Game: Hallo Dachs!

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margaretha — 2008-01-08T19:30:01+00:00

Game play, Dutch version

Thread: Badgered to play by my 5 year old...

mi_de — 2007-11-21T09:44:45+00:00

My version of this game, by 999 Games, is titled Hallo Das! and is by Klaus Teuber but I believe the contents of all versions are the same. The game is copyright 1996 and playable by 2 to 4 players age about 4 and up. It plays in 20-30 minutes.

What You Get

The box is quite a bit thicker than the contents, but has a cute illustration of the naughty badger on the front. There is a foldout board, also well-illustrated. There are a collection of ca 23 rectangular tiles picturing beetles, worms, strawberries, blackberries, snails, blueberries and garbage piles. You get 25 circular chits with numbers 1-4 on one side and badger heads worth 1 to 4 points depicted on the obverse. You also get a wooden die and 4 wooden player pawns. Overall, the presentation is good, but the thin badger tiles can be tough for little fingers to grab hold of, and the pawns are very lightweight and fall over easily.

What You Do

The goal of the game is to collect a number of points of 'badger heads'. You get the points by correctly remembering where the various critters/fruits shown on the square tiles are hidden.

The game is set up by placing the square tiles face down beside the board, and putting the numbered chits on the circular spaces on the board. Players place their tokens on one of the '1' spaces and the game is rerady. The author suggests to arrange the badger tiles so there are not '5' value tiles adjacent, and to spread out the '1' tiles as well, which we always do. Everyone gets top secretly peak at one of the face down square tiles before the game starts.

The first player rolls the die. Corresponding to this roll, there is a chart on the board that tells the player what fruit/beastie they must uncover to be able to take the badger tile. For example, a roll of '1' means you need to uncover a blueberry, a '2' means a strawberry, and so on. The player turns over a square tile and shows the rest of the players: if it is the thing rolled for, hooray!, you get to claim the chit, turn it over and see how many 'dots' (or points) you score for getting that badger head. Heads with a larger number on the back (like a '4' or '5' have more dots than the '1' and '2' badgers, but the # of dots is variable: the '1' tile may be worth 1 or 2 points, the '2' tile worth 2 or 3 points. Also, the '4' tiles mean you must roll the die 4 times and find each of the objects rolled among the square tiles to get the item, so it gets harder. It is also possible to turn over a 'garbage' square tile: this ends your turn plus it demands you throw away one tile you have previously acquired. Better remember where the garbage is next time!

If the space you are in is empty at the start of your turn, you can move along one of the paths adjacent to you towards another spot with a badger tile, and try to claim it. The game continues until a set score is reached (25 points in a 2-player game).

What I've Changed

I guess this would be a varient, but we always play this way. The stated rules of rolling a die multiple times to find a single tile seemed tedious to us, and slowed things down. What we do is to allow a player to make 1 roll to choose the item to be found, regardless of chip score. If successful, the player's turn continues, and they can move to an adjacent site, rolling again and trying to uncover the stated tile. Tiles remain face-up for the duration of the player's turn. If the player lands on an open space, he may continue moving if he can correctly find the square tile indicated by the roll. All square tiles are returned face-down at the end of the current player's turn. The game is faster, still uses memory, but we found more fun.

What I Think

Among the memory-style games we've played with my son, this has been the favorite. There is die-rolling, memory aspect with the danger of uncovering a 'garbage' tile, and some strategy on route choice to maximixe your badger head take. You can also swoop in and nab the tile your opponent is standing on, which always causes excitement. It is sturdy in that it has lasted through 2 years of play, from about 4 to 6 years old. He will be done with it by seven, I estimate, but we'll have some play left. Mom and Dad can play as well and still have some fun, so it's not a chore. I might suggest playing both the standard way and with my 'varient' and see what you like better. The game can be had pretty reasonably, so I should reccommend this game to parents with young children who want to do more with a memory game than just make sets.

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Der Das — 2006-11-04T13:04:38+00:00

All the (language independent) bits neatly arranged in the very airy box.

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Der Das — 2006-10-30T15:18:58+00:00

Hallo Das! - unpunched countersheet 2/2.

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Der Das — 2006-10-30T15:18:52+00:00

Hallo Das! - unpunched countersheet 1/2.

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Der Das — 2006-10-30T15:18:44+00:00

Hallo Das! - rules (Dutch edition).

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Der Das — 2006-10-30T15:12:44+00:00

Hallo Das! - board unfolded.

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Der Das — 2006-10-30T15:10:36+00:00

Hallo Das! - contents fresh out of the box (Dutch edition).

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Der Das — 2006-10-29T14:23:18+00:00

Hallo Das! - back cover of Dutch edition.

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Der Das — 2006-10-29T14:23:06+00:00

Hallo Das! - front cover of Dutch edition.

Thread: English Rules Error - Garbage Chips

RPardoe — 2004-11-07T04:31:28+00:00

Looking through the German rules, I believe I have discovered a small error in the English rules as posted on the Game Cabinet (and linked to in the Links section for this game.)

Regarding the garbage chips, the English rules state:

If any of the cards turns out to be a "garbage pile" the player's turn ends, they do not gain the badger chip, and they also lose one point if they have already scored - if they have not already scored this penalty is not held over.

As I read the German rules for the garbage chips, I noticed:

Wer solch ein Kärtchen aufdeckt, verscheucht den Dachs: Sein Zug ist sofort beendt, und er muß einen seiner Dachs-Chips umdrehen (natürlich nur, wenn er schon einen besitzt!). Umgedrehte Dachs-Chips (Zahl nach oben) sind entwertet und zählen am Ende nicht.

A quick trip through Babelfish confirmed my thoughts.

The penalty for revealing a garbage chip is to turn in 1 Badger Chip not 1 point. As the Badger Chips can have variable points, it is a more severe penalty than the translation would lead one to conclude.

I had always played with the English rules, but the German rules make more sense as one no longer needs to worry about "making change" should a person only have a 2-point chip in hand.

In the great course of gaming, not a great deal to worry about as the game plays the same regardless of penalty method used. But thought I would mention it for those who do wish to play the game with the most correct rules.

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montsegur — 2003-09-22T21:57:01+00:00