Game: Fluss Piraten

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swuyau — 2008-05-27T12:21:51+00:00

Cover

Thread: rules scan

eightbit — 2008-05-11T16:08:47+00:00

Does anybody have a scan of the rules they could send me? I bought this game for $.25 at a garage sale and its complete like new except no rules.

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Admiral Fisher — 2008-02-14T15:05:08+00:00

Now where can I place this piece?

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:23:18+00:00

treasures on the water

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:21:14+00:00

the dice of the game

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:19:48+00:00

treasures: green (1 point), yellow (2 points), red (3 points) and white (4 points)

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:18:24+00:00

inside box art

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:16:00+00:00

inside box art

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kiko_chirol — 2007-10-18T02:14:25+00:00

box art detail

Thread: Mini Game: Treasure Falls

dagny21 — 2007-08-03T01:37:57+00:00

Recently I purchased the Ravensburger mini game Treasure Falls from the book and toy store where I work. It comes in a very small box and it's very inexpensive, with a list price of about $8.00. So, it was definitely a whimsical purchase.

What You Get
1 blue plastic River
1 ledge
1 log
42 blue plastic "water" chips in two sizes
13 treasure chests (1 white, 4 red, 4 yellow, 4 green)
1 6-sided die

The Story
A boat full of treasure chests has capsized and all of the chests are heading down the river toward a waterfall. At the bottom of the falls are 2 to 4 pirates (the players), waiting to collect the treasure chests.

Setting Up
To begin play, set the blue plastic ledge inside the game box, against the side that has fish on the outside (the opposite end shows a picture of a waterfall).

Next, set the river up against this ledge, with the other end of the river hooked over the opposite end of the box (the waterfall).

Next, place the log at the back of the ledge (farthest away from the waterfall) and push it forward until it stops.

Now, place water chips (both large and small) at random into the river in a single layer, until all of the space is filled. There will be several chips left over. Set these aside.

Finally, place the little square "treasure chests" at random on top of the water chips, making sure that none are really close to the edge of the falls. The white "treasure chest" should go in the last row, farthest away from the edge of the falls.

To Play
At the start of each turn, the "log" is pushed back against the ledge, leaving a small amount of empty space between the log and the water chips. The player then rolls the 6-sided die. The die has 2 sides with 3 dots, 2 sides with 2 dots, 1 side with 1 dot, and one side with an X. If the player rolls a number, he must select that many water chips from the pile of extras and place them in the empty space between the log and the other chips. Then, he must push the log forward until it cannot go forward any more. At this time, some chips may fall over the front of the water fall. If any "treasure chests" go over at this time, the player whose turn came before you gets the chests. If you roll an X, it's your lucky day because you get to lose a turn (which is a good thing in this game) and you don't have to risk helping another pirate earn a treasure chest.

When all "treasure chests" have fallen, you add up points to see who has won. Green chests are worth 1 point each, yellow chests are worth 2 points, red chests are worth 3 points, and the single white chest is worth a whopping 4 points. If two players have the same amount of points at the end, then the player with the most treasure chests wins.

Age Range
Ravensburger says this game is appropriate for 2 to 4 players ages 6 and up. I think this is about accurate. The game itself is very simple, but it takes some good hand-eye coordination to place the little water chips on the river, and move the log without causing the whole game to be spilled. A 3 or 4 year-old would not be able to do it, and many 5 year-olds would have trouble as well.

What We Like

It's Small and Cheap!
Our game closet is filling up. So, a fun little game that doesn't cost much and takes up little space is desirable.

The Theme
What little boy doesn't love pirates? My son is amused by the story of the pirates waiting to snag the chests.

It's Quick
This game takes about 5-10 minutes to play. It's not super exciting, but it's fast and it's fun enough. Sometimes you just have a few minutes and this game fits the bill.

