Game: Igel Ärgern

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olavf — 2008-11-03T18:44:40+00:00

Dutch cover

Thread: Re: This game seriously Argerns some Igels!

marlinus64 — 2008-10-24T00:29:57+00:00

Also, since I never actually got into the mechanics, pros and cons and ratings, I did not think it met the criteria for a review. I did, however, reformat it a bit to make it an easier read. Game long and prosper.

Thread: Re: This game seriously Argerns some Igels!

marlinus64 — 2008-10-23T18:28:40+00:00

Thanks for the critique. I am always looking for ways to improve my writing skills.

Thread: Re: This game seriously Argerns some Igels!

locusshifter — 2008-10-23T17:12:08+00:00

Phew. Two things:

- A little longer and this could have been submitted as a review for GG.

- You should add some formatting to increase the readability of your post.

Thread: This game seriously Argerns some Igels!

marlinus64 — 2008-10-23T16:52:35+00:00

I am unashamedly a fan of many roll and move type games. They are generally easy to teach, quick to play and have enough tension and luck to make them fun for almost anyone. Sorry, Parcheesi, Stretch Run and Raceway 57 all get lots of play in my home and my family has a blast when we play them. Despite all this roll and move games still suffer the derision and ridicule of many hardcore "Gamers".

Then I met Igel Argern. At first glance it appears to be a very simple roll and move game aimed at kids. WRONG. This game rocks! it is fast, fun and engaging yet has an impressive amount of depth to it. Stacking, blocking, pits and push your luck elements make this a top notch race game with enough strategy and skill needed to give even the most hardened gamer a fun run for their money. Not to mention the dozens of variations which keep this game fresh and challenging with tons of replayability. It may not be chess or go, but darn it how can you not like hedgehogs fighting tooth and nail to make it to the finish line?

Up to six can play, it scales well from two to six and there is no player elimination. On top of that there is enough luck involved that a come from behind victory is almost always a possibility. Great fun for the little ones and adults alike. I say quit scoffing and start hedghogging. This is a cute little gem of a game which will get tons of table time in my home. Like I always say, anytime I can spend a few hours surrounded by family and friends having a great time playing a game I have been blessed.

Thread: Suggestions for DIY Board

marlinus64 — 2008-10-14T20:10:46+00:00

Hello, my family and I love Igel Argern and I would like to make a homemade board. I was just looking for input as to what people think may be the ideal size for the board squares and pieces. I am considering 1x1 tiles for the board with simple peel and stick dots for the end pieces and 3/4 inch or 5/8 inch round disks for the hedgehogs. What do you folks think? I would like to create something durable, attractive with "heirloom" potential for grandkids. Any input is appreciated.

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devine — 2008-04-14T03:45:23+00:00

Unavailable to buy not ,,, make your own ,,,,,,,,, awesome little game

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T22:21:02+00:00

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T22:13:12+00:00

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T21:47:31+00:00

The yellow hedgehogs

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T21:39:39+00:00

All the tokens stacked. This could happen in a game gone horribly wrong.

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T21:38:28+00:00

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T21:14:37+00:00

Back of the box (hi-res)

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toulouse — 2008-03-07T21:13:01+00:00

Box front (hi-res)

Thread: Re: On Nintendo DS

LetsGetTrivial — 2008-03-02T05:16:54+00:00

To be called "Hurry Up Hedgehog"

http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/comment...

Thread: On Nintendo DS

vialiy — 2008-03-01T18:05:19+00:00

http://www.oxygengames.net/games/games_details.asp?gameid=42...

http://www.trictrac.net/index.php3?id=jeux&rub=actualite&inf...

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margaretha — 2008-01-07T17:48:37+00:00

Close up of Dutch Version of University Games

Thread: Re: Mystery Version of Igel

Werbaer — 2007-09-15T18:18:29+00:00

It's the back of the 2nd edition board.

The 2nd edition comes with a big rulebook including 40 variants, which can be combined. We usually use #1 (5 column board), #3 (doping), and #9 (tube) together. See http://www.gamecabinet.com/rules/IgelArgernVariants.html

With this board, you can move any hedgehog sideward, and any different hedgehog forward, on the roll of a 6.

Thread: Mystery Version of Igel

Lou-Dawg — 2007-09-15T18:04:31+00:00

Just noticed a strange picture in the gallery:

]]>

Was this a prototype? Variant? Also does anyone know what happens on the roll of 6? If six is a wildcard, I'd like to try this variant. Should make the game move faster.

