However, each turn a player gets to look at a card before deciding to keep it in his hand or deal it off to another player. He continues to do this until he selects a card or all players have re-filled their hands. This special action does give one a bit of control once in awhile to actually be able to select an athlete. It also provides an opportunity to 'hit' the leader by dealing him poor athletes.

The game is played until all cards are exhausted. The player who has captured the most laurels wins the gold medal.

John Moore was able to win several early matches, but I was able to remain close by capturing a few 1 laurel tokens and a few small events. Lenny, however, seemed to have a stable of over-weight couch potatoes and crippled athletes, and only managed to win one event during the entire Olympics. He did get several laurels, however, for fielding these physically challenged specimens.

John managed to pull out a high-valued foot race event near the end by besting my '3' athlete with a '1' athlete. This proved the margin of victory for John.

The scores (approximately): John 16, Greg 13, Eric 9, Lenny 6

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

With still a bit of time before the Settlers of Catan game concluded, I introduced Darren and Ashton to this neat little card game from Steffan Dorra. The game is similar in nature to Raj / Hols der Geier but provides a bit more flexibility, planning and decision making. There is a full review of the game under the Game Reviews section of the Westbank Gamers webpage.

Darren got out of the starting blocks in a flash, capturing quite a few contests and leaping to a commanding lead. Ashton managed to close the gap somewhat, but I was faltering with a field of athletes with even less ability than those which play for the New Orleans Saints. As the game progressed, I managed to capture a few more contests, but was still 8 points behind Darren. Amazingly, I captured the final two contest, one with a mediocre athlete! These two final events were worth a cumulative 9 points ... just enough for me to capture a stunning come from behind victory.

Greg 25, Darren 24, Ashton 18

Ratings: Greg 6, Ashton 5, Darren 5

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

While the Bluff crew entered their second game, I split off and grabbed Darren and Willerd for a quick game of Olympia 2000. Olympia is certainly a 'light' game, but it is one of the more entertaining of the 'Raj' variants. For those interested, I do have a full review under the GAME REVIEWS section of the Westbank Gamers website.

Sadly, the game is out of print. However, Magnus Spielt had it on their close-out specials recently and I was able to acquire a few copies as gifts. If you can find a copy, I'd certainly recommend it.

Willerd and I were fielding the best athletes and the quest for laurels was very close. Eventually, I managed to scoop the final contest and capture the victory:

Greg 28, Willerd 24 Darren 15

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Good to have Steven Maus back with us after missing a few weeks due to schooling. Steven responded by promptly kicking our butts in several games!

ROLL CALL: Jon Comeaux, Bill Sanders, Willerd Fann, Jerry Maus, Steven Maus, John Moore, Joey Konyha, Ashton Arnold, Greg Schloesser

While waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, Steven, Willerd, John and I caught the Olympic fever and played a match of Steffan Dorra's Olympia 2000. The game is always a fun, fast filler.

John and I consistently fielded athletes with the athletic ability of the New Orleans Saints ... which is pretty awful. Steven and Willerd, on the other hand, sported a stable of studs. They collected most of the laurels, with Willerd capturing a narrow one point victory over Steven:

Willerd 15, Steven 14, John 9, Greg 8

Ratings: Willerd 6, Greg 6, John 4, Steven 4

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Mark and Melissa had time for one more brief game before heading home, so I introduced them to Olympia 2000, which seemed appropriate due to the approaching Olympic games. This game by Steffan Dorra, sadly out of print, uses the familiar 'Hols der Geier' (or Raj) card play mechanism and, in my opinion, is one of the best games utilizing this mechanism. Sure, the game is light, but is always fun and does offer some opportunity for planning and strategy. For those interested, I have a full review of the game on the Westbank Gamers site.

Don broke out of the starting gates in a gallop, running away with the first several events and racing to an impressive lead. Eventually, however, his stable of studs wore thin, allowing me to slowly begin narrowing the gap. I managed to save my best '1' athlete to the final event, narrowly defeating Don, who had saved his '2' athlete in that event! This final event proved the difference:

Greg 13, Don 12, Joey 6, Mark 4, Melissa 3

Ratings: Don 7, Mark 7, Greg 6.5, Joey 6, Melissa 6

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Another good turnout at the Bayou Bungalow (16 gamers), including a late appearance by the ever elusive Henry Hunger. Henry is always warmly welcomed by our group, not only because he is a nice guy to be around, but he also arrives laden with sacks filled with food. This time, he brought along three large sacks of begnets! They were delicious, but the floor was covered by a layer of powdered sugar at the conclusion of the evening!

ROLL CALL: Jerry Maus, Steven Maus, Steven Pouey, Joey Konyha, Jim Fairchild, John LaCour, Donald Knecht, Lenny Leo, Willerd Fann, Marc Michiels, Ashton Arnold, Darren Arnold, Keith Canova, Jon Comeaux, Henry Hunger, Greg Schloesser

In honor of the Olympic Games being held in Sydney, Australia, Lenny Leo snatched Steffan Dorra's Olympia 2000 off the shelf. So, as we all hummed the Olympic theme song, the 'bayou' olympics commenced with Steven Maus, Joey Konyha, Lenny Leo and myself fielding a stable of athletes.