Educational
I have my six year old add up his own points and mine. The math involved is about 1st grade level, and we never pass up an opportunity to use it. It's also a good game for helping young children figure out spatial relations, and for improving fine motor skills because the pieces are small and setup, as well as game play requires a delicate touch.

What We Don't Like

Tiny Pieces to Lose
The "treasure chests" are really small. Even though this is a small game over all, it is not appropriate as a travel game because it has so many miniscule pieces to lose. Of course, if the chests do get lost, it would be quite easy to replace them with different colored beads or beans or something like that.

Final Thoughts
Treasure Cove is definitely not one of the more exciting games in our collection. But, it is fun, it takes only a few minutes to play, and it didn't cost very much. It gets played occasionally, we always enjoy it, and it has good educational value for children of about 6 or 7 years old.

Thread: An Interesting Diversion for Kids or For "Drawing Lots"

fehrmeister — 2007-02-08T23:32:52+00:00

Treasure Falls (the English version of the German Fluss Piraten) is a cute little children's game from Ravensburger that came out in 2005 for ages 6 and up, accommodating up to 4 players (although there's nothing stopping you from having more). I was looking for a cheap game that would hold some attraction for my kids, and thought this one looked interesting enough to try for $10.

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Overview: The idea of the game is to try and collect the most "treasures" as they come tumbling off the end of a waterfall. The back-story is that you and your opponents are all pirates who were sailing down a river until your boat capsized dumping all of your valuable treasure into the water. This treasure is now being carried by the current toward a waterfall, and it's every pirate for himself as you attempt to try and collect the most treasure at the bottom of the fall. Having said all of this, it's irrelevant enough that I have forgotten about the pirate theme every time I have participated in this game so far. I realize it is cool to say "the theme is irrelevant" when describing German games, but that's not actually why I'm saying this.

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Components: The relatively small box contains the following pieces:
- a flat, molded, blue, thick plastic riverbed piece which fits over the bottom of the box (the end of the box forming the waterfall)
- a flimsy blue thin plastic "ledge" the width of the river which sits at the bottom of the box. It's purpose is to provide a resting place for the one end of the riverbed furthest from the falls' edge that will actually cause the river to "flow" at an upward slant, since the other end of the riverbed is resting higher on the box bottom edge. This prevents treasures from accidentally sliding down the river toward the falls. The bottom of the falls end of the riverbed actually has slots which fit over the cardboard box to keep it from moving around.
- a varnished wooden "log" piece the width of the river which is used to push the "water" toward the edge of the falls
- 42 light blue, plastic water chips that come in two sizes: 16 large (nickel-sized) and 26 small (dime-sized). These chips form the water when laid over the riverbed.
- 13 standard small wooden blocks (like goods in Caylus) representing "treasure chests" in 4 colors: 4 green, 4 yellow, 4 red, and 1 white.
- 1 special 6-sided die that has two sides displaying 3, two displaying 2, one side displaying 1, and one side displaying an "X".
- And of course the rules, printed on a small folded piece of paper.

Overall, the components are sturdy enough (with the exception of the ledge) and almost better than I would expect for a $10 game.

Setup
This game does take a few minutes to set up, but a child can figure it out once they've watched an adult do it once. Set up involves placing the riverbed over the box bottom, putting the log in place at the very end away from the falls, spreading random water chips over the surface of the riverbed, and then placing the 13 treasure chest cubes on 13 of the water chips. There will be a number of water chips left over which are set beside the board. The white cube, which is worth the most points, must be placed on a water chip at the back of the river, but all other placement is random.

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Gameplay
To play the game, a player performs the following very simple actions:
- Roll the die.
- If an "X' is rolled, the rest of the player's turn is skipped and play passes to the left.
- Otherwise, place new water chips between the log and the main river chips. If a 1, 2, or 3 is rolled, the player can place that number of new water chips in a space about an inch wide ahead of the wooden log at the far end of the river. The riverbed is molded in such a way that when the log is pushed toward the falls, it can only be pushed an inch before it hits stops. This has the effect of making parts of the river move forward about an inch each turn as the log pushes the new water tiles into the rest of the river, forcing existing chips near the falls to eventually spill over the end of the box.
- Carefully push the log forward until it reaches the stops.
- If any treasures have fallen off the end as a result of your log pushing, give these treasures to the player on your right.