Thread: Re: Review by SOS (from 1997) - with some variants

clearclaw — 2007-03-03T23:58:42+00:00

I like what we call "Mean Igel":

- Doping of course
- Cylindrical board
- 3 players race one way, three the other way
- Tokens are moved in the player's direction, even if that is the opposite direction from the direction the token wants to move
- Black squares are pits that all (in that direction) must pass before they may be exited
- A number rolled for a row which contains no tokens moves all hedgehogs forward (in the direction of the active player), tops of stacks first, then working down, even if that's the wrong direction for that token

Thread: Re: Review by SOS (from 1997) - with some variants

sos1 — 2007-03-03T21:46:53+00:00

Bankler wrote:
My favorite variant (in the book) -- The Doping Variant. The first hedgehog to finish is checked for illegal substances and (of course), tests positive and is disqualified. Does make for a longer game.

Oh, absolutely. That's a mandatory one, even if you also play other variants!

Thread: Re: Review by SOS (from 1997) - with some variants

Bankler — 2007-03-03T21:16:10+00:00

My favorite variant (in the book) -- The Doping Variant. The first hedgehog to finish is checked for illegal substances and (of course), tests positive and is disqualified. Does make for a longer game.

Thread: Review by SOS (from 1997) - with some variants

sos1 — 2007-03-03T20:06:12+00:00

While the English rules translate this game as Hedgehogs in a Hurry, a more accurate translation might be Hedgehogs in a Huff. Regardless of what you call it, Igel Ärgern is a fun little game of racing hedgehogs for 2-6 players, best with 3-5 in the basic game.

Doris & Frank are a very good team - a married couple, Frank writes the rules and Doris supplies the art and graphics. I love Doris' artwork, so the board's hedgehogs are quite charming to me. I have the second edition, which includes hedgehogs drawn on the pieces, so you can distinguish them. Some of the variants supplied with the game require you to be able to distinguish hedgehogs, and this is a very nice way to do it.

The basic game is quite simple, and plays in under an hour, usually. Each player has four hedgehogs which start distributed among six lanes, in the first column of a racetrack. Some of the hedgehogs are stacked on top of others, of course, since there are only six lanes, and all have to start in the first column - six spaces.

Each player's turn is divided into three phases, one of which is optional:

1. Roll a d6, note the number.

2. Optionally, you may move one of your hedgehogs sideways one lane. You may not move a hedgehog that is covered by another hedgehog. You may not move an opponent's hedgehog in this phase.

3. Move one hedgehog in the lane corresponding to the number rolled on the d6 in step one, one space. This can be any hedgehog (even an opponent's) not covered by another piece. A hedgehog must be moved forward if possible - though it's legal to move your hedgehog sideways out of a lane, emptying the lane, so there are no hedgehogs to move forward in a given turn. If there are multiple hedgehogs which can be moved, the player whose turn it is has the choice of which one moves - it does not have to be his/her own.

That's basically it: roll a die, possibly move a hedgehog one space sideways, move a hedgehog one space forwards. The first player to get three of their four hedgehogs in the final row wins the game.

There is a catch, however: each lane has one black space in it, staggered throughout the board. If a hedgehog moves into a black space, it can't move out of the black space until every hedgehog is in the same or a more advanced column! Thus if you move your hedgehog up to the space just before a black space, you'll find it in the black space if anyone else rolls that lane before your next turn. Sometimes it's worth taking the risk, however.

The game has lots of subtleties you wouldn't expect from such a simple system. For example, you might think you're clever by moving yourself forward, but if someone can jump on top of you, and then someone else on top of them, and so on, you'll find it's a long time before you can move again! These hedgehogs definitely work on the "first in, last out" principle ... or "Pig pile on yellow!" as one of my players put it ... (Yes, I always used to play yellow in the old days!)

Sometimes it pays to move sideways, sometimes it doesn't - and sometimes you'll have to take a chance one way or the other. Learning the nuances of the sideways move is a big part of the tactics in this game.

One of the more amazing things about Igel Ärgern is the additional rulebook with 40(!) variants included. I only like just over a third of these variants, but that's still 15 different ways to play the game! Nicely done - my congratulations to Doris & Frank for including that. I love variations on games, and wish more games came with lots of variants. Some of the variants change the way the die is read, or how many dice to roll, or the use of the black spaces, or a scoring system, or ways to make the game better with fewer players or with more players, or change the movement rules slightly, etc., etc.

All in all, a fun, light game I recommend - very suitable for families as well as an all-adult group.

My own contributions to the variants:

The Mud Variant

When moving a piece onto a black space, turn it face down. (The second edition set has drawings on one side of the markers - you'd need to add something to one side of the markers in the first edition set.) When a face-down piece is chosen to "move" forward, it doesn't actually move out of the space - instead, flip it face up. (A face-down piece cannot be chosen to move sideways, and only the top-most face-down piece in a stack may be chosen for forward movement, of course.) A face-up piece on a black space can move normally - either sideways or forward. Thus the black spaces act like mud, to slow pieces down - much less fierce than the standard rules, which means mud actually makes for a lighter, quicker game.