Steven immediately played upon the sympathies of the crowd, fielding handicapped athletes in the first few events. I managed to dominate in successive long jump events, parlaying this strong start into an overall victory:

Greg 20, Joey 14, Steven 12, Lenny 5

For those interested, I do have a review of this game on the Westbank Gamers site.

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

This is another new game for me, and I was really kinda unimpressed with it. Each player is competing in (five?) events, and they use cards with pictures of athletes on them with (five?) numbers -- one for each event. As an event comes up, each player simultaneously plays a card. The lowest number that comes up for that event wins, and that player earns points. There's a little more to it (including a wacky card distribution system) but that's the gist. Maybe it was getting late, but I didn't see much strategy to this one. Almost every move seemed obvious -- play the lowest card for each event. Of course, you could save your good cards for later events (more points), but that little bit of planning didn't add much to this game for me. Kinda boring, actually.

[Note: Since posting this micro-review of Olympia 2000, I have been contacted by Greg S, who has enlightened me on some tactics I may have missed the first time playing. In other words, the jury is still out on this one]

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

We were extremely pleased to welcome Tabea Nobis to the Bayou Bungalow. Tabea lives in Chemnitz, Germany and is in New Orleans for several months doing research at Xavier University. She found our website while searching for 'Settlers of Catan' and got in touch with me. I was ecstatic to have a native German join our group, even if it will only be for the few short months she is in New Orleans.

We also welcomed back Bill Sanders, who had spent nearly a month in Italy in connection with government business. Plus, upon his return, Bill married and was out-of-pocket for obvious reasons!

Finally, we all extended a hearty congratulations to Steve Pouey and his wife for the birth of their new baby girl. Steve proudly displayed photos of his new angel.

ON THE TABLE: Olympia 2000, Durch die Wuste, Air Baron, Bluff (2x), Ohne Furcht und Adel, Java, Euphrat & Tigris, Can't Stop

ROLL CALL: Willerd Fann, Lenny Leo, Bill Sanders, John Moore, Steve Pouey, Ashton Arnold, Darren Arnold, Jim Fairchild, Joey Konyha, Tabea Nobis, John LaCour, Keith Canova, Dave Myers, Greg Schloesser

We opened the evening with this entertaining Hols der Geier descendent from Steffan Dorra. Joey, Steve, Tabea and I fielded our stable of athletes.

Joey, Steve and I performed well through many of the events, but Tabea was always falling just a bit short. Eventually, Joey won two big events to capture the most laurels and claim the victory:

Joey 20, Steve 13, Greg 12, Tabea 3

Ratings: Joey 7, Steve 7, Greg 6, Tabea 5

Thread: User Review

gschloesser — 2000-07-09T18:09:35+00:00

Take a journey back to the ancient Greek Olympics in this harmless little card game desgined by Steffan Dorra and released by Hans im Gluck. Now don't get too excited .... this game is nothing more than a cute little passtime for the family and friends. Hardcore gamers will undoubtedly turn up their noses as this one is very shallow and doesn't offer much in the realm of strategy. Nevertheless, it does have some entertainment value.

The basic idea of the game is for players to place an athlete from their hand into a sporting event. There are five possible events: Discus, Long Jump, Archery, Racing and the Combined event. Each athlete is rated on his proficiency ... or lack thereof ... in each event. Some are terrific in several events, others only excel at one event, while others are plain lousy at all events.

After the initial random selection of the first two events, the player who entered the WORST athlete in the previous event gets to select the event which will be contested two turns from that point. Thus, there is a small measure of strategy here in selecting an event in which you hold an athlete who excels. Plus, if an event is being held in which you do not hold an athlete who has a chance of winning, it is a good idea to play a lousy athlete in that event in hopes of having played the worst athlete that round so you will get the next event selection.

The player who played the BEST athlete in a round captures the laurels. These begin at only 2 laurels (worth 2 points), but increase by 1 each time that particular event is held (to a maximum of 6 laurels). Again, another decision ... do you play your athlete who excels at archery during a round when only 2 laurels are at stake, or do you hold him for a possible later round when the laurels will be greater? This is risky, as it is quite possible that that particular event may not be held again .. it depends on which events are selected.

Oh ... there are several cards in the deck which depict handicapped athletes (broken legs, etc.). Any player who enters such a physically challenged athlete in an event wins the hearts of the crowd and is awarded 1 laurel. These 1 laurel tokens are limited, however, so the crowd does eventually get disgusted by players who continually enter these challenged athletes!

Finally, after each round players receive a card to re-fill their hands to five. However, each turn a player gets to look at a card before deciding to keep it in his hand or deal it off to another player. He continues to do this until he selects a card or all players have re-filled their hands. This special action does give one a bit of control once in awhile to actually be able to select an athlete. It also provides an opportunity to 'hit' the leader by dealing him poor athletes.

The game is played until all cards are exhausted. The player who has captured the most laurels wins the gold medal.

The artwork on the cards is cute .... athletes depicted in various conditions: overweight, rail-thin, on crutches, badly sunburnt, etc. Of course, the better athletes are all chisled and god-like. Everything is color coded, so it is very easy to read and understand an athlete's rating in each category. The only board is very small and used only to keep track of the current and next event.

Olympia 2000 has proven acceptable to my family and non-gaming friends, which is always a plus and gets me out of playing the drivel that is pushed on the public by U.S. gaming companies. However, the game is nothing more than that ... a nice little pastime to play with family and friends.