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Play continues clockwise until all of the treasures have fallen over the edge of the falls. At this point, tally up the total value of the treasures each player received. Each cube color is worth a different number of points: greens are worth 1 point, yellow are worth 2, red are worth 3, and the coveted single white cube is worth 4 points. The player with the most points wins, and a tie goes to the person with the most treasure chests. Overall, this is a very simple game.

This would be 100% luck, except for the strategy of knowing which water tiles to place where in front of the log. Obviously the point is to keep the player on your right from getting any treasure after you use the log to push the new water tiles into the river. This can be tricky, but a careful scan of the interlocking river tiles can allow for some clever placements that can keep a cube sitting right on the edge from going off until it's the next player's turn, when it benefits you. The closer you can get a cube to the edge without actually going over the better.

It's also worth mentioning that the actual act of pushing the log adds a tiny dexterity element. Pushing the log fast and hard is usually a mistake. A couple of my kids have learned to push it very, very slowly when avoiding sending a treasure over the edge, and it often works far better than you would expect.

Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- It's a series of interesting "moments" that makes it relatively fun to watch. My kids really seem to enjoy the moment of pushing the log and seeing what happens as a result. It's the series of these "moments" that make this as fun as it is.
- It's very short - it should only take 10 minutes or so.
- It's a good-looking little game that may attract attention from others looking in
- There's almost as much chance a younger child will win as an adult, since your control over the flow of the game is rather limited. This can be a great thing depending on what you're looking for.

Cons:
- It's 95% luck
- It takes a few minutes to set up: still not much, but more than UNO.
- The cubes and chips are a choking hazard to very small children

Final Thoughts
My kids don't ask to play it much, but once we get it out, it's good for a couple of games in a row. Adults MIGHT be able to bring it out as a quick filler when everyone needs to put their brains on hold, and it could work and even cause a few laughs. There's nothing outside of the cover that shouts that this is for children only. However, there are better luckfests out there. I definitely got my $10 worth though. I would highly recommend this as a fun way to "draw lots" if you need to randomly pick someone out of a group for whatever reason.

My Rating:
As a children's game: out of
As an adult's game: out of stars

Thread: Re: Did I Waste My Ten Bucks? My First Try With the Kids

peacmyer — 2006-11-08T17:19:21+00:00

Agreed! Have had similar success with 3 and 5 year-olds....

Thread: Did I Waste My Ten Bucks? My First Try With the Kids

fehrmeister — 2006-11-08T02:11:36+00:00

I saw Treasure Falls at a local specialty kids' toy shop and decided to pick it up for $10, as it looked like it would be interesting to a child, however the gameplay turned out. I tried it out this evening with my 4-year-old daughter, 6-year-old twin boys, and 9-year old daughter.

They were extremely interested to try it. We set it up, putting the water discs randomly over the river, and the treasures on top. It looks rather pretty set up, I must say - people walking by will probably stop to look. The kids were very curious to see how the game itself worked.

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Bethany, the nine-year-old, started the die rolling, and as she pushed the log up to the shoreline stoppers, the children were delighted to see how the waterfall worked, and watch the water discs at the edge fall off. The next four die-rolls all managed to be "X"'s (meaning turns are skipped). The game carried on from there, with Bethany getting more than her share of the treasures. Apart from her, the others didn't seem to really understand the strategy behind the proper place to place the new water discs in front of the log. Bethany would cleverly place the discs so that she could get the next treasure or two right to the edge of the falls on her turn, and her plans worked. She was even able to capture the white treasure, which managed to find its way ahead of another one to the waterfall's edge, much to the despair of the others. They did seem to understand and quickly memorize the value of each color of treasure pretty quickly though.