The Slinky Variant

When moving forward, if you choose a space which has more than one hedgehog on it, you may move the top piece as normal, or you may "slinky" the whole pile. To slinky a pile, take the top hedgehog in a pile and move it one space forward, then the second hedgehog in the same pile and move it on top of the one which just moved, and the third to the top of the pile just formed, and so on, until the whole pile has moved one space forward, but is now in reverse order! Once you start to slinky a pile, you have to go all the way to the bottom - it's either only the top hedgehog moves as normal, or the whole pile moves forward, reversing order ...

Of course, if you move a pile onto another pile, that bigger pile can be slinkied forward the next time the column moves.

The 270-degree Variant on the Slinky Variant

You can slinky a pile when moving sideways or forward in this variant. As above, you can choose to slinky a pile or simply move the top piece when moving sideways, and if you decide to slinky, you must slinky the entire pile.

The Grimpen Mire Variant

"... like that great Grimpen Mire, with little green patches everywhere into which one may sink and with no guide to point the track..." - Dr. John Watson, in The Hound of the Baskervilles

If, at the beginning of your turn, all of your hedgehogs are covered by other players' hedgehogs (hey, it's happened to me!), you may change one black space after moving a hedgehog forward. Take a movable yellow-space piece (supplied in the second edition) and cover up one black space. Then take a movable black-space piece and place it on any yellow space. Exception: you may not change any space which has one or more hedgehogs on it.

The Quicksand variant of the Grimpen Mire variant: You can place the yellow and black spaces on spaces containing hedgehogs, but: both spaces have to have at least one hedgehog of the same color. That is, if you convert a black space with a blue hedgehog on it to a yellow space, then you must also convert a yellow space with a blue hedgehog on it to a black space.

Thread: I'm Blue Talon. This is my story.

Sagiro — 2006-09-17T05:09:28+00:00

The name’s Talon. I’m a hedgehog. This is my story.

They rounded us up last night from our burrow in the family room, twelve of us. Those four poor colorless sods got left out again. It’s always the same with that group – the humans comment on how nice it is to see pieces in a classy wood-grain hue, and then take the painted guys anyway. But the wood-grain 'hogs have it easy when you think about it. No race, no tar pits.

We were all fresh from the box. We’d been in there for years, waiting for our chance. We’re all trained racing ‘hogs, so we’d stay in shape doing calisthenics and rolling the die that’s the size of our heads. Of course we were ready to go on race day. It’s what we live for.

I’m on the Blue team, and we were facing down against Purple and Green. The twitchy guy on the Green team had been bugging me for weeks, so you can imagine my delight when I got stacked on his back at the opening. We were on the “four” track – my favorite of all tracks. I like the feel of it.

Things started quickly, the human drivers getting the hang of things without trouble. Hedgehog racing isn’t tricky; we slide sideways and we lurch forward. Usually the tar pits are a problem, but not this time. The humans were extremely conservative with our placement, always sliding us into tracks with a long way to go before the ‘pit. For the whole race only one of us fell in, the purple guy with narcolepsy. I say that’s what you get when you nod off during a race, and he’s in no position to argue – they dragged him out after the contest, and he’s asleep in the shower right now.

So we slid and we ran, gravitating toward the tracks with no tar between us and the finish line. Every race is different because of the rolling die, and this one saw the number “5” come up almost a third of the time. Since that’s the track that passes the tar pit earliest, we tended to get bunched up over there, stacked like cordwood. My blundering human wasn’t keeping a good eye out for me, so I spent a lot of the race trying to get out from under other hedgehogs. Still, my teammates were doing well, and Team Blue was the first to get two past the finish line. One more and we’d have the race won. But our fourth (the sleepy guy, of course) was far back, and the Greens and Purples were able to catch up and tie the race at 2-2-2. I was confident that I could beat the Purple, since one of his ‘hogs was several columns back, and the other was swimming in tar. They don’t call me “Ted” for nothing. (That’s “Talon Ted,” for those who need a hint.) For a while I was out in front and hoping that my bookie had done as I asked, betting a week’s worth of carrots on Team Blue.

Alas, in the end the Die of Doom betrayed me. My human was forced to spend several turns advancing my opponents, and the Green team was getting free “empty row” jumps almost every turn. That damned Green twitchy hedgehog zipped past me like I was standing still, while I was only one move from victory! Team Green won the race, and we had to settle for a second-place tie. Ugh! It wouldn’t have been so bad if the Purple guys had won. They’re okay fellows, if a trifle long-winded. But all of the Greens are arrogant sons-of-marmots, and the twitchy one is the worst of the lot.

Next time, I’m slipping him a sedative before the race.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board?

howeman — 2006-08-31T05:34:03+00:00

On a completely tangential note, I love astérix. "Ils sont fous ces romains!" (I've only read them in french)

Thank you for the german translations

Thread: Playing a game with my wife and two young children (3 & 4)

Larry Welborn — 2006-08-13T04:38:34+00:00

Tonight, my wife and I played Igel Argern with our 3 and 4 year old children. Both children had previously played the game and had a decent grasp of the rules. Most of the time, they would make the correct play, although sometimes we had to offer suggestions.

My 3 year old daughter Eva jumped out to an early lead. She chose to play a mean game, sending her brother’s hedgehog into the tarpit on lane 5 rather than moving her own piece. My wife made the mistake of leaving a piece next to a tarpit for too long, and it was also pushed in.

During the mid-game, a huge stack of pieces clogged up lane 1 while lanes 4 and 6 became empty. Eva got 2 pieces past the finish line, but her other two pieces were buried on lanes one and two. I had a piece trapped on lane 3 and my other pieces were in the lane one and two messes. Luke, my 4 year old, was able to catch up with Eva, getting two pieces across the finish as well. My wife got some pieces free in lanes 4 and 5 and was able to get some easy moves as the rest of us were forced to push her along. The big stacks in lanes 1 and 2 finally spread out and everyone headed for the finish line.

Finally, Luke, Eva, and my wife all had 2 pieces across the finish line while I only had one. Luke and Eva each had a piece only one space from victory when Luke rolled a 2 and was able to claim the victory.

Here is a picture of the board taken after the game ended:
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Luke was green, Eva was red, my wife was yellow, and bringing up the rear, I was blue. Another enjoyable game with the family as we are trying to play games at least a couple of nights a week.

Thread: TVB - 3P - Basic game, slow start doesn't mean slow finish.

RPardoe — 2006-07-23T01:11:00+00:00

With Lost Cities done, Dean had also expressed interest in exploring Igel Ärgern. For this game, we were joined by Rich's daughter Sabrina and our gaming night continued as a 3 person affair. As it was Dean's first game, we opted for the basic rules of can move one of your hedgehogs sideways and must move a hedgehog in the row rolled.

The game started a bit cautiously as everyone tried to avoid the black spots close to the start line. Rich was the first around the one in the 5 Row and was racing to the goal. Dean soon advanced around the same blockade and raced with Rich to the goal. As those hedgehogs were one space away, the rolls deserted the two and time was spent navigating the other hedgehogs. Sabrina soon managed to get two hedgehogs into the 6th row and raced toward the goal.

Pretty soon, the first hedgehogs soon reached their goals. Dean's first followed quickly by Rich's first. Sabrina was next followed by Dean's second. Sabrina found herself at this time in 2 of the black pits and only one hedgehog to move. But as the whole field start to advance to the goal, Sabrina slowly regained the ability to move these trapped hedgehogs.

One of those hedgehogs was in the black pit as a result of mean ole Dad. With a 2 rolled, Rich had two choices. Move his hedgehog sideways and advance to the brink of the pit. Or advance Sabrina's hedgehog into the pit, leaving the path ahead clear for his own hedgehog. Despite plaintive cries of please don't from Sabrina, Rich opted to keep his options open and moved Sabrina's hedgehog into the pit.

Once the field approached the last few columns, Dean had two hedgehogs in Row 5. One was nearing the goal with the other was on top of a stack consisting of a hedgehog from each of Rich and Sabrina. An obvious strategy would be to not move that stack top hedgehog as it would block Rich and Sabrina from moving while waiting for the other hedgehog to win. Rich saw this and managed to move a hedgehog up Row 6 to sit on top of Dean's other hedgehog. As Rich and Dean waged a minor blocking battle raged down on Rows 4, 5, and 6, Sabrina had managed to free that hedgehog in Row 2 from the black pit. A roll of 2 by Dean and he is forced to move Sabrina's third hedgehog across the goal giving Sabrina the win.

Igel Ärgern adds nice twist to roll and move games. The movement is fixed (1 space forward) and the die is used to indicate where movement is to occur. As hedgehogs can move 1 row sideways, there is quite a bit of flexibility and strategy how to move the pieces. Throw in a bit of gentle agression (sitting on other pieces) and the result is a nice mix of luck and tactics. I find there is plenty to enjoy in the basic game. But the game comes with lots of possible variants so games can be made nastier, more tactical, etc.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board? ENG?

GaryP — 2006-05-30T02:23:02+00:00

Heh heh, this is some great vocabulary for playing any German game!

Spinnst Du??

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board?

Duglis — 2006-05-29T20:35:58+00:00

Thanks a million Kai! (Stefanie too)

-Doug

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board? ENG?

Mariana — 2006-05-29T12:11:27+00:00

Just to explain:

Stargaze wrote:

3. Die Spinnen Die Igel
>> They're crazy, those hedgehogs

That is a quote from Asterix ("Die spinnen, die Roemer").