Final Scores:
Bethany: 13
The others: tied at 5

The game lasted about 20 minutes - perfect for this type of very light kids' game. It's more engaging than I thought it would be - even for an adult. I'm interested to see how adults would like it if I could convince them to try it for a quick filler.

One thing I wasn't sure of was if this game could potentially last forever if there was one treasure left on one of the edges and people kept putting new water discs on the other edge before pushing the log. That would not be good. However, unless the water discs are set up perfectly in straight lines of either only small or large discs per line, it turns out that this wouldn't happen. The treasure would keep moving toward the edge, even if only a tiny bit at a time.

Overall, I think this game is a hit with the kids - a good little purchase. They would love to have played again right away. It's simple, short, has a good dose of the "what will happen if I do this?" element, and the kids can actually see the motion of what's happening in the game. I would rate this game a 5 myself, but on a scale of 1 to 10 for kids' games only, probably more like an 8.

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fehrmeister — 2006-11-08T02:09:18+00:00

Start of a Game With Little Children

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fehrmeister — 2006-11-07T18:42:00+00:00

English Box Cover

Thread: Re: Treasure Falls, also called Zero Carb Niagara Light

tikimadman — 2006-07-26T00:12:50+00:00

I would like to correct myself in saying that the log is made out of wood not plastic. After submitting this I decided to bite the log, and it is indeed wood. A very wooden log.

Thread: Treasure Falls, also called Zero Carb Niagara Light

tikimadman — 2006-07-25T20:51:57+00:00

So I got this game on the basis of the price, $6.00 and the fact that it had some moving components which are always fun. It is a Ravensburger game which we always have good luck with those and it is for 2-4 players.

The components:

Your two plastic bits, one a base and the other the river which set up inside the game box so that the edge of the waterfall hangs over the edge of the box.

One plastic log

A lot of small and large round plastic disks (water chips) 26 small ones and 16 large ones.
An assortment of colored cubes (treasure chests) being 4 red, 4 yellow, 4 green, and one white.

The basis of the game is that a boat has capsized up the river. The crew swam to shore while their treasure chests all floated down to the waterfalls. You and your opponent are river pirates waiting to steal the treasure from the bottom of the waterfall. The object of the game is to collect the most points in treasure chests at the end of the game.

Once you set up the plastic ledge piece and the river inside the box you place the plastic log up against the rivers back ledge to where it can't be pushed forward any farther. You then randomly place the water chips in front of it till the river is filled (be sure not to use all of the large river chips since they are used during your turns). You then randomly place the cubes on the water chips placing the white one in the last row next to the log. You then slide the log back and are ready to begin the game.

The youngest player goes first and rolls the die which can result in a 1, 2, 3, or X. Based on the amount you roll you place that many water chips in front of the log (having to place at least one large water chip). Then you push the log forward after placing your chips and if any of the cubes go over the falls the player to the right gets them (which is the funny part). If you roll an X you skip your turn and thus avoid the possibility of giving your opponent any points. Then you pass the die clockwise and the game continues. The game ends when the last treasure chest goes over the waterfall. Then you score your treasure chests. Green chests are worth 1 point, yellow ones are worth 2 points, reds are worth 3 while the only white chest is worth 4 points. Highest point total wins. If the players tie for points the one with the most treasure chests wins.

All in all this is a light and simple game. There is some strategy involved when placing your water chips trying to figure out how to place them as not to send any treasure chests over the falls. The game plays really fast and runs about 10 minutes after setup. The components look nice, they blended the artwork on the box to make it look like a waterfall much like they did with the Niagara box. I think if you enjoyed the Niagara game (yes I understand the same people didn't make both games) then i think you would enjoy this. It is a fast filler game with some strategy, it is a good family game and I can see kids enjoying it. At a price of only $6.00 the purchase is well worth it and it will easily make that up in replay value unlike some of those $40 and $50 dollar dust collectors that linger on the shelf forever. I would give this game an 8 for family fun and recommend giving it a chance, and if you hate it you only blew $6.00 on the thing, when was the last time you could say that about a game purchase?