Stargaze wrote:

7. Geisterigel
>> Ghost hedgehog

That will be an allusion to "ghost drivers" (Geisterfahrer) - drivers who end up driving in the wrong direction on a German Autobahn.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board? ENG?

Mariana — 2006-05-29T12:08:01+00:00

Duglis wrote:

18. wehe, Meine Tarbe Gennwit Das Nachste Mal Wieder Nicht!

Ah, OK. I misread "Farbe" as "Taktik" (that writing was a bit faint!)

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board?

Stargaze — 2006-05-29T10:39:10+00:00

BOARD 1 WITH THE 6 SPACES
___________________________

1. Kicher
>> Giggle

2. Zensiert
>> censored

3. ich Wollt Sowieso was Anderes Spielen
>> I wanted to play something else anyway

3. Die Spinnen Die Igel
>> They're crazy, those hedgehogs

4. Formel Igel
>> Formula Hedgehog

5. Ich Hasse Dieses Spiel!
>> I hate this game

6. Hat Der Geschumnelt
>> Did he cheat?

7. Geisterigel
>> Ghost hedgehog

BOARD 2 with 5 Spaces
________________________

8. Vor 650 MIL Jahren
>> 650 million years ago

9. Erinaceus Saurus Magnus Spiculus Vor 430 Mill Jahren
>> [some pseudo-scientific fantasy saurian name] 430 million years ago

10. Das Gros Duetsch Meer
>> the great german sea

BACK OF BOX
_______________

11. Schon wieder
>> Again? (as in: *sigh* Again?)

12. Jetzt Reicht's Aber
>> Now's enough

13. Spielen Wir Noch Mal?
>> Do we play again?

14. Spinnst Du???
>> Are you crazy?

15 Was Ist Passiert?
>> What happened?

16. Was Rennst Du Auch so?
>> Why are you running (so fast) (as in: 'your fault, why are you running so fast')

17. Ich Wollte Schon Immer Was Anderes Spielen
>> I always wanted to play something else

18. wehe, Meine Tarbe Gennwit Das Nachste Mal Wieder Nicht!
>> (threatening) If my colour again doesn't win next time ...

19. 24 Igelsteine in 6 Farben, Wurfel, Spielplan und ein Extraheft mit
Varianten.
>> 24 hedgehog stones in 6 colours, dice, game board and an extra booklet with variants.

That's as close as I get.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board?

Duglis — 2006-05-29T08:46:17+00:00

Here goes- I don't have accent marks, so please forgive-

BOARD 1 WITH THE 6 SPACES
___________________________

1. Kicher

2. Zensiert

3. ich Wollt Sowieso was Anderes Spielen

3. Die Spinnen Die Igel

4. Formel Igel

5. Ich Hasse Dieses Spiel!

6. Hat Der Geschumnelt

7. Geisterigel

BOARD 2 with 5 Spaces
________________________

8. Vor 650 MIL Jahren

9. Erinaceus Saurus Magnus Spiculus Vor 430 Mill Jahren

10. Das Gros Duetsch Meer

BACK OF BOX
_______________

11. Schon wieder

12. Jetzt Reicht's Aber

13. Spielen Wir Noch Mal?

14. Spinnst Du???

15 Was Ist Passiert?

16. Was Rennst Du Auch so?

17. Ich Wollte Schon Immer Was Anderes Spielen

18. wehe, Meine Tarbe Gennwit Das Nachste Mal Wieder Nicht!

19. 24 Igelsteine in 6 Farben, Wurfel, Spielplan und ein Extraheft mit
Varianten.

There you go!

Doug

9.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board? ENG?

Mariana — 2006-05-29T08:05:08+00:00

Unfortunately, the photo showing the back of the box
is too faint for me to read most of it, but:

Lower right: (front paws on hips): Beware [my wrath] if my tactic doesn't win next time, either.
Next to that one, on the left (front paw over eye): I've always wanted to play something else
The three above that hedgehog: Shall we [play] again? - You're nuts, or what? - Oh, no!

If you post what the other hedgehogs say, I can translate the rest.

Thread: Re: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board?

Duglis — 2006-05-29T06:51:57+00:00

Calling all Germans!
Austrians!

1/2 the Swiss!

help

lol

Doug

Thread: Re: Available to purchase in the US?

Duglis — 2006-05-28T22:29:21+00:00

Funagain does not have it as of May 28th, 2006.

As of May 28, 2006,

Fairplaygames has it for $26.95 -mail order online gamestore- Very nice people-

http://www.fairplaygames.com/gamedisplay.asp?gameid=803

Thread: Re: more movement questions

Duglis — 2006-05-28T22:13:44+00:00

Yes I am. The translation I have is just, well, rather sparse. We played the big family variant last night and it was great fun. We'll try the apples one next! Great fun!

The only one I don't quite understand is the entirely new game 40th variant.

Thanks again!

Doug

Thread: Re: more movement questions

RPardoe — 2006-05-28T21:47:53+00:00

Assuming you are talking about the basic game -

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.

The movement rules in the basic game are rather simple.

Roll a die - this will indicate the row where you need to move forward.
You may (but aren't forced to) move any one of your pieces sideways 1 row.
You must move any one piece forwards in the row matching the die roll.

This allows quite a bit of flexibility in movement options as you are discovering.

Thread: more movement questions

Duglis — 2006-05-28T21:23:03+00:00

Hi.

1. I assume you are allowed to move on top of your own piece.

2. I assume if you are in a row that is rolled by an opponent, he may move the top piece of yours off a pile in order to untrap his own piece that might be right underneath it.

3. and lastly, to clarify, you MUST always move a piece in the row you rolled. If you are the only piece in that row after the sideways move, you MUST move your piece. The translation, I think, should have a comma in the final sentence to make that clear, instead of a period.

4. You may sideways move piece A from Row 1 to Row 2 and then move that same piece forward if you rolled a 2.

-Douglas

Thread: What R the "Igels" saying on the back and on the board? ENG?

Duglis — 2006-05-28T03:24:57+00:00

I'm just curious. What are the "Igels" saying on the back of the box and on the 2 boards ....in English?

Translation please!

Thanks!

-Doug

Thread: Re: Two very basic rules questions for basic game

Duglis — 2006-05-28T00:34:28+00:00

Thank You!

Thread: Re: Two very basic rules questions for basic game

RPardoe — 2006-05-27T23:49:41+00:00

Duglis wrote:
1. You are allowed to move on top of another piece, correct? That piece can no longer move until you move off that piece, since it is trapped below you?
Basic game - yes, you can move on top of another piece and trap that piece as you describe.

2. If there are 3 pieces in row 4 , and you had previously rolled a 4,
YOU MUST MOVE ONE, correct? even if none of them are your pieces? even if one or more of them are your pieces?
Correct - you must move one of the pieces in row 4. It does not have to be your piece if you prefer to move another piece.

Thread: Two very basic rules questions for basic game

Duglis — 2006-05-27T23:40:44+00:00

Hi! Here they are:

1. You are allowed to move on top of another piece, correct? That piece can no longer move until you move off that piece, since it is trapped below you?

2. If there are 3 pieces in row 4 , and you had previously rolled a 4,
YOU MUST MOVE ONE, correct? even if none of them are your pieces? even if one or more of them are your pieces?

(unless underneath another piece or in a tar pit waiting for others to pass) ?

Thread: Re: Available to purchase in the US?

Duglis — 2006-05-27T09:16:28+00:00

Try www.funagain.com
or

www.fairplaygames.com

tell me if you have luck.

-Doug

Thread: Available to purchase in the US?

Hisst Ka — 2006-03-24T03:49:31+00:00

Anyone know anyplace to buy this in the US? Ebay is no good, no sales here on the Geek (in the US) and Boards & Bits shipping of $10 is a bit high for my taste.

Any help?

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

rootbeer — 2006-02-10T14:39:33+00:00

Werbaer wrote:
Kobra1 wrote:
My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

IIRC if there is no other hedgehog in this row, the one in the hole can move.

If there is no hedgehog in the rows behind the hedgehog in the hole (i.e., he is in last place or tied for last place) he may move out of the hole.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

thatmarkguy — 2006-02-10T14:23:53+00:00

Werbaer wrote:
Kobra1 wrote:
My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

IIRC if there is no other hedgehog in this row, the one in the hole can move.

Not by the standard rules. Perhaps by one of the zillion variants, but by default, such a roll would mean nobody moves.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

Werbaer — 2006-02-10T11:26:53+00:00

Kobra1 wrote:
I noticed my board has two sides, a 5 dice and 6 dice.. Any significance? I cannot find anything in the instructions about it.

The 6 row board is the regular one. The 5 row board is a variant.
In short, in this variant, you can use a 6 as a wild roll, but you may not move the same hedgehow sidewards and forwards on the roll of a 6.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

Werbaer — 2006-02-10T11:23:49+00:00

Kobra1 wrote:
My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

IIRC if there is no other hedgehog in this row, the one in the hole can move.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

Kobra1 — 2006-02-10T08:06:09+00:00

I noticed my board has two sides, a 5 dice and 6 dice.. Any significance? I cannot find anything in the instructions about it.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

clearclaw — 2006-02-10T05:51:33+00:00

Kobra1 wrote:
My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

If you are not playing with any of the variants that state otherwise, and you don't move one of your own hedgehogs sideways into row 3, then yes, you skip your turn.