Thread: I know it's a kids game but it's fun so quite laughing.

tikimadman — 2006-07-18T20:33:22+00:00

So we have our first session with Treasure Falls; being experienced Niagara players we feel very confidant about this new smaller waterfall since the one we are used to is so much bigger and obviously if it is smaller it is not nearly as dangerous. It begins in a game store where we are making our purchases when Mr_Six speaks up and throws this small game at me. This small $6.00 box was stuck amongst the pirate games since pirate games are all the rage until a different themed movie comes out. It does have a pirate on the box so I guess it is ok for it to play amongst all the pirate games. Anyway, the fact that it is $6.00 and has a movement mechanic that reminded us of Niagara prompted it to be added to the purchases, getting oddly sandwiched between Commands and Colors and Lost Cities.

The setup for this adventure began on the drive home, where the now standard practice of the new game being set up in the car begins (by the way this is tricky when you are driving). So here we are about ten minutes away from home and before us is this interesting waterfall board that sets up in it's own box. We quickly scan the rules; naturally while still on the freeway making for a humorous distraction as I weaved around several other bad drivers that are eating, driving, and talking on their cell phones. Naturally I comment on this since I am just driving and opening up games in the car, what could possibly go wrong there. The pirate theme is reinforced in the rules since apparently as players we are river pirates. Argh matey them nasty river pirates and their feared Alumaweld and Old Willie's river boats, oh wait a minute those are drunk salmon fishermen.

Finally we arrive back to the house and we are all ready to go, the river is set up all the components are out of the bag. I begin placing the blue disks on the river segment while Mr_Six is telling me that I am going to have to help him apply all the stickers to his just purchased Commands and Colors game. I finally get the river filled with disks and randomly place the wooden treasure cubes (remembering that in the car it stated not to put them too close to the falls). We the preceded to roll the dice and we are off. First roll was a two, so I tactfully placed two disks pushing the treasure chests closer to the falls but not over. My opponent then rolled a two, and after his placement the joyful sounds of wooden cubes hitting the table rang out (I am now calling this game my white trash Wallenstein Tower). I then roll and get to skip my turn followed by some back and forth rolls of just ones. The treasure count is almost even now but alas there is the white cube left, the highest point values of the treasures. I roll a two and slowly place my river disks, expecting that I will be on the short end of this adventure. But as I push the log forward the disks shift in my favor with the disk with the white cube resting at the very edge of the falls, victory is almost assured. My opponent then rolls a two which is followed by an expletive and the beautiful sound of a white wooden cube hitting the table (it obviously makes a much different noise than the other cubes). This was enough to give me the majority of the river booty today. After losing several canoes on Niagara I was overjoyed not to be victimized by yet another waterfall.

All in all it was light fun experience. I think others will enjoy this little $6.00 romp, and will probably have more return visits than those expensive Eagle (dare I use the following word) Games that collect dust at the bottom of the game stacks (yes I know they are almost completely covered but they collect dust anyway). If you enjoy canoing up and down Niagara I would suggest giving Treasure Falls a visit it doesn't cost too much and you don't ruin your best canoe in the process. Besides I think the Niagara beaver is rabid and allways gives me a funny look and I assume the moose is a zombie moose since it doesn't need to breath and has it's entire head under water the whole game. For this reason I also recommend Treasure Falls since it won't scare your children with undead “Hurried Elk” and crazed wandering eyed wooden beaver.