Second question, is it possible to roll a 4 for example, then move your hog OUT of that row, and then move someone else forward into a hole?

Absolutely, and this is a critical and significant part of the game's delight.

Third question, i'm going to assume there can be stacked hogs on the holes, right?

This depends on which set of variants you are playing with, however in general, yes, the pits are bottomless.

A combination of variants we particularly like: doping plus tube plus pushing (in the direction of the moving player, only tops of columns move, hedgehogs can't be pushed into the end zones) plus criss-cross plus trampolines (Super Turbo Hedgehogs). Excellently nasty.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

Kobra1 — 2006-02-10T03:07:01+00:00

Thanks for the tips.

I'm finding this to be a tremendous little game! The wealth of variants I'm exploring is amazing, but the base game itself is fun fun fun, and filled with cool moments and some tension.

Why the hell hasn't this game been reprinted? Its a gem!

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

crazyjack — 2006-02-10T02:47:49+00:00

Kobra1 wrote:
My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

In the normal game, you would still have the sidestep option for one of your hedgehogs, but you wouldn't move any hedgehog forward. There's a variation that has you move all free hedgehogs forward one space instead - We usually play with this variant, actually.

Kobra1 wrote:
Second question, is it possible to roll a 4 for example, then move your hog OUT of that row, and then move someone else forward into a hole?

The short answer is yes. However, it's not required that you don't have a hedgehog in a row to move your opponent forward. You can move any free hedgehog forward in the row of the die rolled.

Kobra1 wrote:
Third question, i'm going to assume there can be stacked hogs on the holes, right?

In the normal game, yes. However, there's another variant that states that each hole is only one hedgehog deep. In this variant, other hedgehogs can move through a black space as if it were a normal space, provided another hedgehog is already in the hole.

My recommendation would be to check out the variants here: http://files.boardgamegeek.com/viewfile.php3?fileid=9493. Find some variants that interest you and intersperse them in your games to spice it up. Hedgehogs is one of the few games that I wouldn't worry too much about a strict interpretation of the rules... With 40 variants, you're bound to be playing by one of the rulesets, anyway.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

rootbeer — 2006-02-10T02:43:35+00:00

Actually, on the first question:

You don't really "skip your turn." You still get the sideways move. You can move a hedgehog into row 3, then move him forward. Or you can move some other 'hog sideways, and no one moves forward.

Thread: Re: Movement Question.

rootbeer — 2006-02-10T02:42:17+00:00

Yes to all three.

Have you tried the Doping variant? It's quite good.

And the Turbo Dice variant actually slows the game down. I don't recommend it.

Have fun!

Thread: Movement Question.

Kobra1 — 2006-02-10T02:02:55+00:00

My question is, say you roll a "3", but there is nothing in roll 3 but a hedgehog trapped in a hole. Do you just skip your turn?

Second question, is it possible to roll a 4 for example, then move your hog OUT of that row, and then move someone else forward into a hole?

Third question, i'm going to assume there can be stacked hogs on the holes, right?

I'm going to assume i'm right on all accounts, but i'd like someone to clarify for me if possible.

Thread: Six players; very tense ending, could have gone any way

ValJor — 2005-10-02T18:05:09+00:00

Date: October 1st, 2005

Game: Igel Ärgern

Players: Brian, George, Johnny, Luc, Pierre-Luc and Valdir (myself)

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According to my stringent timetable for the date, after the concurrent games of TtR and Metro we were supposed to start a game of Princes of the Renaissance. However, when our table finished Metro the TtR table was still going strong. Brian, a newcomer to the group, proposed that we play Igel Ärgern, a game that according to him should take no longer than twenty or thirty minutes. The "stringent timetable" went flying off the window...

This is really a very simple race game in which you roll dice and try to escape three of your four hedgehogs while trying to trap the opponents' hedgehogs in "pits" scattered throughout the racing area. The version that we played had only five lanes (I've seen pictures here at the 'Geek that show versions with six lanes; I guess it would be a different game with all six lanes available).

The beginning of the game was quite innocent, each one trying to advance their own hedgehogs; however, as soon as a player's hedgehog approached a pit and some other player could throw it in, the other four players would start chanting "The pit! The pit! The pit!". It felt like a Roman "circus" where the Christians would be thrown to the lions...

George was the first one to "step into" a pit, Pierre-Luc also had problems with it; fortunately I was able to change lanes at the right moment and escape all the pits.

The end was very tense, four of the six players had two hedgehogs and their other two were close by to finish the game. Even George and Luc, who had only one hedgehog out, were in contention because their other hedgehogs were very close to the finish line.

Johnny had the first chance to finish the game but missed, then it was my turn and Lady Luck didn't smile on me either. When it got to Brian (the owner of the game), he needed either a 5 or a 6 and got it!

Final Score
[c]Winner: Brian[/c]
During our game of Igel Ärgern the TtR players finished their game and started another of Metro to wait for us to finish our game...

Thread: User Review

klz_fc — 2005-02-20T15:34:14+00:00

Igel Argern is a fast, fun game that has more strategy than expected.

The box consist of a double sided board, a small six sided die, and 4 colored hedgehog tokens for each of 6 players, The main board has 6 tracks numbered from one to six using die faces) and 9 spaces in each track. One column is the start column and the other is the end column. Each row also conains a black “pit” square .

The object is simple. Get three of your hedgehog tokens to the finish line before the other players.

Players start by placing their tokens one at a time on each row along the start column. Players must fill up each of the six spots before placing tiles on top of each other on a new layer. In a 6 player game, this means the sixth player never gets to choose their starting spot, since they must fill in the only open hole in each layer.

The basic game turn is simply that the active player takes the die and rolls it. The player may move any token in the row rolled that is uncovered (alone or top of a stack). The player may also choose to move one of their uncovered tokensup or down one row prior to moving a token forward. This often leads to a player moving a piece to take advantage of the move forward.

The black pits are the big obstacles for the hedgehogs. If a hedgehog falls into a pit, they may not leave until all of the other hedgehogs have made it to that column on the game board. A hedgehog in the lead and falling into a pit just before the finish line will likely never get out since they would have to wait until all of the other hedgehogs make it right to the same column. Another huge obstacle is being buried under other hedgehogs, since only the top token in a stack may be moved ahead.

Players always choose which token moves after their roll, so a person in the lead can be pushed into pits or covered often so that they are limited in how much they can do. Younger players may get rstrated if this tactic is palyed on them, but more strategic players will attempt to find ways around this problem.

The game is lots of fun and seems simple, but has many wonderful choices to make on your turn. Conspiring with other players is encouraged, and the artwork is amusingly whimsical. As a player who managed to get thrown into 3 pits in the same game, I can honestly say that teaming up work well in this game, and that you can work around even those team ups with some strategy and planning.

In addition, there are over 40 variant rules included by fans of the original release of the game. This gives the game more replay value than the original rules offer, and each one makes the game more strategic or more fun. There is also a second board on the back that contains only 5 rows with slightly different rules.

Highly recommended as a light to medium strategy game (depending on the crowd) and great for an in between game too.

Thread: Session Report

AlexBrown — 2004-12-30T14:49:34+00:00

My first game of Igel Argern, the hedgehog preservation utility/game by Doris and Frank Matthaus.
I love Doris and Frank, they've given me plenty of quality hedgehog hours with their other games, but this has to be the prickliest of them all.
I quickly learned that hedgehogs have tough feet, as all kinds of hogs piled on top of mine from the get-go. Once my hogs finally got free they scrambled as quickly as possible to the edges of the board, hoping for clear sailing to the pine needle treats I promised them at the other end. But it was not to be - the other hogs' owners had upped the ante with honey-flavored termites promised to their pets, and everyone crowded the edges seeking a fast way to the treats.
A few gambles on my part paid off, successfully avoiding the pit in the 6th row at the very last second - I had spent a long time pre-match agility-training my hogs and was confident they could navigate the course. But one hog got distracted by a cute-looking purple female next to him and tripped into an open pit near the end of the course, and got distracted by the other girl who fell down with him.
Finally near the end I was but one move away from securing the match. I was cheering Franz on, hoping against hope he would not succumb to the temptations of nap-time - Franz is a larger hog, quite fit, but easily tired. Sadly, he couldn't make it, had a very pleasant nap, and awoke to find himself in the doghouse. Bad, Franz, bad! But I can't stay mad at my hogs for long.

I quite enjoyed my little hedgehog race. I'm looking forward to trying a variant or two that I've read about. My hogs are quite intelligent and should pick up any peculiarities very quickly. Hopefully they won't get so lured toward the edges next time around, and use some of the open lanes I kept seeing others utilize so well.

Thread: Re:No More Days, No More Dollars

clearclaw — 2004-09-22T20:18:36+00:00

RPardoe (#55339),

We normally play with the cylinder option wherein you can move sideways between the #1 and #6 rows. This prevents the sorts of congestion you mentioned.

If we want a particularly fast game we normally play on the other more narrow side of the board, with the following variants all together:

- Cylindrical board

- Pits are either trampolines or solid blocks

- 6s are wild, so the rolling player can move anything they want, but can't use it to get a hedgehog home.

- If a row which doesn't contain any tokens is rolled, then the top of every stack moves forward one, with the caveats that the most advanced tokens in each row move first, and that this can't be used to get a hedgehog home.

When we want a more interesting game and have enough players wel split into two teams racing in opposite directions, and allow the rolling player to move any token in the appropriate row, but only in "his" direction (which can be backwards for the token in question).