Thread: Review of Treasure Falls (English version of Fluss Piraten)

franklincobb — 2006-04-19T20:19:15+00:00

Overview

Treasure Falls is the English version of the game Fluss Piraten, designed by Gunter Baars. Gunter has several children's games to his credit, and this is the audience that Treasure Falls seems to be aimed at. As a parent, I am constantly on the lookout for non-Candyland games to play with my children, so when I saw this for $6.97 at the local hobby shop I figured it was worth a look.

The game revolves around placing wooden "Treasure Chests" on blue chips that line a waterfall mechanism that is cleverly fashioned from the small game box itself. This setup is mostly randomized, though the instructions suggest you don't place too many of the Treasures too close to the front of the falls. The players then take turns adding new chips to the waterfall and edging them forward with a small wooden bar. How many they add is determined by the roll of the die. The object is to *not* knock any treasures off, as when you do they represent a score for the player to your left rather than yourself.

The die is a specially numbered die that has 1, 2, 3, or "X" on each of its six faces. The number you roll indicates how many chips you must add to the falls and then push them forward (think of the quarter machines that you typically see at amusement parks where each quarter you put in edges the big stacks of quarters forward).

If you roll an "X", it's your lucky day--you get to skip your turn! Now, in most games this is a negative thing, but in Treasure Falls generally only bad things can happen on your own turn, so the "X" is usually the best result you can hope for.

The chests are color-coded and worth differing amount of points. The green cubes are worth 1, the yellow worth 2, the red worth 3, and then there is one white cube that is always placed at the back of the waterfall at the start of the game and is worth 4 points. Once all chests have fallen over the edge, the game ends and the players tally up their chests. The highest score wins, and the victor gets to do their best pirate impersonation much to the chagrin of his fellow gamers.

Components

If nothing else, this is a nice little box of components. Inside the box are 42 water chips in both small and larger sizes, 13 of the multi-colored treasure chest wooden cubes, the specialty 6-sided die, and the game board itself with the small wooden apparatus for pushing the falls forward.

Cleverly enough, the box itself serves to help set up the game. You tilt the blue plastic board in the box and it will rest along the groove of the front end of the box. The wooden rod goes in the back of the falls and serves to push the pieces forward. It looks pretty cool once you have it set up with the blue water chips and colorful treasure chests. It looks especially cool in the eyes of a younger gamer, very "toyish".

The wooden cubes look to be the standard cubes you'd find in most Eurogames. I have to admit, just looking at these nice little cubes that maybe I've sold short the components of other Eurogames (I'm a big-time plastic component addict).

The specialty die has a different distribution than a regular, with 1 '1', 2 each of '2' and '3', and one 'X'.

In short, it's a nice little package of components for only $7, when you'd usually only expect a pack of cards for that price. I was pleasantly surprised and could see how the components could service other games should this game not stand the test of time.

My Thoughts on Gameplay

In all honesty, I have difficulties thinking of this as a "game". I'm just not sure that careful placement of the water tiles--beyond the obvious "bad play" of putting a large tile behind a column with a chest about to topple over the edge--really matters all that much. While you could look at this as a dexterity game, truthfully I just don't think that this has much impact on the game itself.

Essentially, you want to roll low, place your chips, push forward, and hope for the best. If there is a real skill to be honed here, I'm not seeing it.

That being said, this game was a tremendous success for my five year old, who loves it. And it plays quickly, often over in five-ten minutes at most, enough to satisfy the likely appeal of "Again!" Setting up the board and working the game is fun enough in and of itself, but at the end of the day I think this is more activity than game.

Summary

While this review may come across as a bit negative, understand that its true test is as a game to play with younger children. At that task, I think it succeeds. I'm not sure there's a lot here to offer anyone over the age of maybe 10 or so, and you certainly won't find a group of adults playing the game without children involved.

The price is certainly nice. It has great value as far as the bits and price are concerned. It plays quickly, and the kids really seem to enjoy it. I don't know if it will stand up to repeated plays, but even if you milk 10 plays or so out of it then you will have gotten your money's worth.

Final Rating: 6.0/10.0 (ranking as a game to play with children)